“But she’s ok?”
“Yeah, she’s fine… just talking to Mark and Silas.”
“Are you still afraid then?” the Chief of Staff asked.
Chevalier growled, “I am not afraid.”
“Sorry, I mean… are you still feeling her fear?”
“Yes, actually, I am.”
“Derrick, ask them in please,” Zohn called out when they heard Emily and her guards pass. The door opened and the Council could see Mark and Derrick trying to drag Emily into the room, but she was pulling against them.
Chevalier whispered, “It just got 1,000 times worse.”
“Why?” Quinn asked, watching as she struggled against the heku. They finally managed to get her into the council chambers, but she was scrambling to get back to the door.
Chevalier appeared in front of her and she calmed down and looked up at him, “It’s ok. I’ll go with you.”
She turned slowly and the fear was prevalent in her eyes when she scanned the Council.
Zohn smiled, “Come, please… just for a moment.”
Chevalier took Emily’s hand and they walked up to the trial area while Derrick returned to his post at the door.
“Why do you fear us, Child?” Akili asked.
She didn’t answer, but looked over at Kyle with wide eyes.
“What?” he asked, smiling.
The council chambers fell silent while they watched her.
Finally, Kyle nodded, “If you don’t want him calling you Child, then you’ll have to tell him yourself.”
Akili smiled at her, “Do you not wish to be called Child?”
Emily looked up at Chevalier.
“Tell him then.”
She glanced back at the door, but Mark stood in her way and just smiled at her.
“Aside from that,” Zohn said, breaking a moment of silence. “How are you feeling?”
Emily looked up at him silently.
Chevalier turned and studied her as she watched Zohn. After a few minutes, he nodded at Mark, and Emily left with him.
“I hate the silent treatment,” Zohn sighed.
“It’s more than that,” Chevalier explained. “She’s terrified of this Council.”
Quinn sat back in his chair, “Salazar planted that maybe?”
“She didn’t like the Council before Salazar came along,” Kyle reminded them.
Chevalier sat in his chair, “It’s strange how afraid she is, but there’s no outward indication of it.”
Mark and Emily met up with Silas and four members of the Cavalry before heading out to the new training.
“You’ll like this training,” Silas told her. “We have 10 recruits coming in from Powan and one of them was part of Thukil’s Cavalry.”
Emily looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.
“It’s true. He’ll be a pro.”
She stopped walking when she saw the massive Cavalry waiting outside of the stables on their horses, and all of them were watching her with Mark and Silas.
Horace slid off of his horse and walked toward them, “Great to see you out!”
She smiled slightly and then looked nervously at the Cavalry. The four wolves moved away from their heku owners and ran up to Emily happily. She reached down and pet each of them, then stood up as they surrounded her.
Silas just shook his head and told the heku owners to leave them be for now.
“It’s ok,” Mark said, taking her hand. He led her past the horses to the front where 10 heku were standing at full attention. Once there, he let go and Silas stepped forward.
“Only about half of the full Cavalry was trained by Emily, so this will be new to most of you. She’s still a Commander in this Cavalry and will be helping with horse training,” Silas said.
Emily couldn’t help but notice that one recruit smiled while the others looked angrily above her head.
“I don’t want any mortal crap or snide comments. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” the recruits said at once.
“She’s going to hook you up with a horse. Once you are assigned, it is your responsibility to take full care of it, unless Commander Emily says differently.”
“Go ahead, Em,” Kralen said, smiling at her.
She looked over the new recruits and then back over at Mark.
He smiled, “Get them a horse, it’s ok.”
Kralen studied her and then turned to Mark, “I don’t think she wants to be alone with the new guys.”
“Is that it?” Mark asked.
Emily just watched him.
He chuckled, “I’ll go too.”
Emily walked up and first reached out for the Thukil’s hand. He smiled and took it, and she led him into the stables, followed by Mark and the four wolves.
“Commander, I brought my own horse if that’s ok,” he said once they were in the stables.
Emily let him lead her over to the stall of a large Colorado Ranger. She opened the stall door and took the horse’s head in her hands, then pressed her forehead against his soft, velvety muzzle.
The Thukil smiled, “Oh, you’re going to spoil him now.”
Mark chuckled and watched as Emily ran her hand along his sleek, spotted coat. She turned back to the heku and smiled.
“It’s good to have you back, Commander,” he said, smiling broadly.
Surprising Mark, Emily moved forward and hugged the recruit. He laughed and returned her hug, then turned and grabbed a brush, “He’ll like this. It was a long trip in the trailer.”
She nodded and then went back out, followed by Mark. Everyone fell silent while Mark and Kralen spoke briefly among themselves.
Kralen turned, “There is a rule that was sent down from the Elders. No one that has been on the Cavalry less than 4 years is to be alone with Commander Emily at any time. The only exception to that is Gifford.”
“Come on, Em,” Mark said. “Let’s get another.”
She looked up at him and then started into the stables with another recruit. Mark noticed that she skirted around the strange heku and glanced back often to make sure Mark was with her. Once in the stables, she sized up the heku and then began looking through the stalls.
Emily opened the stall door to an Arabian mare and then turned and looked at Mark with her hands on her hips.
“What?” he asked, frowning slightly.
She turned, looked at the mare, and then back to Mark.
He sighed, “I don’t know what’s wrong. Yes she’s put on weight, we realize that. So we’ve cut back on her food and she’s been exercised more.”
Emily smiled slightly and reached out for Mark’s hand. He shrugged and then took it, and allowed her to lead him into the stall. She guided his hand over and pressed it against the side of the mare.
Mark gasped, “Oh, damn.”
She looked up at him.
“Is there a problem?” Kralen asked from behind them.
Mark grinned sheepishly, “This mare is pregnant.”
They watched as Emily looked closely at the mare and ran her hands along her bulging middle.
“How far along is she?” Kralen asked. Emily looked at him and then walked up and he bent down as she whispered into his ear.
“So?” Mark asked when Emily headed out to find another horse for the recruit.
Kralen cringed, “She’s only a few weeks from delivering.”
“Well damnit,” Mark growled. “Get her more food.”
Kralen called for one of the Cavalry to feed the mare, and then went out to stand beside Silas.
When all of the new recruits had a horse, Mark called them out to the front of the stables. Only Gifford, from Thukil, looked comfortable around the large animal.
Once the recruits were taught how to saddle their horses and were mounted, Emily went around and silently adjusted the stirrups, then stood back and watched Mark go over details about training.
One of the recruits was having a hard time with his horse, so by Mark’s order, he slipped off o
f it. Emily jumped for the horse when his ears went flat against his head, but he reared back and the shocked heku let go of the reins. The frightened stallion suddenly took off away from the stables.
Emily put her hand out when Silas started for the horse, so he stopped as she whistled loudly.
Devia appeared from the stables and immediately saw the horse. He took off at a dead-run and quickly caught up with it. Once in front of the stallion, the Border collie turned and lowered his chest to the ground with a low growl. The heku watched, enthralled, as the Border collie gained control of the horse and herded him back to the stables.
“That was awesome!” one of the new recruits said, amazed.
“Any trouble, just let Emily handle it,” Mark told them. “She knows best how to work with the horses and how to get them under control.”
Emily walked forward and took the reins of the horse when Devia got him closer. She pet the dog and then he took his place beside her with the wolves as she walked the stallion back to his heku owner.
Once Mark began going over policies, Emily went into the stables and came out with the lame horse. She took his reins and led him into the corral. Silas joined her as she began walking him slowly around the corral as she watched his feet.
“How’s he doing?” Silas asked after a few minutes.
“He’ll be ok,” she said softly, and then gasped and turned toward him.
Silas started to laugh, “Nice!”
He turned when Chevalier suddenly appeared, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Sir.”
Chevalier studied Emily as she walked the stallion slowly around the corral.
“She’s afraid,” he whispered.
Silas nodded, “She accidentally spoke.”
“To you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Did anyone else hear?”
“I don’t think so.”
Chevalier walked forward and stopped Emily, “You can talk to Silas without getting into trouble.”
He felt her anxiety escalate.
“Em, he’s your friend and you know that. Talking to him won’t earn you a punishment.”
Mark walked up when he saw the Elder, “Is there a problem?”
Silas whispered an explanation and he smiled and returned to the recruits.
Once Chevalier felt Emily was calmer, he returned to the palace and Mark went up to her, “We’re going up on the hills to break in the new heku. Want to go?”
She didn’t even look up, but continued to walk the lame horse.
Silas smiled, “It’s too late, Em. You already spoke to me.”
“Let’s go,” Mark said, holding his hand out.
Emily looked up at the lush green hills and the dark trees on its border.
“No one’s in there.”
She glanced at Mark.
“We’ve been through them. There’s no one in those trees.”
Silas gently took her hand, “Let’s go. You can tandem with me.”
After a few moments, she nodded slightly, but walked past Silas’ horse and slipped a bridle onto her stallion. By the time she slid onto him bareback and rode him out to the front of the stables, the rest of the heku were gathered. She was amazed how her Cavalry of 7 was now 102 heku strong.
“Head out,” Mark ordered, and the group moved out of the city together. Once they were out on the hills west of town, Mark gave them the all-clear to do whatever they wanted for a while.
Emily sat back and watched the heku race, but checked the trees often for signs of an attack.
Kralen chuckled and rode up beside her, “Stop looking at the trees. No one’s in there.”
After a few hours of racing, Gifford, the Thukil recruit, pulled ahead in the race standings. What started out as just messing around, now became serious with wagers and strategies.
Mark smiled when he saw Emily enjoying herself. He moved up to Silas and Kralen and whispered, “She’s smiling.”
Silas nodded, “I knew if she could get out here without being attacked, she would remember how much she loved it.”
The three heku looked over quickly when the entire field turned eerily quiet. Mark chuckled when he saw Emily was riding her horse slowly up to the starting line the guards were using, where Gifford was sitting atop his horse.
“This should be interesting,” Kralen said, moving his horse up for a better view.
Gifford smiled as Emily pulled up alongside him, “You’re taking my challenge?”
“What’s going on?” Silas asked Horace.
Horace smiled, “Gifford won, hands-down, so he bragged that no one could take him successfully. All of a sudden, Emily moved to the starting line.”
“Does he know she has a racing horse?” Kralen asked.
Horace shook his head, “Don’t think so.”
“I’m betting Emily across the board on this one,” one of the long-standing members of the Cavalry called out.
“I’ll take that bet,” one of the new recruits said.
Emily glanced back at Mark, and when he smiled, she turned to scan the trees and then reached down to pet her brown stallion.
“You both ready?” Horace asked.
“Yes, Sir,” Gifford said, tightening his grip on the reins.
When Emily didn’t reply, Horace shook his head, “I’ll take that as a yes. On three…”
“One…”
“Two…”
“Three!”
Both horses lunged into a fast gallop and sped across the grassy field. Emily almost immediately took the lead as she leaned forward to lessen wind resistance. The cheers from the Cavalry filled the clearing and caught the attention of those in the city.
The four heku at the end of the race watched with anticipation to see if the Thukil could pull-ahead and beat the mortal. For the first time in years, Emily felt the exhilaration of flying cross the field on a horse and she felt the horse push harder, his racing instincts kicking in again.
When she reached the finish line, she turned just as Gifford’s horse flew through the heku behind her. She smiled at him and he shook his head and laughed.
“That is one fast horse,” he said, though it was hard to hear among the Cavalry’s cheers.
“Great job, Em,” Mark said, riding up to her.
She smiled at him and pet her horse again.
“Fun’s over,” Silas called out. “Encala and Valle have come for a visit, get in and get to your posts.”
The Cavalry all suddenly took off for the palace, leaving Emily behind with Mark, Silas, and Kralen.
“Coming in?” Silas asked, wondering why she didn’t head for the city.
Emily checked closely around her and then spoke softly, “I don’t want to see them.”
Mark tried to sound casual, though his insides were jumping that she’d spoken to them, “I don’t know why they’re here. I would imagine though if we go up the back way, we can avoid them.”
She shook her head, “They’ll find me.”
“We won’t let them near you.”
“You won’t have a choice,” she said, softly enough they had a hard time hearing her.
“So let’s not go back then,” Kralen said. “Let’s go get pizza.”
Mark shrugged, “Sounds good to me.”
Emily looked at him and frowned slightly.
“Well, what?” he asked. “We can either sit here, go back to the palace, or go out for pizza.”
***
Chevalier watched the enemy Elders down in the trial area, “Fine, we’ll admit it.”
“We should have been informed when Emily showed the ability to turn a heku to ash,” Sotomar growled.
“Why would we do that?” Kyle asked.
William put his hand out to stop Sotomar, “It’s important that we know the well-being of the Winchester. It stands to reason that as her friends, we should have been notified.”
“Was she injured in the attack?” Sotomar asked.
“No, she was not,” Z
ohn replied.
“Now that Emily is back, we are insisting that we be kept abreast of new developments with her.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Chevalier told him.
“Why not?”
“It’s none of your business… to be blunt.”
William’s eyes narrowed, “Bring her here.”
“No”
“Why not? How can we be assured that she’s being taken care of?”
“She is.”
“Prove it,” Sotomar hissed.
“It’s up to her when she wants to see you,” Kyle told him.
“So ask her now.”
Chevalier shrugged and then disappeared from the room. There were a few tense minutes before he returned and sat down.
“She’s gone out for pizza,” Chevalier told them, smiling slightly.
Kyle gasped, “She left on her own?”
“Apparently given the choice to come into the palace with the Valle and Encala, she took pizza.”
Zohn chuckled and turned to Sotomar, “Sorry, she’s spoken… well… in a way.”
Sotomar glared at him, “We demand she visit for a week.”
“As do we,” William added.
“That’s not going to happen,” Chevalier said. “She was pretty adamant that she not come into the palace because you two were here. She said that even going in the back way, you would find her.”
“She’s obviously not ready to see you,” Kyle said.
“Was she told that we are here, or just our factions?” Sotomar asked.
“That I’m not sure of.”
“It might matter if she knows it’s us,” William said. “We were friends.”
***
Chevalier stood when he heard Emily and the heku return from pizza, “I’ll talk to her, though I’m not going to force her in here.”
Sotomar glanced at William and then nodded, “That’s acceptable.”
Chevalier and Kyle both left and met Emily on the back stairs. She looked up at them when they approached.
“Have fun?” Chevalier asked, smiling softly.
She nodded and glanced at Kyle.
“William and Sotomar are asking to see you,” Kyle told her.
Emily frowned slightly and whispered, “No.”
“It’s just them. They didn’t bring anyone else from their factions.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 86