Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “No more blood for me. I’ll just eat what Mom does, and then I’ll be mortal.”

  “It may not be that easy,” Chevalier told her.

  “You really screwed us kids over, you know that?” Megara said.

  “You…”

  “No! I hate it…, and I hate you two for doing this to me.”

  “Megs, you’re almost 8-years-old and still very young. The thing that tells you if you are a Winchester or a heku hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.”

  “I hate you,” Megara whispered.

  “Moving into the house and eating food isn’t going to make you mortal.”

  She simply glared forward and didn’t answer.

  Emily finally walked out and stood beside Chevalier, “Let me talk to her. We’ll stay in the mansion for a few days and have some girl time.”

  “I don’t like that.”

  “I know, but it’s the only way I can calm her down.”

  Chevalier thought for a moment and then nodded. She kissed him lightly, crawled into the Jeep, and took off for her mansion.

  Security was already in place when she arrived, and Alec was waiting in the door with a smile.

  “Good to see you!” he said, coming out to greet them.

  “Hi, Alec. We’re just here for a few days,” Emily said as she adjusted her cane and walked into the house.

  “How’s your hip?”

  “Better every day.”

  “It’ll be nice to have company. It’s been quiet.”

  Emily laid her purse down on the table and looked around, “What exactly do you do here all day?”

  He smiled, “Want to see?”

  “Sure”

  Alec showed her into his office, and Emily gasped and looked around at the intricately decorated saddles and belts. The room smelled like fresh leather and was filled with tools and mallets of all sorts.

  “Alec, these are gorgeous!” she said, carefully running her fingers along a winter scene on the side of a saddle.

  “I always wanted to work with leather.”

  “You’re really good. You could sell these.”

  “I already do. Allen helped me start a web business.”

  She smiled, “That’s great, Alec. Maybe I want you to make me one.”

  Alec’s smile broadened, and he dug behind a stack of leather and pulled out a smaller saddle, “I already made you one.”

  He put the saddle on one of the bare saddle horses, and Emily bent down to look. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw her father’s brand surrounded by swirls that formed the name of her kids, along with the Equites crest, and the date that she and Chevalier were first bonded.

  “Oh my God, Alec,” she whispered, and then studied each delicate swirl.

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “This is amazing.”

  “It’s been fun learning, and I’m making some good spending cash.”

  She turned and hugged him, “Thank you.”

  “Mom?” Megara said, looking in at them.

  “Come look, Megs,” Emily said, turning to her saddle.

  “No thanks. When’s dinner?”

  Alec’s eyebrows rose, “You’re going to eat.”

  “Yes, I’m going to be fully mortal.”

  “You get to choose, do you?”

  “Yes”

  Emily rolled her eyes at Alec and then followed Megara out. They both made a spaghetti dinner and sat down to eat and visit with Alec. He was making good money in the leather business and had already supplied custom saddles to four of Thukil’s Cavalry. Megara gagged down the food but pretended it was good and that she was enjoying it.

  Once Emily laid down in bed in the dark, she looked around and felt alone. She liked how Chevalier stayed with her while she slept and held her when her dreams got bad.

  After some time, she finally fell asleep.

  “Emily?” a voice rang out through the dark bedroom.

  Emily sat up and looked around, “Who’s there?”

  Her heart almost stopped when a dark shadow passed in front of the window and then disappeared into the wall. She jerked to the side when her book slid off of her bedside table and landed with a dull thud on the floor.

  “Chev?” she whispered, hoping it was him.

  “Emily,” she heard again, but this time she realized whose voice it was. Exavior stepped out from inside of her closet and looked at her angrily.

  “Alec!” she screamed.

  Alec blurred into the room and turned on the lights. Emily was sitting in bed, deathly pale, with the covers pulled up to her chest.

  “What’s wrong?” Alec asked, carefully scanning the room.

  Emily looked quickly around the room and then bent down and looked under her bed while Alec watched her.

  “Is there a problem?” Alec asked.

  “It’s… I saw him, Alec,” Emily answered, barely able to talk.

  “Saw who?”

  “In the closet!”

  Alec went over and looked in the walk-in closet, and then disappeared inside. He returned a few minutes later, “No one’s in there.”

  “It was Exavior,” she whispered as she began to shake.

  Alec frowned, “You saw him?”

  She nodded and looked out the window when thunder cracked.

  “He’s dead, Emi.”

  “He spoke, and he looked at me like he was really mad.”

  “He can’t.”

  “It’s his ghost. He’s haunting this house.”

  Alec tried not to smile, “I’m sure it was a dream.”

  She shook her head and looked around the room again, “I was awake. He called me and then he walked around the room.”

  Alec thought for a moment and then turned to her, “Want me to sit in here with you while you sleep?”

  Realizing how immature all of this sounded, she finally shook her head, “No, I guess not. I’m sure you’re right, and I was just dreaming.”

  He smiled and then turned off the lights, “Call if you need me.”

  Emily laid down, wide awake, and stared at the ceiling until just before dawn when she fell asleep again. Only once did anything scare her after the initial encounter, and that was because the lightning made odd patterns on her wall from the nearby trees.

  She was just making coffee when Alec came into the kitchen, “Did you get back to sleep?”

  She nodded and sat down with a cup, “Yes, finally. I’m still tired though.”

  Alec turned to the door, “Chevalier is here.”

  “You don’t like him, do you?”

  “Not really. Course, I didn’t like Keith either.”

  “He’s nothing like Keith.”

  “He’s hit you too though.”

  “A long time ago. We had some growing pains, but we’ve settled down now.”

  “I hope so.”

  Emily looked up when Chevalier walked into the kitchen, “Morning, Chev.”

  “Good morning,” he said, and kissed her forehead lightly before sitting down. “Did you talk to Megs?”

  “Not yet. She helped me make dinner and then forced it down.”

  He cringed, “So she actually ate?”

  “Yes”

  Alec chuckled, “If that’s what you want to call it. She almost vomited after each bite.”

  Emily had a sudden thought, “Silas said you all were considering scaring Megara to see if she could ash you?”

  Chevalier nodded, “It was brought up.”

  “Did you do it last night?”

  “No, why?”

  “Nothing at all? Maybe someone misunderstood and tried it?”

  He studied her for a second, “No. No one would do that without telling you. What happened?”

  She smiled sheepishly, “I don’t want to tell you.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s stupid.”

  “What happened?”

  Emily tapped her fingers lightly on the hot coffee cup, “You can’t l
augh.”

  “Try me,” Chevalier said, tensing involuntarily.

  She glanced up at Alec and when he smiled, she looked down at her cup, “I saw a ghost.”

  Chevalier relaxed and sat back in the chair, “Last night?”

  “Yes”

  “Just a ghost?”

  “It was… well I know whose ghost it was.”

  “Do I get to know?”

  Emily bit her bottom lip and then sighed, “It was Exavior.”

  It was obvious that Chevalier thought that was funny, “So Exavior’s ghost is haunting the house.”

  “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”

  “I’m not laughing,” he said, though a small smile finally broke out on his lips. “Alec, did you see it?”

  “No,” Alec said, and then sat down. “I’ve been living in this house long enough I’d know if it was haunted.”

  “I’m not making it up,” Emily told them.

  “You’re sure it was Exavior?” Chevalier asked.

  She nodded, “Yes, I saw him and heard him.”

  “I’ll check out our room and see what I can find.”

  “You don’t see ghosts during the day.”

  Chevalier smiled, “I never see ghosts… they don’t exist.”

  “I wasn’t hallucinating.”

  “Maybe you were dreaming.”

  Emily stood up angrily, “I wasn’t dreaming, and if you aren’t going to take this seriously then you can both get out.”

  “Em, don’t get mad. We just don’t think it’s a ghost and most certainly not Exavior’s.”

  She pointed to the door, “Get out.”

  Chevalier refrained from chuckling as he stood up, “I’ll at least talk to Megs first.”

  “Fine, but stay out of the bedroom.”

  He looked at Alec and grinned as he walked through the kitchen door and out into the hallway.

  Alec shook his head, “Emi, you may want to keep that haunting to yourself.”

  “I thought I wasn’t supposed to do that anymore.”

  “You aren’t with important, dangerous things. The heku aren’t going to take a haunting seriously.”

  “Do you?”

  He sighed, “I think you might have seen something, but I don’t think it was a ghost.”

  “What do you think it was?”

  “The storm was pretty bad, whipping the trees around. I’m thinking it was a shadow.”

  “I guess.”

  Alec smiled, “You had the worst ghost fears when you were little.”

  “I don’t remember that.”

  “Allen would sleep on the floor in your room when they got bad. You swore up and down your room was haunted.”

  “It was probably the bloody heku.”

  “It was your imagination.”

  Emily frowned slightly and whispered, “I miss him.”

  “I know. I do too.”

  “I wish that he knew how things turned out.”

  “He always knew you would be ok. You were strong-willed and independent. He never worried that you wouldn’t be ok.”

  “Did he know I wasn’t his?”

  Alec shook his head, “No.”

  “Did he ever meet Exavior?”

  “Yes, once. I misjudged the time, and he came in while Exavior was on the floor coloring with you.”

  “Was he mad?”

  “Not at all. I told him Exavior was a business associate. He had no reason to think otherwise.” Alec smiled and touched her hand lightly, “He’d be proud of you, Emi. He would be beaming with how well you’ve turned out and the life you have.”

  They both turned when Chevalier came back into the kitchen. He spun a chair and sat in it backwards, “That didn’t work.”

  “What happened?” Emily asked.

  “She’s convinced she’s going to be mortal. I say, give her a few weeks before her thirst kicks in, and she’ll return to the palace.”

  “Weeks? I don’t want to stay in a haunted house for weeks.”

  He couldn’t help but smile, “It’s not haunted.”

  Emily stood up and walked out of the room without another word.

  Alec looked over at him, “It might be best if you just pretend to believe that the house is haunted.”

  “It’s not. I don’t want to give in to misconceptions that there are ghosts. I most certainly don’t want to let her believe that Exavior has returned to haunt her.”

  “Just known her all her life is all,” Alec said, and then walked out of the kitchen also. Chevalier listened while Alec explained to Emily that he would be gone for a few days to go look in on Pat and his family.

  Chevalier waited until Alec was gone before heading out to talk to Emily. He lightly knocked on her office door, “Em?”

  She came out and shut the door behind her, “What?”

  He smiled, “Don’t be mad at me over this ghost, ok?”

  She just watched him.

  “I’ll have Silas in the house at night while Alec is gone.”

  “No, send in Kralen.”

  “Why Kralen?”

  Emily shrugged, “If anyone’s going to help me figure out how to get rid of a ghost, it’s Kralen.”

  Chevalier stifled a grin, “I’ll talk to Kralen then.”

  She nodded and went back into her office.

  Chevalier walked down the stairs and then went outside to meet up with the heku that were scattered throughout the property.

  “Elder,” Silas said, bowing slightly. Kralen and 12 other members of the Cavalry appeared beside him.

  “Alec is gone for a couple of days, so I want Kralen in the house at night,” Chevalier told them.

  “Yes, Elder,” Kralen said.

  Chevalier smiled slightly, “It’s actually Emily that requested you…”

  “Ok”

  “She’s having… ghost issues… and thinks you’re the only one that will help her with that.”

  “Oh geez,” Kralen sighed. “How did I get that distinction?”

  “I don’t know, but don’t play into it. There’s no reason for her to be afraid of her own house.”

  “Ghosts though? How can she think I’m going to help her?”

  “Because she knows you,” Silas said, smiling. “The rest of us will just tell her to ignore it. You’re going to try to find the cause.”

  “I won’t!”

  “You will.”

  Kralen’s eyes narrowed, “Whatever. Yes, Elder, I’ll wait in the house tonight.”

  Chevalier chuckled and got into his Humvee and drove off.

  ***

  “Emily, wake up.” Emily sat up suddenly and looked into the corner where a dark figure stood, “Why did you have to do it? I cared about you.”

  She swallowed hard and was finally able to scream, “Kralen!”

  In the split second it took Kralen to blur into the room, the ghost Exavior lunged at her, and she was scrambling to get out of bed when Kralen arrived.

  Kralen appeared in front of her and took her arms, “What’s wrong?”

  Emily pointed to the corner of the room, “It was Exavior’s ghost again! He was here and he… he jumped at me.”

  Kralen turned and looked into the empty corner, “In that corner?”

  She peered around him, “Yes.”

  “He jumped at you?”

  “Yes”

  “Hmmm,” Kralen said before walking over and looking into the closet.

  Emily was shaking and had her arms wrapped around herself when he turned back to her. He smiled and then returned to her and pulled her into a hug, “It’s ok. I don’t see anyone there now.”

  “Of course not! He’s not going to appear with you around.”

  He was able to keep from chuckling, “What do you want? I can stay in here while you sleep if you’d like.”

  She looked up at him, “You’re not going to lecture me about how there’s no such thing as ghosts?”

  “Nope”

  “So you do believe in
them?”

  “No,” he said, stepping back. “However, I’m not going to change your mind, so there’s no reason to bring it up.”

  “There are ghosts! My ranch house was haunted, and now this one is. Exavior’s out to get me.”

  “Even if he is a ghost, what’s the most he can do?”

  “Kill me.”

  “I’ve never heard of a ghost that can kill someone.”

  “He can scare me to death.”

  Kralen sighed and looked around her room, “I can stay in here with you. That’s all I can think to do.”

  She shook her head and sat down on the bed, “Don’t bother.”

  “Please don’t be mad at me for this!”

  “I’m not. I just don’t understand how you all don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “We don’t believe in them because we’ve been around long enough to have noticed them if they were real.”

  Emily’s eyes narrowed and she hobbled out of the bedroom, still in her nightgown. Kralen followed behind her, not quite sure what she was up to.

  “Hey!” Kralen gasped when she walked outside into the dark night.

  “Who’s out here?” Emily asked, not even worried that she was still in her nightgown.

  Silas appeared first, frowning, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, I want to know which heku are out here,” she explained.

  “Well will you at least get dressed?”

  “No,” she said, and then looked at the heku in front of her. She saw one she didn’t know well and motioned to him with the bend of a finger, “You’re with me.”

  “Ma’am?” he asked, looking over at Silas.

  “Are you replacing me?” Kralen asked, crossing his arms.

  “Yes, with that heku,” she said, and then stood aside so the strange heku she picked could come inside.

  “You’re more comfortable with him than with me?” Kralen asked, frowning.

  “He doesn’t rank high enough to be alone with you,” Silas told her.

  Emily rolled her eyes, “He’s not going to be alone with me. He’s going to sit in the corner of my bedroom while I sleep.”

  “How is that not being alone with you?!”

  “I’m on the bloody Council, and I say get into my room now!” she yelled.

  The heku looked nervously at Silas and took a step forward, “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “No, wait,” Kralen said. “He can be in there, but so will I.”

  “No”

  “Yes! He can’t be alone with you. You don’t even know his name.”