Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Mom, it was an accident…”

  “No it wasn’t! It was a serious lack in judgment that shows just how right the Council is.”

  “They aren’t right!” Dain said, getting angry.

  “Emily, please,” Zohn said, knocking harder.

  “Where did you meet her?”

  “I’m not talking to you about Trina.”

  “You damned well better! Who is she?”

  “She… was… she was just a one-night stand, Mom. Nothing special.”

  The heku in the hallway all winced when they heard Emily slap Dain and then scream, “One-night stand?! Is that how I raised you? To go find any slut that’ll give in? How dare you act like this!”

  “I can do what I want. I’m an adult,” Dain said, seething.

  “An adult with the mind of a peanut! You are not stepping foot out of this palace again without my permission. Is that understood?”

  “You can’t keep me in here!”

  “Yes I can…”

  “… no… I didn’t do anything any of your guards haven’t done!”

  “Oooh no, boy, don’t bring us into this,” Kralen whispered as he listened at the door.

  Alexis lightly rocked the baby as he drank from the bottle she held. She gently pushed the black hair away from his tiny forehead and then smiled when he reached up and took her hand.

  “Where’d the baby come from?” Chevalier asked when he walked into the kitchen. He figured Emily would be in there eating lunch.

  Kyle followed him in and looked down at the baby, “Cute, where’d he come from?”

  Alexis couldn’t help but smile, “From what I can gather… he’s Dain’s.”

  “Dain’s baby?” Chevalier gasped.

  “Yes, and Mom has him locked in her office. They’ve been in there screaming at each other for almost an hour.”

  “Damnit,” Chevalier hissed, and then glanced again at the baby before disappearing up the stairs.

  Kyle studied the baby, “He does look like Dain.”

  “He’s gorgeous,” Alexis said, and kissed his forehead lightly. “Why are you back? I thought you were headed to the Encala or something.”

  “Engine trouble with the helicopter. We were going to drive it, but I’m thinking that may be on hold now.”

  Zohn turned when he heard Chevalier approaching, “Oh good… Dain’s losing his temper, and Emily won’t let us in.”

  “Emily, let me in,” Chevalier said, knocking on the door.

  “Do not crouch at me!” Emily screamed.

  “Em…”

  Emily opened the door furiously and moved back to let Chevalier enter. He walked in and shut the door, then turned to Dain, who was crouched and ready to attack from the corner.

  Chevalier hissed softly and Dain straightened up, still glaring at Emily.

  “Is that baby yours?” Chevalier asked him.

  “Maybe,” Dain growled, and his hands balled into fists.

  “How did it end up here then?”

  “Trina wanted my address, so I gave her the farmhouse.”

  “You did what?!” Chevalier yelled. “How dare you give that away as your address! It’s for Council City business…”

  “I didn’t know about the baby!”

  “It doesn’t matter. This is just one more prime example of how you aren’t mature enough to join our staff.”

  Dain growled and lunged at Chevalier, who instantly moved aside and pinned the young heku to the wall.

  “Do not attack me,” Chevalier said to him evenly. Emily was surprised how calm Chevalier was in light of what Dain had done.

  “I want him locked up!” Emily said, getting angrier.

  “Sit down!” Chevalier said, shoving Dain into a chair.

  “I won’t stay confined in this palace just because Mom said so,” Dain told him. “I didn’t mean to get her pregnant. It was an accident.”

  “I didn’t raise you to be so careless,” Emily told him. “What gives you the right to go around screwing some mortal??”

  “It was just a one-night stand, nothing…”

  Chevalier backed away when Emily moved to Dain and slapped him, “No son of mine is going to get away with one-nighters… if you want a girlfriend, then fine, but she damned well better be a serious one.”

  “I can do what I want. I’m an adult.”

  “No… you’re a 13-year-old in an adult body… apparently you have the common sense of an infant!”

  “Ok, calm down,” Chevalier said, taking her arm. “We need to decide what to do with it.”

  “It?” Emily asked, looking at him.

  “Yes, the infant.”

  “I know which ‘it’ you’re talking about. We’re not doing anything with him. Alexis wants a baby… so we let her have him.”

  “We can’t have a mortal infant in Council City,” Chevalier reminded her.

  “It’s my grand baby, and I’m not sending it out to some orphanage. He needs to be around family.”

  “We don’t even know if he’s Dain’s…”

  Emily glared at Chevalier, “Of course he is! Have you seen him? He’s huge, has black hair, and black eyes…”

  “Dain’s children will be fully mortal.”

  “So you think! We also thought Allen was fully mortal until he was almost 5-years-old.”

  Dain sighed, “Well, I don’t want a kid. I vote to put him up for adoption.”

  Emily tried to get to Dain, but Chevalier held her back, “Calm down… you have a valid point. If this baby turns out to be part heku, then we might not know for a few years.”

  Dain watched Emily closely, ready to dodge if she attacked, “I’m not going to spend my time rocking some mortal kid!”

  Emily growled slightly, “He is your responsibility!”

  “Not my fault!”

  “Yes it is! You’re just lucky that we’d probably have to fight him away from Alexis. You will be this kid’s father if it kills me.”

  “No”

  “Yes,” Chevalier said, backing Emily. “We’ll see if Alexis wants to raise him, but you will be in his life. No son of mine is going to shirk his responsibilities.”

  “Oh, so now I’m responsible enough to raise a kid… but can’t join the guard staff?!” Dain yelled, standing up.

  “No, you’re not responsible enough to raise a kid,” Emily told him. “So we’ll have Alexis do it. However, you will be there when he scrapes his knee, and you will be there when bullies pick on him, and when he needs a father.”

  “What about Garrett?”

  Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Garrett will obviously be there too. I just don’t want you getting off scot-free on this.”

  Dain sighed, “I don’t want a kid.”

  “Then you should have kept it in your pants!” Emily yelled.

  Chevalier smiled slightly, “She’s right.”

  Emily turned and called out for Alexis. It was a few minutes before she knocked on the door to Emily’s office, and then stepped in when Chevalier opened the door for her. Alexis was still cradling the infant in her arms, but he was fast asleep, happily sucking on a pacifier.

  Alexis smiled down at him, “Isn’t he wonderful?”

  “Do you want him?” Emily asked as she walked over to take a better look at her first grand baby.

  “Really?” Alexis asked, shocked.

  Chevalier nodded, “Dain can’t take care of a baby, and for now, we don’t know if he’s fully mortal.”

  Alexis kissed the baby’s forehead, “I’d love it!”

  Dain avoided looking at the infant but stared silently out the window.

  Emily smiled, “He looks just like Dain.”

  “How old do you suppose he is?” Alexis asked.

  “I don’t really know. My babies were all so big. I bet Dr. Edwards would know.”

  “We should probably have him looked over by the doctor anyway,” Chevalier suggested. “We don’t know if he’s well.”

  Alexis looked at
Dain, “What’s his name?”

  Dain shrugged but didn’t say anything.”

  Emily held up the note, “His Mom said his name is Asher.”

  Chevalier couldn’t help but chuckle at his name.

  “Ok then, I’ll get him a birth certificate that lists Alexis and Garrett as the parents,” Chevalier said.

  Emily smiled at him, “You’re not going to consult the Council?”

  “They will agree with what I’ve decided.”

  “Just funny that you didn’t ask them.”

  “What about me then?” Dain asked, crossing his arms.

  “I agree with Emily. We’ll imprison you until we can decide how to rein you in,” Chevalier said.

  Dain’s eyes narrowed and he crouched, “Try it.”

  “Damnit, Dain,” Emily sighed. Chevalier had Dain by the neck and out of her office before her mind could fully register what had happened. She walked back over to look at the Alexis with the baby, “You’re going to be a great mother.”

  “I still have to break the news to Garrett,” Alexis said nervously.

  “Oh, right. Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No. I’ll take the baby… he can’t kill me with the baby in my arms.”

  Emily smiled and watched Alexis walk down the stairs.

  “I’m guessing Garrett is going to need someone to talk to,” Mark said and looked over at Kralen.

  Kralen frowned, “Why me?”

  “You’re his Captain.”

  “You’re his General.”

  “Kralen…”

  “Fine!” Kralen grumbled, and then walked down the stairs, obviously not happy with his new task.

  Emily smiled at Mark, “I’m a grandma.”

  Mark chuckled, “Yeah, of a baby named Asher.”

  “I hate to change it.”

  “Don’t then. It’s interesting.”

  Chapter 7

  “Nothing,” Alexis said as she stood before the Council. “I’ve been dancing every night for the past seven weeks and the only heku I saw was cleared.”

  Chevalier sighed, “We can’t keep this up. Maybe the attacks are over.”

  “Maybe,” Kyle said, looking at Alexis. “Are you sure no heku could have gotten by you?”

  “I still have to dance, but I think I see everyone in the bar.”

  “Do you wish to quit?”

  “No, I want this heku caught and off the streets. These women are amazing, strong women, and they’re all terrified of being attacked.”

  Zohn nodded, “Very well. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Quinn smiled, “How is Asher?”

  Alexis lit up, “Oh, he’s great! He’s growing fast, and Dr. Edwards says he’s well above-average size.”

  “No word from his mother?”

  “Not a one. Dain doesn’t think she’ll return.”

  “We’ll let you get back to him then.”

  Alexis bowed slightly and then left the chambers. She met up with Emily in the stables. Emily watched the baby while Alexis was out on a mission. She wasn’t told what the mission was, and was frustrated by this but watched the baby anyway.

  Emily looked up from a game of peek-a-boo when Alexis came in, “All done?”

  “Yup,” Alexis said, and picked up Asher. She kissed him on the cheek and then put him against her shoulder, “Any issues?”

  “Yes… what’s your mission?”

  “I can’t tell you, you know that.”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “No, Dad wouldn’t let me do anything dangerous.”

  Emily sighed, “I just don’t like it.”

  “I'd better get Asher to bed. We’re trying to keep him on a normal mortal schedule.”

  She nodded and watched Alexis leave. Emily looked around the stables and wondered how she could find out what Alexis was doing at night. Deciding that no one was going to tell her, she stood up and stretched, then gasped when the lights went out.

  The stables suddenly fell silent, and she waited to see if her eyes would adjust. A thunderstorm raged outside, and with only darkened windows in the stables, she wasn’t able to see anything.

  Putting her hands out in front of her, so she didn’t walk into a wall, Emily slowly began to make her way to the door. She wasn’t guarded tonight because the Cavalry was on a mission, but she’d promised to stay away from the city, and the Council had agreed to let her spend the night without a guard.

  When she found the wall, she felt over to the light switch and tried it, though she already figured it wasn’t going to turn on. She opened the door, but the area was quiet and all she could hear was her own breathing. Dark clouds obscured the moon, and it was darker than usual, even outside. Glancing toward the city, Emily saw that the city was without power also.

  Emily debated calling out for Chevalier but was worried that he’d realize she was starting to panic, and she didn’t want him to know that she was sometimes afraid of the dark.

  She jumped when thunder cracked from above, and the bright flash of lightning lit the outside of the palace, so she was able to see enough to walk toward the front door. She’d noticed on the way out that the front Door Guards were missing. It was unusual for them to be missing, but she was sure that the palace was still well guarded.

  A shuffling noise off to her left almost stopped her heart. She turned toward the noise quickly but couldn’t see anything moving. She wasn’t even halfway to the palace yet, and suddenly, it seemed very far away.

  “Is anyone out here?” she whispered softly, hoping someone would answer her. She frowned when no one responded, and she strained to hear any sign of life, but her ears didn’t pick up a noise.

  Her heart pounded in her chest as she started toward the palace again. The next bolt of lightning lit up the area, and she froze as something appeared between her and the palace. It was a body, dragging itself along the lawn by grasping handfuls of grass. Its decayed skin looked gray in the darkness, and she could hear it hiss softly.

  Emily took a step back when the hollow eyes looked toward her. Another sound came from behind her, and she stepped back away from the grotesque scene. Another body was inching along the ground, but this one only had half of his body.

  As he pulled himself toward the stables, the bottom half of his torso dragged in shatters behind him.

  Emily couldn’t even make herself scream. The terror filled every inch of her body as she turned again to see the full body coming toward her. His tight skin was pulled back against his face, causing a sickening grin that became even more visible with another flash of lightning.

  She took an uneven step backwards when he hissed again and seemed to renew his effort to get to her. Emily spun quickly and saw the half-body was now heading toward her also.

  During flashes of lighting was the only time she could see them clearly, and when darkness fell again, she was cut off from her view, but the sound of shuffling let her know they were still moving. They seemed to be moving faster toward her as a heavy rain started, almost instantly drenching her.

  As the half-body got closer, she could hear his hiss turn slightly into a plea to feed. The whispered begging was high-pitched and made her skin crawl.

  Suddenly, her fear peaked and she took off running for the back doors of the palace. As she ran, her imagination made up the sound of footfalls behind her, but she was too afraid to look. She envisioned the full-bodied being now running after her.

  The back door had no guards either, so she threw open the door and then forced it shut. She leaned against it, breathing hard. She swallowed and strained to see in the dark palace. There wasn’t any noise, and the lightning that flashed outside didn’t light up the windowless hallway she was in.

  Emily jerked when she heard scratching from the door behind her. The heku didn’t have locks on the doors, as they were normally guarded and had a separate lock down system, so she had to brace herself when the door handle began to turn slowly. The hisses from the begging horror reached h
er when the scratching sounded again.

  It was almost worse when the scratching sound ended, and the door handle stopped moving. All she could hear was her rapid breathing as she looked around in the dark.

  “Is anyone here?” she whispered. She hoped they could hear her over the pounding of her heart.

  Deciding she had no choice but to try to find help, she attempted to scream but was only able to manage a slight squeak. Her entire body shook as she took a tentative step away from the door. She spun hurriedly and watched the doorway as she backed down the hallway toward the stairs. When the door didn’t open, she turned and began to walk forward as quickly as she could.

  The slightest sound off to her left sent her running through the dark. When she got closer to the stairs, lightning lit up the hallway, and she moved faster. She kept hearing scratches from behind her, and she was positive the bodies were now in the palace and seeking her out.

  She’d lived in the palace long enough to know the layout, but it was harder in the dark, and she was silently waiting to be attacked or to run into a dead body.

  Emily fell forward when her toe hit the bottom stair. She caught herself and reached out for the railing along the stairs, but her hand landed against the soft warmth of flesh, and she screamed.

  Immediately jerking her hand away, she heard the rush of movement around her as she scrambled to get away from what she assumed was a corpse.

  “Em! What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, kneeling down beside her. He reached out and took her arm. She jerked away from him with another scream.

  Emily pushed against his hand. She had to get further away from the body.

  “What’s wrong?” Zohn asked from beside her.

  “Not sure,” Kyle replied. “Em… calm down. Tell us what’s wrong.”

  Her mouth was completely dry as she looked around her frantically. Her eyes were still not able to pick up even the slightest hint of heku in the dark.

  “What happened?” Zohn asked the Stair Guard.

  “Not sure, Elder,” he said, watching Emily carefully. “She came running out of the hallway, and when she got to the stairs, she reached out and touched my leg, and then she just started to scream.”

  Emily heard the guard, and her heart constricted when she realized what she’d done in front of heku, “You… I touched you?”