Alexis fought back tears, “We have to handle this. If we leave it up to the Council, then Mom will surely retaliate. She and Dad are getting along so well right now.”
“I know, but we can’t do this,” Allen said. “Dain’s full heku and we’re just partial. I can’t restrain him by myself. I can’t catch him…”
“We have to try, Allen. We can’t let this tear our family apart.”
“If you ash him and we bury him, he’ll be back above ground in 10 years.”
“Not necessarily.”
Allen’s eyes narrowed, “What’s going through that head of yours now?”
“I ash him and take him to the Encala for proper banishment.”
“They’ll tell Dad.”
“I don’t think they will. They care about Mom, and I think they’ll see how this can benefit all of us.”
“So we leave Mom and Dad thinking that Dain is just missing? That’ll kill them.”
“No, it’ll kill Mom. I don’t think Dad would care.”
“You know he cares about us kids in his own way.”
“No, I don’t. You don’t see him and Dain together.”
Allen sat back and looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do.
“We just get a message to Dain that we want to help him. He has to find someone to help him, someone on his side.”
“He’s not going to be easy to find. My guess is the moment he saw you, he disappeared from the area.”
“All we can do is try. We can’t let Dad handle this. He'll be too angry. It's too personal.”
“We’re breaking a lot of heku traditions here.”
“I know that, but you and I are a break in heku tradition.”
“This is big, Alexis. This isn’t like us going on an unapproved vacation. We’re talking about harboring, collaborating with, and then illegally banishing a serious criminal.”
“No, we’re talking about taking care of our out-of-control brother.”
“You have a baby now… what if Dain kills us?”
“We can’t let him do this.”
“You know we won’t have a choice! I’m telling you… I’m limited by too much mortal blood. Dain is full heku.”
“I know that! You don’t have to keep reminding me.”
Allen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, “We need to tell the Council.”
“And risk Mom retaliating? Risk her moving back to her house again or disappearing all together? My bet is she’d move to the Encala just to punish the Equites.”
“They’re going to find out. We can’t keep something this big.”
“Which is why I plan on banishing him myself when the Encala help us set up the banishment time. Then no one’ll know where he is. Mom can be mad at me.”
“You’re willing to face Mom and Dad’s anger over this?”
“I have to! Don’t you see how I’m doing this for the good of the Equites?”
“No, I don’t. I see you doing this for the good of Mom and Dad. No matter what you do, the knowledge of what Dain’s done is going to drive a wedge between them. Their relationship is precarious and is constantly teetering on the edge.”
“We can’t lessen the impact on them. What I can lessen is the anger toward each other. Mom hates banishment! She’s petitioned the Elders to abolish the practice.”
“She did?!”
“Yes. They were good to her and let her down gently, but she’s still convinced someday it’ll work, and she’ll get them to stop it.”
“So you’re going to banish your own brother? How is that helping?”
“Dad will eventually see that what I did wasn’t a bad thing. He can then take care of Mom.”
“You’re forgetting the fact that Dain can easily kill both of us,” Allen said.
Alexis nodded, “I know, but I don’t think he will.”
“He’s been attacking innocent women! What makes you think he’ll spare us?”
“We’re all he has left.”
“I just don’t know.”
“It’s you and I. No Miri, no Mom or Dad…”
“… and Megara’s too young.”
“So you’re in?”
“Do we have a choice? We either tick off the entire faction along with our parents and risk being banished ourselves… or we risk Mom and Dad permanently separating and the entire faction losing Mom’s protection.”
Alexis laughed slightly, “Don’t let Dad hear you say that.”
Allen smiled, “He won’t admit it, but Mom keeps the other factions at bay, and we all know it.”
“How do we start?”
“First… I guess Miri and I move to Council City.”
Alexis nodded, “Will Miri go for that?”
“It’ll take some convincing. We like it here.”
“You work on that, and I’ll work on getting in touch with Dain.”
“Now that Dain knows you know… how are you going to explain his disappearance to Mom and Dad?”
“I don’t. I let them think what they want.”
“What do you do if the Council finds out it’s Dain?”
“Nothing, it won’t change my new plan on dealing with him myself.”
Allen sighed and put his head in his hands, “Fine. I don’t think this is going to help, but I do see some benefit in us handling Dain on our own.”
“I better get back,” Alexis said. “I’m sure Garrett is ready to get help with Asher.”
Allen smiled, “I heard you’re an excellent mother.”
She couldn’t help but blush, “I try. He’s a good baby.”
Allen saw Alexis off on the ferry and then went to talk to Miri.
***
“Where do you want this?” Emily asked, walking into the house with a box.
Miri looked up at her, and then pointed to a door off of the living room, “Just put it in there.”
Emily came back out and smiled, “It’s going to be so nice to have you both close by.”
“I guess.”
“You didn’t want to move off of the island, did you?”
Miri shrugged, “No, but Allen wants to try out for the Palace Guards, and this was the only way.”
Emily smiled and touched her arm lightly, “It’s so good of you to sacrifice for him. It’s always been his dream to be a Council City Guard.”
Miri glanced around for Allen and then whispered to Emily, “Part of me thinks he’s hoping to find Dain.”
Emily sat down and nodded, obviously worried, “I don’t understand how he can just disappear. I’ve been trying to find him for three months, but I haven’t seen a single trace of him.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. Allen said he’s been mad about the Council refusing to put him on the guard staff.”
“I guess that’s probably it. He could at least call his Mom though.”
“Allen won’t even really talk about Dain’s disappearance.”
“Neither will Alexis. I know she’s pretty upset about it. Garrett came to talk to me because Alexis isn’t acting quite right since he left. He said she’s tense and on edge.”
Miri smiled, “I’m sure Dain will show up.”
Emily nodded and stood up, “Do you need anything else?”
“No, I think I’m just going to finish up the packing and clean up. Whoever had this place last was kind of messy.”
“Ok, call me when you want to paint. I can help with that.”
Miri cocked her head slightly to the side, “You have a visitor at the palace.”
“Never a dull moment,” Emily said, and then ran out the door. Once she got to the palace, she saw Alec talking to Chevalier and Kyle, “Hey, what’s up?”
Alec smiled, “I’m finally going to give you your house back.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been invited to join the Roca Coven.”
She frowned, “You’re leaving?”
“They are a small agricultural coven, and I think I can help
them.”
“Still…”
Chevalier put his hand gently on her arm, “It’ll be good for him to have a coven. It’s not safe for a heku to live alone.”
“I thought you were going to help me find Dain,” she reminded him.
Alec sighed, “Allen’s here now, and it’s been three months. I recon he’s just sulking and will come back when he’s ready.”
Emily hugged her uncle tightly, “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I know, but this is good. We’re not enemies now, so I can visit whenever I want.”
She finally pulled away from him, “Do you need help moving?”
“No, I’m all ready to go, and Roca has already sent a truck for my things.”
Kyle shook Alec’s hand, “Tell Lord Fritschle hello from me.”
“I will,” Alec said, and then smiled at Emily and crawled into a truck.
Emily watched him drive off and took a deep breath, “I don’t want him to go.”
“Roca’s a good coven. They’re new to agriculture though, so Alec will be a huge help with that,” Kyle explained.
“I think he needs to be needed,” Chevalier told her.
“I know… it’s just…” Emily stopped talking and kept watching where the truck had disappeared into the city.
“Elder, Lord Jeffs is here,” Kyle said.
Chevalier nodded, “We’re headed in for a bit. Why don’t we go riding later?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled, and then walked to the stables when Kyle and Chevalier headed inside. She walked slowly through them and looked in at the horses. Some of the older ones were retired now and were being replaced by the racing horses that Thukil was producing. She checked to make sure they were all taken care of, and then grabbed her phone when it rang.
“Hello?” she said, unsure who the strange number belonged to.
“It’s me,” Dain said, sounding tired.
“Dain! Where are you?”
“I need to keep away from Dad for a while.”
“I’ve been so worried about you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just wanted you to know that I’m ok.”
“You haven’t called me for three months?!” she screamed. “I thought the Valle had you, or…”
“I’m ok. Dad and I just don’t see eye to eye, and it’s getting old. I’m going to explore the world and see what’s out there.”
“It’s dangerous for a heku to be alone…”
Dain chuckled, “That sounds like something Dad would say.”
“Yeah… he did a few minutes ago. Can I keep this number?”
“Yes, call me when you want… and Mom, if Dad ever hurts you, I want to know.”
Emily sighed, “He doesn’t do that and hasn’t in years.”
“He will someday. His temper is bad, and I don’t really trust him with you.”
“Come back and let’s talk.”
“No, I don’t want to be in the same city with him.”
“You won’t stop calling me right?” Emily asked.
“I promise I won’t,” Dain said, and then hung up. She looked down at her phone, wishing he’d call back. After a few minutes, she headed inside to tell Chevalier that he’d called.
Derrick smiled when he saw Emily approach, “Do you need to see the Council?”
She shrugged, “Is Lord Josh in there?”
“Jeffs, and yes, but I’m sure you can go in.”
Emily studied him silently for a moment.
“What?” Derrick asked, his smile fading.
“How many heku a day do you kill when they try to run?”
His eyes grew wide, “Do what?”
“I saw you kill a heku that tried to run from the Council. How often do you do that?”
“I… don’t… Go on in,” he said as he opened the door.
Emily just shook her head and walked in. She frowned slightly when she saw a large heku standing before the Council alongside a smaller, lanky man.
Lord Jeffs looked back at her and bowed slightly before turning to the Council, “That’s all we can ask.”
Zohn nodded, “We’ll have them there within the week.”
Emily watched the smaller man beside the heku and thought it odd. She’d never seen a heku this small before and figured he was only about 5 inches taller than she was.
Chevalier smiled when he saw her, “Em, come meet Lord Jeffs.”
She jumped slightly at her name and then smiled and stepped forward, “It’s good to meet you.”
“An honor,” Lord Jeffs said, bowing slightly.
The man beside the heku watched her closely, and when she looked at him, he smiled and bowed.
“Lord Jeffs is Coven Lord of a coven in Hawaii,” Zohn explained.
“Oh, you’re a long way from home.”
He nodded, “Yes, on important business.”
“And who are you?” Emily asked, extending her hand out to the man beside Lord Jeffs.
He took her hand and shook it weakly, “I am Gaston.”
“He’s Lord Jeffs’ familiar,” the Chief of Staff said.
Emily’s eyes narrowed and she drew her hand away from him, “You’re a familiar?”
“Yes,” he said timidly.
“What’s your form?”
“My natural form is a cat.”
“Em?” Chevalier asked, standing slowly.
Before anyone knew what she was doing, Emily lunged at the man and knocked him back to the ground. He let out a small yelp and then turned into a cat and scurried toward the door, with Emily in hot pursuit. She kicked at him until Chevalier picked her up gently, even though she squirmed to get out of his grasp.
Lord Jeffs was too stunned to react, so he watched, afraid to intervene with a Council member involved.
Chevalier chuckled, “Em… not every familiar is like Sam.”
Gaston turned back into the thin slight man and turned to her angrily.
“I don’t trust him,” Emily said, and tried again to get away from Chevalier.
“Most familiars are very trustworthy,” he said, heading up to the Council stand with Emily clutched tightly in his grasp.
“Are you ok?” Zohn asked the familiar.
“Yes… nothing more can be expected from her.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning… she killed a familiar for doing his job.”
“He was spying on me!” she screamed.
Lord Jeffs hissed at the man, who immediately turned his eyes to the ground.
“Do not judge her,” Kyle said to him. “He lied and deceived her.”
“Then his master should have been punished, and not him,” the familiar said. Though he looked down timidly, his voice held anger.
“Enough,” Lord Jeffs growled, and his familiar fell completely silent.
“We will call you when the shipment has arrived,” the Chief of Staff said. Lord Jeffs simply bowed and then walked out, followed by his familiar.
Kyle turned and grinned widely, “That was some tackle.”
“I can’t believe you let him in here!”
“Lord Jeffs is a very good Coven Leader and a strong supporter of this Council,” Quinn told her.
“Not him! The familiar… they should be banned.”
“Not every familiar is like Sam.”
“How many in the faction have a familiar?”
Chevalier looked over at the Records Keeper, and he shrugged, “Last count was only 223.”
“In the Equites?” Emily asked, surprised at the high number.
“Yes, we don’t keep track of mortal familiars.”
“Wait… mortals can have a familiar?”
“Yes, though they don’t know it, obviously.”
She sighed, “I just don’t like them.”
Chevalier chuckled and took her hand. Emily looked over at him, “Oh wait! I forgot to tell you. Dain called.”
“What did he say?” Chevalier asked calmly.
“Just that he wa
s ok and can’t live near you.”
“That’s his choice.”
“You aren’t worried about him?”
“No”
“You told Alec it’s not safe for a heku to live alone though.”
“Dain is stronger than Alec.”
She frowned, “How can you not be worried about your own son?”
“Because he’s an adult and can fend for himself.”
“You are so frustrating!” She didn’t yell, but it was obvious she was completely irritated at him.
“Em… it’ll be good for him to get out in the real world and find out that he’s not special.”
Emily frowned at him, “He is special.”
“No, he’s no different than any other heku.”
“He’s special because he’s your son! Oh my God, Chevalier.”
Chevalier glanced down at the watching Council, and then turned back to Emily, “Let’s talk about this later.”
“You’re damned right we’re going to talk about this later!” she said before standing up and storming out of the council chambers.
When Chevalier looked over at the Council, they all suddenly turned toward the trial area and pretended they didn’t see the small argument. It wasn’t until the last trial for the day was over that anyone said anything.
“Do you need suggestions on how to handle Emily?” Zohn asked.
Chevalier looked irritated, “I think I can handle this.”
“Just because she hasn’t pushed you in a while, doesn’t mean Dain’s sudden departure won’t cause it to return,” Kyle said. “I’d feel better if I was there.”
“We don’t need a chaperone.”
“No, but you have to admit at times you need a mediator.”
“For now it doesn’t matter,” the Chief of Defense told them. “Lady Emily is out with the Cavalry.”
“Do you want me to go up there and talk to her?” Kyle asked.
“No,” Chevalier said bluntly, and then disappeared from the room.
***
“It’s stupid,” Emily said, watching the heku out in front of her.
They were facing each other with a chain strung between them, hanging from their middle fingers. They were pulling as hard as they could, trying to get the other to fall forward. Devia was at the horse’s feet, watching with curiosity.
“It’s not stupid,” Silas told her.
Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series Page 18