“I want to talk to Alex,” Garrett told her.
“She’s having a really hard time without you and the baby. Right now, I’m not ready for any Equites in the house, but I can bring back Asher.”
“Talk to the Council and you can.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed, “What?”
He watched her, “The Council… they just want to talk to you. I’ll give Asher over if you’ll talk to them.”
“Talk or restrain, Garrett? You know as well as I do that they’ll keep me if I go in there.”
“They won’t. The Elder has put out strict instructions that you aren’t to be detained.”
“He’s here?” Emily asked, shocked.
“Yes”
“I figured he’d be out looking for Dain.”
“It’s a big world, and we don’t even know where to start.”
“Em?” Chevalier said from behind her. She looked over as he walked up to stand beside Garrett.
Emily sighed, “I can’t handle a fight right now.”
“I’m not here to fight.”
“Then why are you here? I ran again… I defied the Council… I’m sure you’re ready to let me have it.”
“No, I’m not. You’re a grown woman and can do what you want.”
She frowned slightly, “You aren’t here to restrain me?”
“No”
“What do you want then?”
“I want to help. You and Alex can’t be happy there.”
“No, we’re not. She misses Garrett and Asher, but we can’t risk you all finding out where Dain is until we decide what to do.”
“That’s Alex… what about you?” he asked softly.
Emily’s throat constricted and her words were a soft whisper, “I miss you too, but he’s my son.”
“Our son. What he did was bad, Em. I’m not talking stealing a donor or following the guards around.”
“I know, but he’s lost. He’s alone. No one knows him or understands him, and he has instincts and emotions that he can’t deal with.”
“He knew it was wrong.”
“I know.”
“Can I at least talk to him?” Chevalier asked.
“No”
“Why not?”
“Because of that hearing of yours. I can’t risk you picking up some sound or dialogue that will give his location away,” Emily explained. “He’s my son, and I’m not going to let you have him.”
“Our son.”
“Our son my ass, Chev! You’ve always treated him more like an Equites than a son.”
Chevalier took a deep breath, calming his voice, “I’m sorry it seemed like that.”
When Kyle appeared beside Chevalier, she sighed, “Are you here to take me then? Perhaps lock me in the oubliette?”
“No,” Kyle said. “I wanted to make sure you’re ok.”
“And to make sure Chevalier doesn’t kill me?”
“Not at all. He’s in full control. Right now, he’s more worried about you than he is about finding Dain.”
“I miss Alexis too,” Garrett told her. “She belongs here with me, not hiding in the city.”
“We can’t risk someone controlling her and getting Dain’s location.”
“I wouldn’t do that!”
“You would if the Council told you to.”
“We won’t,” Chevalier said. “I swear to you.”
Emily studied him for a moment, “If Dain walked up right now, what would you do?”
“You would have a chance to say goodbye.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?!”
“He’s dangerous.”
“He’s scared.”
She sighed and turned to Garrett, “I’ve spoken to the Council. Can I take him now?”
Garrett looked at the Elder, and when Chevalier nodded, he handed the baby over to Emily. She buckled him into the car seat in the Jeep and then slid into the driver’s seat.
Chevalier appeared at the door beside her, “Don’t do this.”
“I have to,” she said, and looked into his eyes.
“He’s my son too, and I’m worried about him.”
“You’ve never worried about him.”
“That’s not true.”
Emily fought back the tears and regained control after a few seconds, “I want to take Megara, too.”
“She’s with her tutor,” Kyle said.
“So she doesn’t want to?”
“That’s my guess, but I haven’t asked.”
“Go, ask,” Chevalier said to Garrett, who blurred away.
Emily looked down at her hands, “I know what he’s done, but I’m not going to let you banish Dain.”
Chevalier kissed her lightly and then smiled, “I don’t want to banish him either.”
“But you will.”
“Maybe not. If I could talk to him, we may be able to work things out.”
“Can you put the faction aside long enough to be a father to him?”
“Yes”
“I’ll think about it then,” she said, and looked over at Garrett when he appeared.
“She said that she wants to stay with her tutor but would like to visit.”
Emily nodded, “I need to get Asher back.”
Chevalier smiled, “What’s Alexis going to do if you don’t show up?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Be careful, please.”
“I will,” she said, and drove away.
Asher was starting to fuss as Emily pulled up at her house and turned off the engine. She fully expected Alexis to come out and greet her, and was surprised when she didn’t show up.
“Alex?” Emily called out as she tossed her keys onto the table beside the door. Hands came out of nowhere and wrapped around her, one across her mouth and one restraining her around the waist.
“Don’t panic. We’re not here to hurt you,” someone whispered.
Emily wasn’t sure who he was, or if he was even heku, so she allowed him to lead her down the stairs and into the entertainment room in the basement.
“Mom!” Alexis yelled when Emily stepped in. She was pushed gently and spun just as the door behind her was shut and locked.
Emily handed Asher over to Alexis and then tried the door, “Is it the Council?”
“I don’t think so,” Alexis said, kissing Asher lightly.
“Hey!” Emily yelled, and pounded on the door.
“They won’t talk. I tried that.”
She frowned, “Have I been kidnapped in my own house?”
“Yes”
“You sure it’s not your Dad?”
“I really don’t think so.”
Emily thought for a moment and then reached for her phone, but it wasn’t in her pocket, “They took my phone.”
“It’s weird. Why keep us here where the Equites can find us?”
“They apparently know that the Equites are keeping their distance.”
“Well, lunch is down here at least,” Alexis said, and sat beside a tray full of pizza, baby food, and glasses of warm blood.
Emily frowned at it, “They’re feeding us?”
“Seems so.”
“How very… un-kidnap like.”
“That’s what I thought. I don’t detect poisons though.”
“Who the hell locks me in my own basement and then feeds me?” she asked, taking a slice of pizza.
“I wish I knew. I suspect Dad has Cavalry around here though, so we’ll be free soon,” Alexis said as she started to feed the baby.
“I guess I could call for Chevalier.”
“You could.”
“But, I kind of want to find out what’s going on.”
“We obviously aren’t in any danger.”
Emily and Alexis were just finishing a movie when their door opened, and Andrew came in.
“You did this?!” Emily asked, standing suddenly.
“Just hear me out, ok?” Andrew said softly.
“You have about
2 minutes before I ash you.”
“You’re not kidnapped. I just want to talk to you.”
“You could have done that without locking me in my basement!”
“Calm down, Em.”
Emily glared at him, “Start talking.”
“We’ve been watching this place, and we know that you and Alex are living here now. We know about Dain, and about the fight you’re in with the Council over his punishment.”
“Stay the hell out of my business, Andrew.”
Alexis watched them carefully, not quite sure how to help.
“It’s dangerous for you two to be out here alone. I realize the Valle have backed off, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still enemies.”
“Yet the Encala are the ones that kidnapped us.”
“You aren’t kidnapped. We didn’t even take you from your home.”
She crossed her arms, “So now what?”
“Now we come to an agreement on how to handle Dain, and how to get you two back into Council City where you belong.”
“Why do you even care?”
“You know I care about you, Em.”
Alexis finally stood up, “So let me get this straight. The Encala are going to hold us in Mom’s basement until we agree to tell you where Dain is?”
“Basically”
“Then what? Then you banish him?”
“Yes,” Andrew said bluntly.
“No,” Emily said, and pushed Andrew as hard as she could. “You aren’t going to touch my son!”
“The Encala Council feels it’s prudent that we handle Dain, so there aren’t any tensions between you and the Equites.”
“That’s bullshit!” Emily yelled. “The Encala don’t give a rat’s ass about my relationship with the Equites.”
“On the contrary, it’s very important to us.”
“Why is that?” Alexis asked him.
Andrew smiled slightly, “It’s Emily that keeps the Equites from attacking the Encala and wiping us out. Until we’re strong enough to defend ourselves against them, we have to keep things calm.”
“And banishing my son will keep things calm?” Emily snapped.
“It’s either us or the Equites.”
“It’s no one. I’m not going to allow this to happen.”
“It has to be done. He's a danger.”
“We were friends,” Emily said, her voice cracking slightly.
“We still are.”
“No we’re not. You put your Council before me and allowed them to get in our friendship and break it up.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Sure it is! I was kidnapped in your presence, big deal.”
“It put the Encala at risk.”
“Get out,” Emily yelled, and pointed at the door.
“The house is full of Encala. You’re protected here,” Andrew said before leaving. The distinct noise of a dead-bolt locking sounded through the tiny room.
“This is beyond insane,” Alexis told Emily. “It’s all out of hand.”
“Completely out of hand.”
“They have to have something else up their sleeves. There’s no way they’re doing all of this to protect the Equites.”
“Well, I have news for them… if the Encala banish Dain, they’ll have to face me.”
***
“I guess she’s madder than I thought,” Kyle said to the Council. “Two weeks without a single word is pretty serious.”
Chevalier nodded, “That’s why I’ve stayed away. Garrett hasn’t heard from Alexis either. They’re holed up in that damned house.”
“Maybe we should pay them a visit.”
“I hesitate to do that.”
“I know, but what if they’re in trouble?”
“Emily can still call for me if she needs me. I’m not picking up any negative emotions from her other than brief periods of annoyance. My guess is that she and Alexis are starting to get on each other’s nerves,” Chevalier said.
***
“Damn, I have to go to jail again,” Andrew said as he moved his playing piece over to the corner spot.
“It’s fate telling you where you belong,” Emily told him, and then rolled the dice.
Andrew grinned, “Give up on the mad angle. I know you’ve forgiven me.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Yes, you have, or you’d have ashed this entire house and walked out. You owe me $65.”
Emily paid him with the fake money and sat back, “I don’t ash this house because then the Equites will find out that I’ve allowed the Encala to detain Alex and I for the past three weeks.”
Andrew chuckled, “That too.”
“I’m not going to hand Dain over to you.”
“I realize that.”
“Then why keep this up?”
“My Council still thinks you’ll hand him over.”
“Why would they think that?”
“Because you trust me.”
“Used to.”
“Still do,” he said, and grabbed a card off of the deck to read.
“Tell me the truth about why you’re here.”
“I did. The Encala Council wants Dain put away without you disappearing.”
“It has to be more than that.”
“No, it doesn’t. You keep the Equites from wiping us out.”
“That’s not true. Chevalier let you all go when he thought I was dead.”
“He did so because of thoughts on how you would react if you had a say in it.”
“I shouldn’t have told you anything.”
Andrew nodded, “Probably not. I’ve kept it a secret though.”
“I’m not going to hand Dain over to you.”
“He’s dangerous. I wish you could see that.”
“All I see is a lost boy who…”
“… lost heku.”
“Lost boy who is full of feelings and instincts that he can’t control. He didn’t choose to be a heku and shouldn’t be treated like he did.”
“He can control them if he wants to.”
“No he can’t.”
“Mom?” Alexis asked from the couch.
Emily looked over at her, “He won’t sleep?”
“No, I don’t know why.”
“It’s because he’s shut up in this stuffy room,” Emily said, and picked Asher up from Alexis.
“I can take him out for some air then,” Andrew told them.
Alexis stood up and blocked Emily from the Encala, “Touch my son, and you’ll have to deal with me.”
“No reason to threaten. I was just going to take him for a bit.”
“No”
“Fine, but he’s restless and has cabin fever.”
“We all do!”
Andrew hated when Alexis started to scream at him, so when she started to lose her temper, he left the room and locked the door behind him.
“It’s time to call for Dad.”
“I can’t do that,” Emily said, sitting down. “How are we going to explain sitting in Encala custody for three weeks?”
“We tell him the truth, that we wanted to get out on our own and can’t.”
“Admit to the Council that the Equites had to come rescue the Winchesters? I think not.”
“So we just sit here until that Interrogator gets out of us where Dain is?”
“I don’t think he’s used interrogation on us.”
“Not yet.”
“He won’t. This is his misguided attempt at renewing the friendship that he threw away,” Emily explained.
Alexis finally sat down next to Emily, “Dain used to call every night. He hasn’t heard from us in three weeks. If we can’t get out of here, he’s going to come see why we aren’t talking.”
“I know,” Emily said, deep in thought.
Alexis put her hand on Emily’s, “Mom, it’s time to call for Dad.”
“He’s going to be furious.”
“I know, but if we don’t get out of here, Dain wi
ll return.”
“Andrew?” Emily called out. It was only a few seconds later that he stepped into the room.
“Did you need something?”
“Yes, it’s time to let us out, or I’ll have to call for the Equites.”
“You’d risk them thinking you can’t take care of yourself?”
“No, I have an idea that lets us off the hook,” Emily told him.
Andrew nodded, “What idea is that?”
“Let us go.”
“I care too much about you to do that. You’re my friend.”
“Then you know me well enough to know you can’t keep me here any longer.”
Andrew reached down and took her hand, “Is it that bad being here under Encala protection?”
“No, but it’s restrictive.”
“I’m afraid that this thing with Dain is going to go overboard, and I still don’t think you can handle it.”
“I can.”
“Are you sure? Can you handle the backlash from the Equites when you refuse to give his location? Can you handle the thought that he’s been banished?”
Emily pulled her hand away from him, “He won’t be.”
“Yes he will. That’s part of being immortal, there’s plenty of time to find him. Someday, someone’s going to see him, and then it’ll all be over.”
“I won’t let them banish my son.”
“You won’t have a choice. I talked to William, and we decided that if we can get to Dain, we won’t banish him.”
“You won’t?” she asked skeptically.
“No. We’ll imprison him, where you can visit him any time you want, but he’ll be out of the public eye and no longer able to attack innocents.”
“The Equites would fight to get him back.”
Andrew nodded, “Yes, but that’s where you come in.”
“So I keep them away from you.”
“Right”
Emily looked over at Alexis, “What do you think?”
“Imprisonment has to be better than banishment.”
“Let me think about it,” Emily said, turning back to Andrew.
He nodded and then left them alone.
“Fine,” Emily hissed, and then shut her eyes.
***
Chevalier frowned, “Em needs us at the house.”
“Did she say why?” Kyle asked as he looked across Chevalier’s desk at him.
Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series Page 22