Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “You…”

  “Where is she?!” Emily screamed.

  Garrett looked toward the council chamber door, which was guarded by three members of the Cavalry, none of which Emily knew well.

  “She’s in there?” Emily asked, taking a step toward the door. The Cavalry moved closer to the door to block her.

  “Yes, and she’s afraid,” Miri told Emily. “I think Allen needs to go stand up for her. She's alone in there, dragged out of her home…”

  Emily turned on Garrett, “You didn’t help her?”

  “No, it was the Council’s decision.”

  “That is your wife.”

  “Who harbored her criminal brother in my own home!”

  Emily walked over to the council chamber’s door, and Derrick stepped forward, “You can’t go in there.”

  “Her daughter is in there,” Miri snapped at him.

  “Miri!” Allen yelled. “You can’t talk to him like that.”

  “Move, Derrick,” Emily said.

  He shook his head, “The Council won’t hurt her.”

  “Mom!” Allen gasped when Derrick and the guards turned to ash. He and Garrett followed Emily and Miri into the council chambers, too shocked to say anything.

  “Emily?” Chevalier asked, standing slowly. Emily ran up to Alexis and quickly looked her over. She was pale and shaking and had been crying enough her eyes were red.

  “Mom, I’m ok,” Alexis whispered, though she avoided looking at Garrett.

  Emily spun and glared at the Council, something she hadn’t done since her return from Ireland, “You have no right to punish her over this.”

  “Emily, calm down,” Kyle said. “We’re just talking to her about keeping Dain from us. He’s attacked again.”

  She took a step toward the Council, “What was her punishment for it?”

  “Mom, it’s not worth it,” Alexis whispered.

  “Lady Emily, it’s their right,” Garrett said, taking her arm.

  Emily spun on him and slapped him, “You better watch it.”

  “Emily, it’s not his fault,” Chevalier said.

  “What was her punishment?” she asked him.

  “The Council has decided that she needs to spend two years in prison for insubordination,” the Chief Investigator said to her.

  “Over my dead body!”

  “Em, let us handle this,” Chevalier said, his body tensing. He saw their mutual agreement fading and knew she was about to fight back.

  “No! Time for that is over. I’ve held my side of the bargain, listened to every hair-brained idea this Council had in regard to my protection. I’ve stayed away when I should have been included, but it’s over! Come on Alex,” she said, taking Alexis' arm.

  Garrett and Allen each took one of Emily’s arms to keep her from leaving.

  “Mom, listen to Dad,” Allen said. “Dain is dangerous… she should have told the Council where he was.”

  “Let her go!” Megara screamed from the doorway. She ran at Allen and began to pull at his arm.

  “Everyone calm down!” Quinn yelled, and the entire room fell silent. “Emily, this is Council business, and I ask you to step aside.”

  “I’m not going to let you punish her,” Emily told him. “I knew where he was. I kept it from you. If you punish her, then I’m going to prison too.”

  “We don’t imprison members of the Council.”

  “Member of the Council? Bullshit! You kept me in the dark about the Valle’s wish to kill me, and the impending attack by the Encala.”

  “But…” That was all Quinn could say. He was shocked that she knew what was supposed to be Council only.

  “You gave me that title but only invoke it when it fits your needs.”

  “Don’t do this, Em,” Chevalier said, walking down. “Please. Dain is out of hand. This time, one of the women is dead. If Alex had told us where he was, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “You swore you wouldn’t keep things from me.”

  “What purpose would it have served to tell you that the Valle want you dead?”

  “It would have proven that you trusted me as much as I trusted you. It would have proven that our agreement benefited us both and not just your bloody Council.”

  “You have to trust me.”

  “I did.”

  “Did?”

  “Yes, did.” Emily shrugged off Allen and Garrett’s hands and then looked up at Chevalier, “So this should help…”

  “What?” he asked, watching her carefully.

  “I know how the Valle and the Encala are staging a joint attack, and that the Valle only want me dead. I know how the Equites can’t handle a combined attack right now, and that if I’m not here, the Valle will back off.”

  “Emily, no! I know you’re about to protect the Equites again. If you take off, the Valle will find you.”

  “Yes, I am protecting the Equites… I’m protecting my family and the Equites,” Emily said, and turned every heku in the room to ash except for Kyle and Miri.

  “Em, no,” Kyle gasped, looking around.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Emily said, heading for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Kyle asked her.

  She didn’t turn, “Away, while I decide what to do.”

  Emily waited at the door for Alexis, Megara, and Miri to follow her. Once they were all out of the palace, the entire building went into lock down and Emily ran to the stable and came back out with a cattle prod and a Taser.

  “Miri, can you fly a plane?” Emily asked her.

  “No, I can’t.”

  Emily nodded and then walked up to Kralen and Gifford as they guarded the front door. They both stepped in front of the door.

  “Em, you have to stop this,” Kralen said. “The Council was just mad. They wouldn’t have kept her in prison, and you know it.”

  “Can you fly an airplane too?” Emily asked him.

  Kralen frowned, “Yes, but I’m not taking you out of here.”

  “I tried, Kralen. I really tried.”

  “There were still kinks in the agreement. Instead of defying the Council, you should have talked to them.”

  “The agreement helped only them, no one else. I did all of the changing.”

  “That’s not true. They let up their hold on you a lot.”

  Emily’s eyes began to fill with tears, “I tried to follow them, but I can’t do it anymore. This time they messed with my family, and I won’t have it.”

  “Mom, I’m scared,” Megara said, wrapping her arms around her Mom’s waist.

  “It’s ok, baby. We’re getting out of here,” Emily said, and pointed the Taser at Kralen. “Start walking.”

  He shook his head, “You aren’t going to kidnap me and make me fly you somewhere.”

  Both Gifford and Kralen fell to their knees in pain, and the agony was apparent as the women watched them. Just before falling unconscious, Emily held out the cattle prod and let them out of pain, “I said start walking, both of you.”

  “We’re kidnapping members of the Cavalry?” Miri asked. It didn’t sound like she was prying but was more curious as to what Emily had in mind.

  “Yes, we’re going away until I can figure out how to fix this.”

  “Mom, we can’t do this,” Alexis said. “I knew better than to keep this from the Council.”

  “He’s your brother,” Miri said, and smiled at her.

  “Miri, go get Asher,” Emily said, still watching the guards. Miri quickly blurred away.

  “Please, Mom. I don’t want to run. I want to finish this,” Alexis told her.

  Emily sighed, “You and I hid Dain. Miri pretty much stood up to the Council, and I’m not leaving Megara here alone. We have to get away from the heku and figure this out.”

  “I’m not sure running is the best thing to do here,” Miri said, appearing with Asher cradled in her arms. “If we let the Council punish us, things will blow over. They won’t banish us for this, and a prison sente
nce isn’t very long.”

  The heku could hear Emily’s heart race, “No, I have to protect my family.”

  “Dad is your family too,” Alexis said. “I don’t think running is an option right now.”

  Emily began to back away, “I have to run. I have to get out of here.”

  “Mom, calm down.”

  She shook her head and pointed the Taser at Gifford, “You two have a choice. Either come with us and take us where we want to go… or turn to ash.”

  “Em, we can’t help you run,” Kralen said.

  Both Gifford and Kralen turned to ash, and Emily ran back toward the barracks, “We’ll take Kralen’s truck to the airport.”

  “We can’t do this!” Miri said, following her.

  “You don’t have a choice at this point, Miri,” Emily said to her. “If you don’t come with me, I’ll turn you to ash and hide you.”

  Miri gasped and looked over at Alexis.

  “Mom, stop!” Alexis said. Emily didn’t stop until she’d gotten into Kralen’s Ford F450 and adjusted the seat. Megara and Alexis climbed into the back with Asher, and Miri buckled into the front.

  ***

  “Mom, Mom wake up,” Alexis said, shaking Emily gently. “We’re landing.”

  Emily sat up in the seat and looked out the small window of the airplane as the lush lands of Denmark came into view.

  “Why are we in Denmark?”

  “I’ll explain later,” she said, adjusting her seat. They got off of the plane and then walked to car rental, where Emily rented a minivan for the trip. No one asked any questions but piled into the van, and Emily drove southeast.

  “What are you doing?” Alexis asked when Emily pulled the van over to pick up a hitchhiker alongside the road.

  Emily smiled when Dain walked over.

  “Took you long enough.”

  “Oh my God, Dain!” Alexis said, and then opened her door and ran into his arms.

  “Good to see you, Alex.”

  Miri shook her head, “We’re all in too deep.”

  “Why did you bring Miri?” Dain asked. Alexis was pretty sure that Dain was nervous that Allen was there also.

  “She needs protected too."

  Dain shrugged and scanned the area carefully.

  “I’ll figure this out,” Emily said, and watched as Alexis crawled into the back, and Dain got in beside her. “You can get us there?”

  “Sure can,” Dain said. “I read about it a while back and memorized the map.”

  “So now we get to know where we’re going?” Miri asked.

  Megara reached over and hugged Dain with a big smile across her face.

  “We’re going to the Equites caves,” Emily said, pulling back out into traffic.

  “Why?”

  “The Valle want me dead. I’m hoping those caves are secure, and we can wait this out without worrying about Valle attacks.”

  “How do you know the Valle want you dead?” Miri asked.

  “I overheard the Cavalry talking, and the Council sort of confirmed it. The Valle and Encala were going to jointly attack Council City. With me out of the city though, now the Encala would have to attack alone, and they don’t have the manpower,” Emily explained.

  “So, in a nutshell, she’s protecting the heku,” Dain said, laughing. Emily tried not to listen too closely to his laughter. It reminded her of Chevalier.

  The van fell silent when Emily’s phone rang. After the fifth ring, Dain looked at the caller I.D., “It’s Dad.”

  Emily just nodded, and her hands shook on the steering wheel.

  “Calm down, ok?”

  She fought back tears. She not only lied to herself but to Chevalier and the entire Council. Now, thousands of miles away, she was able to see that she went overboard, but she didn’t know how to fix things.

  “Mom, what’s wrong?” Alexis asked her.

  Emily swallowed hard, “I messed things up now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Things have been calm since I agreed to listen to your Dad and the Council, and they lightened up and let me do things I wanted.”

  “Right”

  “I messed it up… now we’ll go back to how we were. No one trusted me. I was treated like a child, and your Dad and I fought all the time.”

  Dain sighed, “They still treated you like a child, or they would have told you that the Valle are after you.”

  “I don’t know how to fix this. This time was big. I got Miri and Alexis involved, so now the Council will be mad at them too.”

  “I got myself involved,” Miri told her.

  “So did I,” Alexis said. “I’m the one that moved Dain into one of Garrett’s houses.”

  When the phone rang again, Dain growled and answered it, “What, Dad?”

  There was a short pause, “You’re with them?”

  “Yes”

  “You better not hurt one hair…”

  “I’m not going to hurt them!” Dain yelled.

  “Let me talk to Emily.”

  “No, she’s too upset right now to talk to you.”

  “I need to talk to her,” Chevalier growled.

  Dain shook his head and laughed slightly, “Mom thinks she messed up. She’s afraid for Miri and Alex’s life because of you. She’s afraid you won’t trust her and will be mad about this. I’m not going to let you intimidate her that way.”

  “Dain,” Emily whispered, frowning.

  “She did mess up, but we can work through this. It’s not safe out there, and you know it!”

  “I can protect them.”

  “You? You can’t even protect yourself,” Chevalier hissed.

  Dain answered him by shutting the phone. The rest of the drive was silent, and once they reached Visborg, Dain told Emily how to get to the Equites property. It looked simply like farm land, and Emily parked the van in a large metal garage, never asking Dain how he knew the codes to get in.

  Once they gathered supplies, they started out along the rough terrain, hiking up the side of a mountain. Megara was having a hard time keeping up, so Dain picked her up and carried her up the hill. It was a long, hot journey, but they finally saw the boarded up face of what appeared to be an old mine. There was a sign hanging near the entrance that warned of radiation hazards.

  “This is it?” Emily asked, looking through the slats covering the entrance.

  “Yup,” Dain said, and tore down the boards. “Get inside and I’ll board it up behind us.”

  Emily shivered, “I hate caves.”

  “Why?” Dain asked, looking inside.

  “When I was a kid, Cade tied a rope to my ankles and dropped me down a hole. Turned out to be some caves under Montana. If he had dropped me, I would have died.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “Yeah, well when he did it, it would wake up the bats, and they would swarm past me to get out.”

  Dain nodded as her words made sense out of some of her fears.

  “Then there’s Exavior.”

  “It’s safe down there. Let’s go.”

  Once their tracks were covered, they started down the long flight of cold rock stairs that seemed to descend into the abyss. To their right was a sheer drop-off that looked to go on forever, so they all stuck closely with the rock wall to their left.

  No one spoke, and the tensions were high as hours passed and the group continued downward. Just as Emily was about to cancel the entire thing and return to Council City, she saw the end of the stairs.

  “Now what?” Emily asked when they made it to the landing.

  Dain shrugged, “There aren’t maps of this place. I just knew how to get here.”

  “So… how big is this do you think?”

  Miri smiled slightly, “Massive. At one point, every Equites was down here.”

  “There has to be rooms then, right?”

  “I would think so,” Dain said, looking around. “Why don’t Miri and I look around and see if we can find a good central location? The res
t of you stay here.”

  Emily nodded, “Don’t get hurt.”

  Dain chuckled and disappeared with Miri. Emily sat down on one of the cold, damp stairs to wait. The caves seemed unnaturally dark and quiet, and it was obvious that Alexis was nervous also. They both felt some comfort with the heku around, knowing they could still see in the dark.

  Emily put the lantern down that she was holding and took Asher from Alexis when he started to fuss. When he quieted down, the only noise that could be heard was the water dripping down the walls of the cave.

  “What are you going to do about Dad?” Alexis asked finally.

  “I messed up bad, Alex. I don’t even know.”

  “He did too though.”

  “Not as bad as I did.”

  Alexis sat down beside her, “Things just got out of hand.”

  “I know, but I didn’t have to ash them and run.”

  “We can go back.”

  “I would, but I have to think of you and Miri now. You were already being sent to prison, and they can banish Miri.”

  “So now you’re protecting us?”

  “I’m allowed to protect you kids.”

  “Maybe we need to call the Council and offer to come back if we aren’t punished.”

  “I messed up too bad to just go back. I have to have some time to think about it.”

  “Dad wants you back though. I’m positive of that.”

  “He’ll be too mad.”

  “Mom?” Dain said, appearing in front of them. “We found the Council’s bedrooms. There aren’t beds in them, but the council chambers are close, so we can all gather in there and not get lost, but we each have our own space.”

  Emily nodded and stood up with Asher, “Ok, take me to the Elder’s rooms then. I'll find Chev’s room.”

  Dain smiled, “He wasn’t an Elder when they lived here. Miri’s in the Chief Enforcer’s room waiting for you.”

  “Oh right, ok,” she said, and followed him through the caves. She had to admit they were cleaner than she thought, but they were still damp and cold.

  Once in Chevalier’s old room, the others left to find a room for themselves, and Emily wrapped her arms around herself and looked around. There was no sign that Chevalier had ever been there. The shirts hanging in the room were non-descript white Equites shirts, so she smelled them and didn’t catch any sign that he’d worn them. There were no personal items in the room, nothing at all to let her feel like he was there with her.