Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series (10 page)

Quinn grinned slightly, “You’d think after
this many years, you would figure her out.”

“Meaning?”

“In her eyes, a kiss is worse.”

“How can that be?”

“Personal violations,”
Dustin answered. “She takes them more seriously than physical
assaults.”

Zohn turned and frowned at Dustin, “How the
hell do you know that?”

“I pay attention.”

“Has she mentioned who freed her?” Quinn
asked Chevalier, changing the subject.

“No, she hasn’t, and I
haven’t asked. I’m guessing she wouldn’t tell us.”

“Why not?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“He freed her. She won’t
turn him in.”

“Sir, there’s a problem in the radio tower,”
Derrick said, looking at Kyle.

“What kind of problem?”

“The Valle are asking to land.”

Kyle frowned, “Why the hell would we let
them land?”

“It’s… well… they say they are bringing a
gift for Lady Emily.”

Kyle shook his head and
headed up to the roof of the palace to find out what exactly was
going on. He took the radio from the heku, and glanced up at the
waiting helicopter. The Bell 429 was painted white with a thick
strip of maroon crossing from the nose and fanning out into maroon
feathers at the tail.

“Base here,” Kyle said.
“What exactly do you have for Emily?”

“Delivering the helicopter
to the Lady,” the pilot said, still hovering 50 feet above the
Equites’ helipad.

“You are bringing Emily a helicopter?” Kyle
wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

“Yes, Sir.”

Kyle glanced at the heku
in the radio tower, and then turned to Derrick, “Get 20 guards up
here.”

“Right away,” Derrick
said, and turned to the stairs. Within seconds, guards flooded onto
the roof.

“Land it,” Kyle said.
“Then stay in the cockpit.”

“Coming down,” the pilot
said, and gently set the helicopter down between Equites 1 and
Equites 2.

Kyle and Derrick walked
around the helicopter, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Derrick pointed when he saw the name of the helicopter, ‘Winchester
1’ was written in white flames inside of the maroon
stripe.

One of the guards opened
the side door, and Kyle stepped in and his eyes grew wide. The
inside of the helicopter looked like a living room. It was equipped
with a soft, plush couch, TV, DVD player, a small fridge, and a wet
bar.

“Well, that’s new,” Derrick said, shocked
when he saw the inside.

“Come on out,” Kyle said
to the pilot as he and Derrick moved back out onto the helipad. The
heku pilot stepped out and crouched slightly.

“Why are the Valle giving Emily a
helicopter?” Kyle asked him, ignoring his defensive posture.

“I don’t know. I was told
to bring it here and then I’m free.”

“Free?”

“Yes, I’m an Encala, been imprisoned by the
Valle for almost 5 months.”

“Escort him out of Council
City,” Kyle said, still looking at the Bell 429 helicopter. “Get
the Elder.”

Derrick nodded and
disappeared. A few minutes later, all 3 Elders came up to the roof.
They stopped when they saw the strange helicopter, and immediately
noticed the name ‘Winchester 1’.

Kyle turned to them, “Seems the Valle think
Emily needs her own helicopter.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “This is
Emily’s?”

“That’s what the Encala
that brought it told us.”

“An Encala flew a helicopter to the Equites
from the Valle?” Quinn asked, confused.

Kyle grinned slightly, “My
guess is they thought we’d keep him, so they sent a prisoner. If
you think that’s odd, go look inside.”

Chevalier quickly
disappeared inside the helicopter and came back out, grinning,
“Interesting… never seen a living room inside of a
helicopter.”

Quinn and Zohn both peeked inside.

“Bring Lady Emily,” Quinn said, sliding into
the cockpit.

Emily came onto the roof a short time later,
covered in sweat and still wearing black cut-offs and a sports bra,
“What’d I do now… wait… you all got a new helicopter?”

Chevalier grinned, “You… got a new
helicopter.”

“Why would you buy me a helicopter?”

“The Valle bought it for you,” Zohn said,
obviously irritated.

“Ok then, why would the
Valle buy me a helicopter?” she asked, and crawled inside. She sat
down on the soft couch and looked around.

“Not sure exactly,”
Chevalier said. “Come on out until we can have a crew search
it.”

Emily opened the fridge to
look inside before leaving, and pulled out a card. She sat back on
the couch and opened it.

“Seriously, Em, come
out.”

Emily grinned and stepped
out, shaking her head, then handed the card to Chevalier. He opened
it and chuckled.

“Guess you have a
helicopter,” he said, and gave the card to Zohn.

“Seems a little extravagant for a bribe,”
she said, walking around to look at it.

Zohn frowned, “We should send it back.”

“Why’s that?” Quinn asked,
stepping out. “It’s pretty nice, though it won’t carry many at
once.”

“I’m sure that was the idea behind it,”
Chevalier said, still looking at it.

“Because… I don’t want the Valle thinking
they can bribe us into aligning with them,” Zohn said.

A heku crew appeared and
began going over the helicopter. One started with the engine while
the other three went inside.

“It’s not hurting anything in letting them
send Emily a little gift,” Quinn told him.

“Little gift? A flower is a little gift,”
Zohn growled.

Emily smiled, “It’s nice
and all, but I don’t need a helicopter.”

“Keep it, it’s not hurting anything,”
Chevalier suggested.

“Doesn’t replace all the
ashing they made me do,” she said, and headed back inside the
palace.

The Elders followed her down the stairs.

“When it’s inspected, do
you want to take a ride?” Quinn asked.

Emily stopped on the stairs, “I guess… still
don’t know why I need a helicopter when I can’t even fly one.”

“I can teach you.”

“I should rephrase that… I don’t want to fly
one.”

“Why not?” Quinn asked.

“If I need to go
somewhere, I have a truck, a Jeep, and an Aero to choose from.
Flying isn’t my favorite way to travel,” she explained.

“Because of the wreck?” Zohn asked.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not afraid to
fly.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Are you still leaving today?” Quinn
asked.

“Yes, as soon as I shower,” she replied.

“Take the helicopter, it looks pretty
comfortable.”

“I can’t fly, remember?”

“Kralen can. We’ll have
him run you to the island,” Chevalier suggested.

“Then… let me guess,”
Emily said. “He’ll stay and take me wherever I want by
helicopter?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Because then I have a guard on the island…
no thanks.”

“Then the fact that Silas
is a certified co-pilot wouldn’t help either?” Quinn asked,
grinning.

Emily’s face grew serious and she nodded,
“I’ll take them… Silas and Kralen.”

The Elders watched while
Emily walked down the stairs and turned toward the bedrooms on the
fifth-floor.

“What was that?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“I’m not sure… I think she
just agreed to Council City Guards on the island,” Chevalier said.
“I better go find out what’s up.”

“Why? That’s what we want…
guards with her on the island,” Zohn reminded him. “She agreed to
them, let’s not push it.”

“Still, something’s not
right,” Chevalier told him, and headed down to the
bedrooms.

“Certified co-pilot?” Zohn
asked, walking down the stairs.

Quinn grinned, “It worked…”

“Em?” Chevalier asked as he leaned against
the counter in the bathroom. He didn’t like how the dark shower
curtain blocked her from view.

“Yeah?”

“I get the impression you’re not telling me
something about your stay with the Valle.”

“Like what?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be
asking.”

Emily came out of the shower wrapped in a
towel, “I’ll handle it.”

“So you did leave something out.”

“A few things… maybe.”

He stopped her as she walked past him with a
hand on her arm, “Tell me.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Whatever it is, is
causing you to take guards to the island. I want to know what
happened.”

She pulled away from him,
and disappeared into her closet to get dressed. When she came out
in jeans and a t-shirt, she sat down on a soft chair to brush her
hair.

“Was it something Exavior
did or said?” he asked, watching her.

“No,” Emily told him.

“She’s lying,” Zohn said from behind
Chevalier.

Emily gasped and turned around, “Get out of
my room.”

“Our room,” Chevalier
corrected. “I invited him.”

“Did Exavior threaten
you?” Zohn asked.

Emily set her face and looked Zohn in the
eye, “He threatened to pelt me with pink bunnies.”

Chevalier glanced at Zohn,
and the former Chief Interrogator’s eyes narrowed, “Just tell
us.”

“No”

“Why must you be so stubborn?”

“Why must you try to interrogate me?”

“Thanks to the Encala,
that’s all we’ll get out of her,” Zohn told Chevalier, and left the
room.

“Stop sending him in to
interrogate me,” Emily said angrily.

“Then stop hiding things from me that I need
to know.”

“I can take care of this.”

“Let me… for once… Let me
do it.”

“I’m not doing anything
right now. I’m going back to the island with Kralen and Silas, and
I’m going to ride my horse, weed the garden, and sleep.”

Chevalier sighed, “Ok.”

Kralen and Silas appeared at her door,
“We’re ready to go.”

Chevalier whispered for
them to see if they could get out of Emily what she’s hiding, and
then told them to head up to the new helicopter.

Emily picked Dain up when
Chevalier grabbed her bags, and they walked up to the roof
together.

“I’ll try to come in a
week,” Chevalier said. “If you need me before then, let me
know.”

Emily nodded and kissed him softly, “Try to
get Alexis out of class for me, see if you can bring her with
you.”

“I will,” he said, and
then shut the door after she crawled inside. He watched as Kralen
piloted the helicopter up and toward the island.

Once they were at the correct altitude,
Silas crawled back and sat on the couch beside Emily, “They stocked
the fridge and wet bar.”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I saw.”

“Seems weird that the Valle bought you a
helicopter.”

“Guilty consciences,” she
said, and grabbed a juice from the bar. She sat Dain down to play
on the soft carpet.

“I never got to ask how
things went with Exavior while you were there,” he said, and
noticed how she tensed.

She shrugged, “Didn’t see
him much. I spent most of my time in the bedroom… when I wasn’t
ashing covens, that is.”

“Harsh… I can’t believe they did that.”

“I can, they’re idiots… I do have to admit,
this isn’t a bad way to fly.”

Silas grinned, “A bit cushy.”

“Some of us like cushy.”

“Are you feeling better now, then?”

“Yes”

“Did Exavior mention turning you?”

“No”

“What’re your plans for the island?” Silas
asked, trying to be subtle about Chevalier’s request.

“Not much, I want to take the horses out
onto the beach, sit and watch my garden grow.”

“How long are you planning on being
gone?”

“A while… so you and
Kralen can head back to Council City whenever you want.”

“What if we want to
stay?”

Emily looked at him
doubtfully, “Yeah right.”

“Maybe we do! It’s been pretty boring
lately.”

“Yeah and the island is much more
exciting.”

Silas glanced around the helicopter.

“Why did you turn?” Emily asked, drawing her
knees up to her chest.

“Oh… well… why not?”

“That’s not really a good reason.”

Silas grinned, “Tell me
why you won’t turn, and I’ll tell you why I did.”

“What if I don’t know,” she said, watching
him.

“You don’t know why you won’t turn?”

“Nope”

“Do you know why the ceremonial room freaks
you out?”

Emily frowned, “It doesn’t freak me
out.”

Silas raised an eyebrow, “Yes, it does.”

“I don’t like it, wouldn’t say I’m afraid of
it though.”

“How did Exavior get you into one?”

Emily tensed again and he noticed the change
in her heart rate, “I thought he was just removing the runes.”

Silas touched her arm
softly, “What did he do?”

She watched him, “If I tell you, then you’ll
tell Chev, and before I know it, the entire Equites faction
knows.”

“I won’t tell him then.”

Emily smiled, “Yes you will.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“I’ll deal with it on my own.”