Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series (22 page)

“What’s going on?”
Chevalier asked, angry that a member of his guard staff was brought
before the Council.

The doors opened and Emily
stepped in, blushing when the Council looked over at
her.

“Welcome back, Dear,”
Quinn said, smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” she
said, and stepped up under the lights. The Council gasped and fell
silent when their eyes took in the visible bruises left on her even
after a week.

Kyle walked up and sat in
his place, noticeably angry. Jaron stayed with Wade on the trial
floor, but the heku stayed on his knees, no longer
struggling.

“Ok, now that the Chief Enforcer has
returned… what seems to be the problem?” Dustin asked.

Emily glared at him and didn’t speak. He
shifted nervously until Chevalier spoke.

“What’d he do, Em?”

She finally looked over at
Chevalier, “I actually didn’t want to address the Council. I wanted
him to talk to you and Kyle.”

“Why not the entire
Council?” Zohn asked, confused.

Emily shrugged, “It’s just a matter of coven
business is all.”

“It’s ok, we’re all bored… go ahead,” Quinn
told her.

She started to panic. She
envisioned Dustin ripping the head off of Wade, and blood pouring
across the trial room floor, his dead eyes watching her. She felt
the walls closing in and the old hatred creeping back.

“It’s… well… the, um… I
changed my mind,” she said, and spun quickly, heading for the door.
Mark stepped in just before she got to the door and she stopped and
looked up at him.

Mark smiled and took her arm gently, “Come
on…”

He walked her back to
where Wade and Jaron were, and she looked up at the Council
again.

Chevalier eyed Wade, “Tell me.”

Wade glanced up at Emily, “I… I don’t know
why she brought me here…”

“He’s lying,” the Chief Interrogator
said.

“Want to try that again?” Chevalier asked
him.

“It was… it was a
misunderstanding… it was just a phone call… to my
Commander.”

“It was not a
misunderstanding,” Emily yelled at him. “Did you or did you not
tell someone on the phone that you told the V.E.S. when I went on a
walk outside of the cement walls?”

“No! I wouldn’t do that.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed when the Chief
Interrogator shook his head, “Lying… again.”

“Do you also deny that you
told someone on the phone that you would let the V.E.S. onto the
island before the security bars closed? And that they needed to
bring more support because a heku could easily take out 10
mortals?” Emily yelled again. She headed for the heku, but Mark
took her shoulders in his hands and held her back.

“No… no, I… I didn’t do that,” Wade said,
fearfully watching Chevalier.

“Stop, don’t kill him yet,” Quinn said when
Chevalier stood up. “I want to find out more.”

Chevalier growled, “How long have you been
giving information about the island to the V.E.S?”

“I didn’t!” Wade yelled, panicking.

Quinn stood up, “Let’s start at the
beginning… Emily, where were you?”

She looked up at him, “In my office.”

“Doing what?”

“Just stuff.”

“Ok… and then what?”

“I heard a voice in the hallway.”

“That’s when you heard what this heku was
saying?”

“Yes… when he was done, I
burned him until guards arrived, and then I brought him
here.”

“Very well, Wade… were you in the hallway
outside of Lady Emily’s office?” Quinn asked.

He nodded,
“Yes.”

“Were you on the phone?”

“Yes”

“Who were you talking to?”

“My Commander, Rockwell,”
Wade explained nervously.

“He’s lying… still,” the
Chief Interrogator told the Council.

“Em, come here please,”
Chevalier said, still watching Wade. Emily walked around the guard
and up onto the Council stand. She knelt down beside Chevalier and
he took her hand, then got a faraway look in his eyes, and she shut
her eyes as the conversation she overheard replayed in her
mind.

A low growl was heard as Chevalier let go of
her hand and looked over at Wade. He blurred down to the trial
floor and backhanded the guard, shattering his jaw and sending him
to the floor as blood poured out of his mouth.

Emily stood up and looked down, wide
eyed.

“Sit, Dear,” Quinn said,
and motioned for Chevalier’s chair. She nodded and sat down. She’d
seen the rage in Chevalier’s features before, and knew it was best
to stay out of his way.

Chevalier grabbed Wade around the neck and
hauled him out of the trial area, followed by Kyle. The door shut
behind them and Emily turned to Quinn.

“It’s ok,” he said, and
smiled at her.

She glanced at Dustin and back to Quinn,
“I’ll be heading back then.”

“Wait…” Zohn said. “Stay…
in case they have more questions.”

“Chevalier saw it all. He
knows as much as I do now.”

“Yes… but what if there
are more V.E.S. supporters on the island?”

Emily frowned slightly, “What can a heku
gain by helping the V.E.S?”

“That’s what I keep wondering,” the Chief
Investigator said. “What could they offer? Money? Protection?”

“Like a heku’s ever needed money.”

Quinn grinned slightly,
“We don’t start off with fortunes. It’s gained over
time.”

“Still… everything he needs is on the island
right?”

“Yes, Chevalier’s coven is well provided
for.”

Emily stood up, “Doesn’t matter, I’m going
back anyway.”

“Lunch then?” Zohn asked,
also standing. “Is it not lunch time?”

“I can eat when I get to the island.”

“We have a sick horse,”
Mark said, and continued when she turned to him. “We’ve been
treating it, but would you take a look?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Mark shrugged, “Not really sure… runny
nose.”

Emily sighed and started down toward Mark,
“Why do I get the feeling this is just a ruse to stall me?”

Mark grinned, “Because you’re paranoid.”

“Let’s go then…” she said,
and followed Mark out.

“Is there really a sick
horse?” Quinn asked.

“Nope, he was lying,” the Chief Interrogator
said.

“That just means she’ll be leaving in 5
minutes instead of immediately,” Dustin said.

Zohn thought for a moment and then called
out, “Dunn?”

A heku appeared in the trial area after only
a few seconds, “Yes, Elder?”

“Winchester 1 is here, why don’t you go give
it a good look over and do some maintenance?”

“Sure, Elder, though we did that only a few
weeks ago.”

“Do it again… this time, find something
wrong.”

The heku nodded and disappeared.

“She’ll just drive it,” Dustin told him.

“Probably,” Zohn said.

The Council debated on
various ways to make Emily stay, until Kyle came into the council
chambers and sat down, “He sung…”

“What did you find?” Quinn asked.

“He’s been giving the
V.E.S. information on Emily in exchange for donors…”

“Donors?”

“Yeah, free donors. There
is an attack coming on Wednesday that he was supposed to help with.
If the V.E.S. doesn’t hear from Wade, they will go on with their
plan.”

“Where’s Chevalier then?”

“Just letting out some
frustrations. We got all we need from him.”

Quinn thought for a
moment, “I guess we reinforce the island. That’s a large number of
mortals to kill though without risking exposure.”

Kyle shrugged, “Not sure the island needs
reinforced… and I suggest we do the mass cult suicide setup.”

“For 800 humans though?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Send 100 of our army
over, just in case,” Zohn said. “Then prepare for the suicide
story.”

Kyle nodded and disappeared to gather the
forces.

“Well how was I supposed to know?” Mark
asked, opening the door for Emily.

They both walked into the
council chambers, “You know because her snot is clear…”

“I didn’t inspect it.”

“You have to. Giving the
poor mare antibiotics for no reason isn’t good for her.”

“Seriously, how can a horse be allergic to
hay?”

“Just soak her hay before
you give it to her, tell Linford.”

Mark nodded, “I will… but just imagine being
allergic to your favorite food.”

“So the horse is well?” Zohn asked.

Emily nodded, “She’s fine.”

“We’re having some work
done on your helicopter,” Quinn told her, and winced slightly when
she turned to him.

“How convenient.”

“Your pilot said there was
a light on the instrument panel that indicated a problem. We’re
having it checked out.”

“Sure he did. I’m sure any
pilot would fly a helicopter that’s broken… might as well go look
at the pool.”

Quinn grinned when she left with Mark,
“Doesn’t miss a lot, does she?”

Emily ended up with six
Cavalry members with her by the time she walked the short distance
to the new recreational out-building. The first room she stepped
into was the small foyer, it was inviting with a fireplace, soft
chairs, and black and white checkerboard tiles. The long hallway
was just past the fireplace, and the first door she came to opened
into a large classroom with rows of desks.

She shut that door and
went to the next, which opened into a massive room with mirror
lined walls, padded floors, and hundreds of stuffed
dummies.

The pool was next. She
stepped in, followed by the Cavalry. The pool was twice as large as
the one in the castle, but the room was still warm and muggy. There
were four hot tubs laid into the cement around the pool and a
six-stall dressing room at the end of the room.

Emily reached down and
touched the pool water. It was as warm as a bath and she smiled and
looked around, “Pretty nice.”

“Never even been used,”
Mark said as he walked past her to look down at the deep end. He
gasped when two hands hit his back and pushed him into the water.
He surfaced and turned toward Emily, who was smiling.

“Now… it’s been used.”

Emily screamed when Jaron
picked her up, and she hooked her arm around his neck when he
tossed her into the pool, bringing him with her. She surfaced and
began to tread water as she laughed. Jaron surfaced shortly after
her and swam over to the edge of the pool. Suddenly, two more of
the Cavalry were thrown into the pool as Jaron pulled them in when
they tried to help him out.

Emily laughed and swam a
little ways from the others when they started to wrestle in the
water. She used the ladder to climb out and pushed the last guard
in when he brought her a towel.

“Hey… you aren’t drying
off,” Mark said when Emily started for the towels. He blurred
behind her and pushed her back into the pool, laughing.

They all turned when they
heard someone clear their throats. It wasn’t until then that they
noticed all three Elders were in the pool room.

Emily was in the middle of
trying to dunk Jaron, and she climbed off his back when she saw
them, “Oh… well… hello.”

Quinn was grinning at the
sight of six members of the Cavalry, all soaking wet and looking
guilty. Emily was the only one acting as if she wasn’t in trouble,
though it was obvious who started it all.

“Having fun?” Chevalier
asked, and put a hand out to help Emily out of the pool.

“Always,” she said, and
grabbed his hand. He pulled her out of the water and handed her a
towel.

Mark was just climbing out
of the water when he turned suddenly at the sound of a splash. The
Cavalry watched, in shock, as Emily pushed Chevalier into the
water. He surfaced and even his face was surprised.

Emily was laughing until Quinn pushed her
in, “Might as well face him on even terms.”

She faced Chevalier, but
started to swim backwards, “I’m not afraid of an Elder.”

“You’re not?” he asked, moving slowly
towards her.

Emily looked around when
the entire room suddenly emptied out, leaving only herself and
Chevalier, “Well… now I am, my backup just left.”

She turned back to him and
found herself instantly in his arms. He pressed his lips to hers as
she wrapped her arms around him.

***

Emily slipped on a fluffy pink robe she
found in the robe warmer and cinched the belt, “Not what I expected
when I came to look at the pool.”

Chevalier was already
wrapped in a white robe, “I’m sure the poor Cavalry didn’t expect
to go for a swim either.”

“It was good for them… I didn’t think I’d
get them in the water.”

“If they knew it was coming, you wouldn’t
have.”

“See, I was just keeping them on their
toes,” she said as he held the door open for her. They walked out
and headed for the palace, carrying their wet clothes.

“That you were, it’s good for them.”

“I can’t believe Quinn pushed me in!”

Chevalier grinned, “I asked him to.”

“Ah! That makes more sense.”

They walked in silence to
the bedroom and Emily dug through the closet. She’d taken all of
the jeans and t-shirts back to the castle, so she picked out a
light summer dressed and slipped it on.