Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (106 page)

“
We need elite guards who
can think, though,” Chevalier said. “That was honestly the dumbest
thing he could have done… am I a weak Elder there, Boy?”

“
No… no, Sir,” the guard
said, gritting his teeth.

“
Am I easy to walk on? Too
pathetic to be afraid of?”

“
No… please… don’t kill
me.”

“
Do I put off a vibe that
you can be an idiot around my wife?”

The guard answered with a scream.

“
Speaking of your wife,”
Mark said, and grinned slightly. “I heard a rumor that she stripped
in front of some of the Cavalry.”

Chevalier chuckled, “That she did.”

“
Do I need to punish anyone
for that?”

“
Nope, she did it on her
own.”

Mark frowned, “Might I ask why?”

“
She was offering to let
them check for feed marks.”

Mark leaned back against the rack and
thought, “Why would she do that?”

“
Kyle was questioning her
about the low blood supply the doctor keeps talking about, and she
got mad and decided to prove to them that she’s not being fed off
of.”

“
Well, the ones present are
pretty sure you’re coming after them for it.”

“
Why would I?” Chevalier
asked. “Not like they asked her to… granted, I would like to rip
their eyes out.”

“
Well, they aren’t talking
about it anymore. I put a stop to that.”

Chevalier looked up at him, “What were they
saying?”

Mark sighed, “More talking about… well…
admiring, I guess… they were…”

“
That’s enough… I get the
picture.”

“
Can you ask her not to do
that again? It’s hard enough to keep them from watching her as it
is.”

“
If I do that, she’ll do it
again just to prove a point,” Chevalier said. “Drop it and she
probably won’t.”

“
You’re taking it
well.”

“
It’s taken some control…
when anyone looks at her…”

Mark nodded, “I know.”

“
Then again, she’s taken to
wearing some leather lately, how can I blame them?”

“
Heard she got a
tattoo…”

Chevalier frowned, “They actually looked at
her when she stripped?”

“
I think it was more
looking in shock before turning away.”

“
Hmm, hope so.” The Elder
turned back to the guard, “Did you see her tattoo?”

“
Yes, Sir,” he
groaned.

***

Emily started getting tired toward early
evening, and decided to find a hotel for the night. She left the
Interstate and headed for a posh inn off of the coast of Lake Erie.
She checked around her before removing her helmet, and then shook
her head as the red Lamborghini Reventon pulled into a parking spot
behind her. She watched as Kyle got out and walked up to her,
smiling.

“
You following me?” she
asked, getting off the bike.

“
Nope, was coming to the
island and saw you pull in here.”

“
Yeah right,” she said, and
tucked the helmet under her arm as she went in to get a
room.

“
Are you feeling ok?” he
asked, following her inside.

“
No, I’m not… a room
please, for one.”

“
For two,” Kyle said to the
clerk and smiled.

Emily sighed, “For 2.”

“
We’ll take the
penthouse.”

“
Alright, let’s see,” the
clerk said, and started typing into a computer. “The penthouse is
full, but I have the honeymoon suit. It’s the next largest
room.”

“
We’ll take it,” Kyle said,
pulling out his wallet.

“
No we won’t. We’ll take 2
separate rooms,” Emily said.

“
Which will it be?” the
clerk asked, confused.

“
Honeymoon suit,” Kyle told
him, and turned to Emily. “I’ll behave.”

“
Yeah, whatever,” she said,
and sat down on a large leather couch by the lobby’s waterfall. She
leaned her elbow on the arm rest and put her head in her hand,
hoping they would hurry. She ignored the conversation Kyle was
having with the clerk, and focused on the waterfall, trying to calm
her headache.

“
Am I going to have to
carry you?” Kyle asked, looking down at Emily.

“
No,” she said, and stood
up slowly, then followed him to the elevators. The doors opened to
a beautiful honeymoon suite with a Jacuzzi in the floor, and a
round bed surrounded in mirrors.

“
Nice,” Kyle chuckled,
looking around the room.

“
It’s… well… hokey,” she
said, and tossed her bag onto the bed.

“
Do you want to eat
something?”

Emily shrugged and picked up the menu. She
dialed and waited for room service to answer, “Hi, can I get the
Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and cherry cheesecake?”

Kyle started the water in the floor Jacuzzi
while Emily finished ordering and then laid down.

“
Are you going to take a
bath?” Emily asked, sitting up.

“
No, you are.”

“
I am?”

“
Yes, you’re obviously not
feeling well and you like baths.”

“
What exactly are you going
to do?”

“
Sit quietly and not look,
like a good little heku,” he said, grinning. She shut her eyes and
leaned back on the bed, waiting for dinner to arrive.

“
I don’t trust you,” she
said finally, and headed for the door. Kyle blurred in front of her
and opened the door carefully before stepping aside so the bellhop
could bring in the cart. He tipped the server and then shut and
locked the door.

“
Whew, so glad you did
that. I could have gotten attacked with a napkin,” she said, and
pulled the dome off the tray. She sat down at the wooden heart
table and started to eat slowly.

“
The V.E.S. are
everywhere,” he said, and spun the other chair, sitting in it
backwards to watch her.

She ate a few bites and started to turn pale
before running for the bathroom. Kyle watched her go and then went
and turned the water off in the Jacuzzi, and dumped in a bottle of
bubbles that was sitting beside it.

“
When you’re done, come
take a bath. I won’t look,” he said, looking around the
room.

A few minutes later, Emily came back out,
still pale and shaky, “Ok, go away.”

Kyle smiled and disappeared into the
bathroom to wait. He grabbed his cell phone to call the
Council.

“
Equites Council,” Zohn
said, sounding bored.

“
It’s Kyle.”

“
Still on the way to the
island?” Chevalier asked.

“
Actually, we stopped for
the night. I caught up with Emily and she wasn’t feeling
well.”

“
Good idea, that makes me
feel better that you’re together.”

“
So far, no problems. She
couldn’t eat though, but she did try.”

“
Did she take her
pills?”

“
I actually didn’t ask,
she’s not in a good mood,” Kyle said, slightly amused.

Chevalier chuckled, “Let us know when you
get to the island.”

“
Will do,” he said, and
looked around the small bathroom. There was a double shower and the
soaps were all red hearts that smelled like old perfume.

Kyle waited patiently for an hour before he
started to get nervous, “Are you going to sleep in there?”

“
Hello,” Kyle said,
answering his cell phone.

“
Where are you, exactly?”
Quinn asked hurriedly.

“
We’re outside of Erie,
Pennsylvania. What’s up?”

“
We just got a call from
the Valle. They have a coven near there that tried to turn a
mortal, and the mortal died.”

“
Damnit!” Kyle yelled, and
opened the bathroom door. He saw the scarlet colored water and
Emily lying unconscious against the side of the Jacuzzi. He dropped
the phone and jumped into the Jacuzzi, picking her up as she
started to slip under the water. He quickly laid her down on the
bed and covered her with a blanket, then pulled her eyelids back
and the whites of her eyes were blood red. She had a trickle of
blood coming from her nose and ears.

Kyle grabbed the phone and dialed the
Council back, “It’s happened again. She’s unconscious and has
bloody eyes, nosebleed, and blood coming out of her ears.”

“
Kyle…” Chevalier
growled.

“
I’m ok… her scent is so
faint lately it’s not too bad.”

“
Get her to the palace.
You’re closer here than to the island. We’ll call the Valle back
and tell them what happened.”

“
Send someone after her
motorcycle. We’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

“
Get here quickly and put
her to bed.”

Kyle shut the phone and looked around the
room briefly. He threw her clothes into the bag and debated
dressing her, but decided it would be best to wrap her in the
blankets and get out of the area as soon as possible. He blurred,
so no one could see them, and laid the seat back once Emily was in
the car. He buckled her in and then got into the driver’s seat and
was soon on the Interstate topped out at 215 mph.

They got to the palace just before dawn, and
within minutes, Emily was in her bed, unaware she was back in the
palace.

“
She’s not dressed,”
Chevalier growled, turning to Kyle.

“
She was in the bath! I
kept her covered,” he explained, irritated.

“
Get out.”

Kyle nodded and left Chevalier and Emily
alone in their room. He was surprised to see four members of the
Cavalry outside of her door.

“
You’re either very brave,
or very stupid,” Kyle said to Silas.

“
Elder’s orders, we have to
be here,” Silas told him.

“
It’s your ash…” Kyle said,
disappearing down the stairs. He headed for his office, but stopped
when he saw four members of the guard escorting a single Valle into
the palace, “What’s going on?”

“
Says he has a message for
Chevalier. He won’t give the message to anyone else,” the
Lieutenant said.

“
Just tell me. Chevalier is
busy.”

“
No, Sir. Elder Sotomar
said Chevalier only,” the Valle said, looking around
nervously.

“
Fine, take him up to the
bedroom, and then get him out of the palace,” Kyle growled, and
disappeared into his office.

The guards nodded and headed up to the
bedroom after the first floor guards forced masks onto each of
them. The Valle’s gray cape stood out among the green that came to
meet up with them.

“
What’s going on?” Silas
asked the guards as he eyed the Valle.

“
Chief Enforcer’s orders…
the Valle has a message for the Elder,” the guard said after
saluting the Commander.

Silas glanced again at the Valle, and then
informed Chevalier he had a visitor. After a few minutes, the door
opened and the Elder stepped out.

“
Ok, I’m here. What’s the
big message?” he asked the Valle.

The Valle looked around briefly and then
turned back to Chevalier, “It’s private.”

Chevalier sighed and opened the bedroom
door, “Get in here.”

The Valle guard stepped into the bedroom and
looked over at the sleeping mortal for a few seconds before
Chevalier cleared his throat.

“
Oh, right,” the Valle
said, and handed Chevalier a large envelope. “This is from Elder
Sotomar. They were clearing out one of Exavior’s covens to move in
another, and found a ledger that the Elder thought you needed to
know about.”

“
That’s the
message?”

“
Yes”

“
Fine, then go,” he said,
and waited until the Valle was gone before opening the envelope. He
sat down by the fire where he could still see Emily sleeping, and
began to read through it.

April 17

What a beautiful child. She’s only 3 years
old and she’s small for her age, but Alec already told me about
that. She has beautiful green eyes that I hope don’t change when we
turn her. We have 5 days to do this. Ulrich was furious with the
idea, and forbid me from doing it, so I’ve called in the Chief
Enforcer to help. She’s small enough that two of us should be all
that’s needed. We will prepare tonight, and tomorrow we’ll attempt
to turn the first Winchester into a heku.

April 18

Didn’t go well, she was very upset by the
ceremony. I’ll admit the room is cold and damp, but we ended up
having to sedate her. The screaming was horrible, she’s a
strong-willed child. She didn’t calm down even after we fed from
her, which normally leaves mortals relaxed. During the ceremony,
she fought against me and I left harsh bruises on her arm from
holding her down. We knew it wasn’t working when she refused to
feed from my wrist. We’ll try again in a few hours.

We still weren’t able to perform the
ceremony. We tried again, but she fought so badly when we each bit
her, that I think the Chief Enforcer ended up doing more damage
than was needed. Once she was to the point of needing to feed from
me, I felt a twinge of burn and had to stop the ceremony for her to
calm down.