Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (118 page)

“
Are you ok, Em?” Silas
asked.

“
Yes,” she said, and turned
back to them with a smile. She felt the pain back off and relaxed
her grip on the reins.

William climbed back up onto his horse,
“I’ll need a rematch.”

“
Any time,” Emily said, and
started back for the city.

“
We’re done?” Silas
asked.

“
No, I’m just out of
suckers… you can keep going.”

Emily rode back into town and was just
nearing the stables when another pain hit. She breathed threw it
and then slid off of the stallion and tied him to the hitching
post, then went in the back doors, through the kitchen, and up the
servant stairs to her room. She quickly realized that no one was
aware she had no guards, and she sat on the edge of the bed, trying
to decide what to do.

She fought to control the panic. She knew
Chevalier would pick up on that instantly and she would no longer
be alone. She scanned the room, looking for anything useful.

Emily gasped and turned around when the door
opened. Allen came in and flipped on the lights, “Why are you in
here in the dark?”

He stopped when he saw the terrified look on
her face, “Allen, shut the door.”

He shut the door quietly and took a step in,
“What’s wrong?”

“
I need to get out of
here,” Emily said, and stood up. “Don’t tell your Dad.”

Allen watched with wide eyes as Emily leaned
over and groaned slightly, resting her hands on her knees. She took
one last deep breath and stood up.

“
Mom, I can take you to the
hospital if you don’t want Dad.”

“
No, I want to go to the
farmhouse where no one will know.”

“
I won’t take you there.
You need to get help… I remember when Alexis was born,” Allen said,
steadying her with his arm.

Emily concentrated on Allen and he looked at
her, confused, “What just happened?”

“
You said you were going to
go get me some ice cream… remember?” Emily said, smiling. She
watched as Allen left for the kitchen. When he was out of sight,
she quickly went down into the game room and spun into the bar,
using the top of a chair to wedge the door shut. She looked over at
the windows and saw they were boarded up, per the Elder’s orders
when they began to bury the banished in the ancient’s
room.

Allen walked into the kitchen, still unsure
of how he’d gotten into the bedroom.

“
You look lost, kid,” Zohn
said, patting him on the back.

“
I… I just kind of…
appeared in Mom’s room,” Allen told him. “It was weird, I was in
the library, and then I was in her room.”

“
So she wiped your memory,”
Zohn explained, leaning back against the stove.

“
From what though?” Allen
asked, and put down the ice cream scoop and headed into the prison,
followed by Zohn. Zohn opened the heavy interrogation room door and
stepped in after Allen.

Chevalier looked up from the rack, “Joining
in?”

“
Mom erased my memory,”
Allen said, frustrated.

“
Do you remember why
yet?”

“
No, not yet,” Allen said,
and sat down on one of the tables.

“
Which means she was doing
something she wasn’t supposed to be doing,” Zohn said. “I’m sure
her guards are there.”

“
I didn’t see any guards at
her door,” Allen told him.

Chevalier sighed, “Great… well have the
guards put him into a cell, I’ve heard all I can from him.”

“
He sung huh?” Zohn asked,
looking down at the heku.

“
Yes, very
easily.”

“
Dad!” Allen said, his eyes
wide. “She’s in labor.”

“
Damnit, Em,” Chevalier
said, and blurred up the stairs and into her room.

Allen came in behind him, “She was trying to
get me to hide her out in the farmhouse.”

“
She hides in the bar.
Let’s try there,” Chevalier said, and answered his phone when it
rang. “Yes?”

He stopped on the stairs and sighed, “Yes, I
know. I’m trying to find her now.”

Quinn and Zohn came up the stairs and
stopped at Allen and Chevalier.

“
Yes, we’ll get her there
as soon as we can,” Chevalier said, and hung up. “She called Dr.
Hayden and told him she decided not to have the baby.”

“
Well, at least she’s being
rational,” Zohn said, frowning.

“
So now we hunt for her?”
Quinn asked.

“
She usually hides in the
bar, let’s try there before we call for help,” Chevalier said, and
ran into the game room.

“
Elders,” one of the guards
said, standing up at attention.

“
Did you see Emily in
here?” Chevalier asked him.

“
No, Sir, but I’ve only
been here for a few minutes.”

Allen walked over and tipped the painting,
but the wall didn’t spin. He turned around, “She has it blocked
from the inside.”

Chevalier sighed, “I’m not playing this
game. Everyone push.”

The Elders, Allen, and the one guard all
braced and pushed at once against the door. There was a loud crack
when the chair broke and the door swung around. Chevalier walked
over behind the bar and looked down at her. The irritation left him
immediately when he saw the terror in her eyes.

He knelt down, “It’s time to go.”

“
No, I can’t do this,” she
said, tears running down her face.

“
It’s not really an option
anymore, Em… Dr. Hayden is waiting for us.”

“
Touch me and I’ll ash
you.”

“
No you won’t… now… we need
to get you to the hospital.”

“
It’s not time,” Emily
said. “It’s just false labor.”

Chevalier started to argue, but could tell
she was hit with another contraction. He stood up and turned to the
others.

“
Get my Hummer and tell
Kyle he’s driving,” Chevalier whispered. He turned back to Emily
when Zohn left to get Kyle.

Emily was shaking her head, “I can’t do
it.”

“
I’ll be there,” he said,
and picked her up.

“
You don’t understand. I
can’t do it, not this time,” she told him, and leaned her head on
his shoulder.

“
We’ll be in a hospital
this time. It’ll be ok,” he said, and kissed her forehead before
putting her into the Humvee.

“
It’s a boy,” Dr. Hayden
announced, and handed the baby over to the nurse. Kyle kept a firm
grip on Emily’s I.V. and watched them put the baby in the warmer.
He looked over at Chevalier, frowning.

Chevalier was watching the baby with wide
eyes. He turned and looked at Kyle.

“
Let’s get some B positive
going,” the doctor called out, and a nurse hooked a bag of blood
into the I.V.

“
Is she ok?” Chevalier
asked, looking down at her. Her eyes were shut and she was
breathing quickly.

“
Yes, just replacing some
of the blood loss,” he explained, and then lowered the sheet.
“She’ll feel better when we get a few units into her.”

“
So the bleeding
stopped?”

“
Yes, she should be ready
to take the baby in a few minutes.”

“
Is… is she going to try to
nurse him?” Kyle asked with an odd look on his face.

“
No reason why not,” the
doctor said. “I’ll be back in a while to check on her, and then I
want to talk to you gentlemen.”

“
Is there a problem?”
Chevalier asked.

“
I’d say so,” Dr. Hayden
whispered, glancing back at Emily. “If I don’t like your
explanation of how she got bruises on her face, then I’ll have to
call the police.”

Kyle nodded, “We can explain that.”

“
You better,” he said, and
left.

Emily opened her eyes and took the baby from
the nurse and cradled him in her arms. She touched his soft black
hair and let him grip onto her finger with his tiny hand. The nurse
smiled and left them alone.

“
Can I hold him for a sec,
Em?” Chevalier asked.

Emily nodded and handed the baby over.
Chevalier turned away from her and glanced at Kyle before bringing
the baby’s wrist to his nose and inhaling. He looked over at Kyle
and nodded slightly.

“
What?” Emily asked,
noticing how quiet they got.

“
He’s full heku,” Chevalier
said, and turned to face her. “There’s no mortal scent at
all.”

Emily frowned, “That can’t be right.”

“
I caught it too, as soon
as he was born,” Kyle said, still gripping her I.V.

“
Give him to me,” she said,
and reached out for the baby.

Chevalier handed her the baby and glanced
again at Kyle. He nodded and left as soon as Chevalier had a hold
on her I.V.

Emily ran her hands along the baby’s soft
hands and feet, “He can’t be full heku.”

“
He is, it’s
unmistakable.”

“
Go away,” Emily whispered,
watching the baby.

“
I can’t leave.”

“
I said, go
away.”

Chevalier nodded and started out the
door.

“
Take the baby,” Emily
said, and held him up. Chevalier cradled the baby gently and left
the room, shutting the door behind him. He handed the baby to a
nurse and met Kyle out in the Humvee.

“
We going back?” Kyle
asked, starting up the truck.

“
Yes, she needs to be alone
for a bit,” Chevalier told him. They drove silently to the palace
and pulled into the garage. Both headed into the council chambers
where the Council was already meeting. They sat at their chairs and
watched the rest of the current trial. As soon as the trial ended,
everyone turned toward Chevalier.

“
So?” Quinn asked,
excited.

“
It’s a boy,” Chevalier
said. “A full heku.”

Quinn frowned, “Full?”

“
Yes”

“
You’re
certain?”

“
We both caught the scent,”
Kyle said. “There’s no human in that baby.”

“
Interesting,” Zohn said.
“How is Emily taking that?”

“
Not well, again… she’s had
a hard time when the kids show any sign of favoring the heku, but
this one hit her unexpectedly I think.”

“
Let’s get on with it then
so the Elder can get back to the hospital,” Quinn said. “We need to
figure out what to do with Samuel.”

“
So we have just Vaughn and
Samuel left of the Ferus, right?” Zohn asked.

“
And the one that tried to
kidnap Emily yesterday,” Kyle reminded him.

“
He’s alive?”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, but I’m not done
with him, we were interrupted.”

“
Let’s bring Vaughn and
Samuel back in here,” Quinn said to Derrick. He nodded and
disappeared. A few minutes later, palace guards came in with the
requested heku and made them kneel before the Council.

“
I’m surprised the Council
would convene without their pet around to protect them,” Vaughn
said angrily

“
We’re trying to decide
what to do with you two,” Chevalier told them, ignoring the pet
comment.

“
By law you have to let me
go,” Vaughn said, grinning. “I’m the only Elder of the Ferus, and
therefore, must be released.”

“
We’ve already told you,
the laws don’t apply to the Ferus. They are not a sanctioned
faction,” Zohn said, sighing.

“
Then what must one do to
become sanctioned?” Samuel asked calmly. The Council remembered him
as one of the calmer Elders the Equites had seen, one reason he was
only an Elder for a few months before being banished.

“
You’d have to get approval
from all three factions, and as of yet, you don’t even have one
supporter,” Kyle explained.

“
Still,” Vaughn said. “I’m
the only one that can control those heku and should, therefore, be
let go.”

“
No,” Zohn said.

“
Return them,” Quinn said,
and watched as the guards hauled them back to the
prison.

“
I vote we return Samuel to
the ground, and keep Vaughn around for a while,” Zohn said. “He’ll
cave and we could get useful information.”

“
I concur,” Quinn said, and
turned to Chevalier.

“
Do it,” Chevalier told
Kyle.

Kyle nodded and disappeared down into the
prison.

“
I’m going back to the
hospital,” Chevalier said.

“
Are you taking blood?”
Quinn asked.

Chevalier frowned slightly, “Hadn’t thought
of that, guess I better.”

“
You’re going to feed an
infant blood… in the hospital?” Dustin asked, shocked.

“
If he’s hungry, yes, I
am,” Chevalier said, grinning, and left for the kitchen. He grabbed
some blood and a cooler before heading out for the
hospital.

Chevalier glanced quickly at the guards he
had posted outside of the hospital and then walked in.

Dr. Hayden came up to him angrily, “She’s
gone.”

“
What do you mean she’s
gone?” Chevalier asked, confused.