Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (12 page)

“
I want to go,” Emily told
him.

Kyle looked at the Elders.

“
Fine with me,” Chevalier
said. “Take Mark, and go in uniform.”

“
What? Why?” Emily asked,
frowning.

“
Trust me, go in
uniform.”

Emily ran out of the room to get ready, and
an hour later Equites 2 was leaving for Powan Coven.

“
I don’t like the scent,”
Kyle told her after a few minutes of silence.

Mark nodded, “I don’t either.”

Emily grinned, “So it’s working. You don’t
want to eat me anymore?”

“
No, far from it,” Kyle
chuckled. “What did you do?”

“
I thought of it after
Sotomar’s little massage… I found a way to mask my
scent.”

Emily watched as the pilot circled Powan
Coven, waiting for clearance to land. The coven had high cement
walls and large warehouse like buildings.

“
No houses?” Emily asked,
looking over at Kyle.

“
No, Powan is completely
militaristic. They live in barracks only,” he explained.

Mark smiled, “They’re probably the most
disciplined and strongest coven out of all factions.”

“
No families then?” Emily
asked.

“
No, no families, and no
shops… only soldiers,” Mark said.

Emily watched as the helicopter landed on
top of one of the barracks.

Emily unbuckled, “So not even a main
house?”

Mark shook his head, “No, even the Lord of
Powan lives in the barracks.”

Kyle and Mark jumped out and turned to help
Emily out of the tall helicopter. She looked around when she got to
the ground, and was amazed at the gathered army. There were
perfectly formed rows of heku, all wearing fatigues and standing
straight at attention. Not one of them even looked over at the
arriving members from Council City. She was glad Chevalier insisted
she wear her Thukil uniform. It made her feel like she wasn’t
standing out as badly as she would have in civilian clothing.

“
Chief Enforcer, it’s
always good to see you,” a General said, shaking Kyle’s
hand.

“
This is Mark. He’s Captain
of our Cavalry, and this is Lady Emily,” Kyle said.

The General nodded, “Captain, good to have
you here. And… Commander, is it?”

Emily nodded and shook his hand. She
couldn’t stop looking at the Powan heku. They stood still enough
that she had to look closely to even see them breathing. They
looked like statues out on the lawn.

Kyle turned to Mark and Emily, “This is the
Lord of Powan Coven, General Skinner.”

“
You said you had
information for me?” General Skinner asked, and opened the door to
the closest barracks.

Mark, Kyle, and Emily followed the General
inside and into a small conference room. There was a pitcher of ice
water and a glass already sitting on the table, and the General
pulled Emily’s chair out for her and helped her slide in.

Once the others were seated, Kyle explained
to the General about the combined Encala and Valle attacks on
Randolph Coven, and their ultimate plans to attack Powan.

“
Do we know of any further
attacks that are planned?” General Skinner asked.

Kyle shook his head, “Nothing yet, obviously
we are keeping an eye out.”

“
We have… recently…” the
General glanced at Mark briefly, “Caught a traitor in our midst. We
haven’t been able to get any information out of him though, but we
suspect he might have joined the Encala.”

“
I can get him to talk,”
Emily said, and blushed when everyone looked at her.

“
She does have quite the
knack for getting information,” Kyle said.

General Skinner smiled, “Then by all
means.”

Emily stood up and followed the General as
Kyle and Mark whispered behind her. He took them into another set
of barracks and down a flight of metal stairs, into a small prison.
He stood in front of the electrified bars of a cell that was only
4ft x 4ft. A large heku was sitting on the cement floor and glaring
up at the General.

Emily stepped in front of the bars, and he
stood up quickly, “Did you bring me a donor?”

Emily frowned, “I am not a donor.”

“
Then why the beautiful
girl?” the prisoner asked, watching the vein in her neck
closely.

“
I have a question for
you,” Emily said, and smiled sweetly.

The prisoner reached out of the cell to grab
her, but she was already out of his reach.

“
Are you an Encala?” Emily
asked, watching his eyes closely.

The prisoner smiled. His black, jagged teeth
more prominent against his white, sunken face, “Why would I tell
you?”

His smile turned to a grimace as he fell
against the back wall of the cell, screaming and grabbing at his
chest. The General watched, amazed, as the air filled with the
smell of burning flesh.

“
What else did you want to
know?” Emily asked.

General Skinner glanced at the prisoner,
surprised that Emily could hold him in pain and still talk, “See if
he knows of any plans to attack.”

The prisoner collapsed and groaned when the
pain stopped.

“
Are you an Encala?” Emily
asked again.

The prisoner got to his hands and knees and
finally pulled himself up to standing, “I don’t talk to little
girls.”

Emily smiled, “I can make this a lot worse
for you… a lot… worse.”

“
A young mortal? I’m not
afraid of you.”

Emily shrugged and then smiled at Mark as
the prisoner screamed again and fell in pain. Just before he went
unconscious, Emily released him.

“
Last chance, tell me,”
Emily said.

The prisoner shook his head and groaned.

“
Fine, no more chances…
General, Kyle, Mark?” Emily turned to then.

They all turned toward her.

“
You may want to leave for
a minute,” she told them.

“
I don’t know, Em,” Mark
said, looking at the fierce way the prisoner was watching
her.

“
Are these bars sturdy?”
Emily asked the General.

“
They are.”

“
Good, then I’ll be out in
a moment,” Emily said, and smiled.

Kyle and the General left, while Mark looked
around the area and then hesitantly followed them.

Emily sat down, out of reach of the
prisoner, “You thirsty?”

The prisoner nodded and ran his tongue along
his teeth.

“
There are worse things
than pain, and you know it. Last chance to give me the information
I want.”

“
I won’t bow down to a
mortal,” he told her, and touched the air with his
tongue.

“
Fine…” Emily said, and
pulled a pair of fingernail clippers from her purse. She smiled at
him and then cut her wrist a tiny bit, enough to send a drop of
blood to the floor. The entire prison erupted in growls, screams,
and hisses. The prisoner she was talking to ran full force at the
electrically charged bars and slammed into them, desperate to get
to her.

“
Want some?” Emily asked
him softly.

He looked up at her, no longer able to
reason as his feral nature came to the front. He grabbed for her
again, and inhaled as a guttural noise escaped him.

“
I bet it tastes as good as
it smells,” Emily told him, and he looked at her, his eyes
fierce.

He inhaled again and his body shook as he
reached for her, his hand grasping at the air in front of her.

“
Want just a little bit?”
Emily touched her finger to the drop of blood on the floor and
showed him. “I have plenty of this… just for you.”

He hissed and his eyes fixed on the blood on
her finger, “Yes, I joined the Encala.”

“
Good, now we have some
conversation going… I’m not done though, so you can’t feed quite
yet,” Emily said, and he lunged at the bars again. “Why are you
here, in Powan?”

“
Give me a taste, just one
taste!”

“
Good idea,” Emily said,
and went over to the sink. She took a paper towel, and dipped the
corner of it in the blood on her wrist, and then tossed it to the
prisoner. She watched, amused, as he touched the blood to his
tongue and savored the small amount.

“
More!” he
yelled.

“
I have all you would want…
just tell me why you are here,” Emily said again, ignoring the way
the prisoners were all screaming for her.

“
We are giving information
to the Encala, for an attack,” the prisoner said, reaching a
shaking hand out to her. “Now give me more.”

“
Not yet… we? Who else in
this coven is Encala or Valle?” Emily took a pen and paper out of
her purse.

The prisoner inhaled again, his eyes rolling
back in his head slightly, “One more taste.”

Emily stood up and let one more drop of
blood hit the floor, “I’m leaving unless you tell me.”

“
No! No, Child, let me
feed,” he said to her.

“
Last chance and I’m
walking,” Emily said, and looked toward the door.

“
Phil, Yon, and Wesley,”
the prisoner told her, watching her neck. “They are Encala also.
Jeremy and Korey are Valle.”

“
See, that was easy,” Emily
said, and sat back down. “When’s the attack on Powan?”

“
Let me feed!” he screamed
at her.

“
No screaming or I walk,”
Emily said, and reopened the small cut on her wrist. “When I walk,
the blood comes with me.”

A low hiss escaped him, “Three weeks on
Friday, both factions will come.”

Emily stood up and headed for the door,
pressing her shirt against her wrist.

“
No! You promised me!” the
prisoner screamed at her. Emily opened the door and smiled at the
heku waiting for her. They were frowning as they heard the
commotion from the prison.

“
My God, Emily, what did
you do to them?” Mark asked, shocked.

“
I’m not telling, or you’ll
get mad,” Emily said, and handed the names over to the General.
“They are attacking three weeks from Friday, both the Valle and the
Encala.”

General Skinner grinned, “How, Child, did
you do this? We’ve inflicted pain, we’ve starved him, and we got
nothing.”

“
Ok, I’ll tell,” Emily
said, cringing. “You can’t get mad.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed, “What did your
scheming little mind come up with now?”

Emily sighed, “I cut my wrist…”

“
You what!?” Mark
growled.

“
Stop it. I said no one can
get mad at me,” Emily said sternly.

“
I let just a drop of blood
hit the floor… then I let him taste just a little, on a tissue,”
Emily said, and watched the General’s eyes grow wider. “I told him
if he gave me the information, I’d let him feed.”

“
Did… did you?” Kyle asked,
surprised.

Emily frowned, “I’m not an idiot.”

“
That… that’s probably the
most sadistic torture I’ve ever heard of,” Mark said, slightly
impressed.

Emily shrugged, “I figured he was
hungry.”

Kyle took Emily’s hand and flipped it over,
exposing her wrist. The General gasped and turned away from her,
his body tense. She heard him inhale and she braced for an attack,
but he slowly relaxed, yet stayed facing away from her.

“
Least it’s not a deep
cut,” Kyle said, and let go of her hand.

“
Are you ok, General?” Mark
asked.

General Skinner nodded, “I just… need… a
moment.”

Mark pulled Emily back behind him.

The General finally turned, “Sorry.”

Kyle chuckled, “Don’t be, we understand.
We’re just used to it.”

Emily sighed, “So can we keep my little
interrogation technique to ourselves?”

Mark grinned, “Not wanting the Elder to find
out you cut yourself in a prison full of starving heku?”

Emily nodded.

The General laughed, “You gave me more
information than anyone here was able to get. I’ll do anything you
ask.”

“
Just keep it a secret is
all,” Emily said, and watched as Kyle sighed and nodded.

General Skinner glanced at the door behind
her, “So how much blood is on the floor in there?”

“
Two drops, why?” Emily
asked, looking at the door.

Emily saw the General’s lips move, and Kyle
chuckled.

“
What?” Emily
asked.

“
He’s just ordering his
coven to stay out of the prison until you’re gone,” Kyle
said.

“
Oh,” Emily said, and
blushed.

“
Let’s go,” Mark suggested,
and took Emily’s arm as he headed for the helicopter.

“
We’ll send reinforcements,
just in case they decide to continue their attack,” Kyle told the
General as he got into Equites 2. The helicopter was soon on its
way back to Council City.

Quinn and Chevalier were waiting for Equites
2 when it landed. They stopped the stream of guards that normally
met up with the arriving helicopter, and opened the door when the
rotor stopped.

“
We’ve already been filled
in by the General,” Chevalier told them as he helped Emily out of
the helicopter. She glanced at him to make sure he didn’t know
about the blood, and relaxed when he smiled at her.