Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (120 page)

“
Yes,” William told him.
“He was furious that they used such little strategy or tactical
advantages, and felt it better if they not live.”

“
Have you gotten anything
from her?” Aaron asked. “It’s no secret you can feel what she
feels.”

Chevalier shrugged, “Nothing very
interesting other than she’s having some fun.”

“
Fun?” William asked,
frowning.

“
Yes, I suspect these heku
attacks are entertaining her.”

“
I’m afraid they will soon
realize that her attacks are killing the Ferus only. Not one attack
on any of the three factions has resulted insomuch as a broken
nail,” Kyle said. “If they realize it, she may be in
trouble.”

“
Sir,” Derrick said,
stepping in. “There’s a delegation of the Ferus here to address the
Council.”

William grinned, “This should be
interesting.”

Zohn sighed, “Show them in.”

The Encala and Equites watched the four
robed figures come into the room. Their hoods covered their faces
and their hands were clasped as they walked in.

“
Why have you come here?”
Chevalier asked.

“
We come to seek the
release of Vaughn,” the shortest said softly.

“
Go back and tell your
Elder Emily, that we’re not giving Vaughn back, and she can
consider this a warning that she’s next. No more attacks on the
factions will be tolerated,” Chevalier growled.

The Ferus were silent for a moment before
the shortest heku stepped forward, “Release Vaughn now or the
Council will take appropriate action.”

“
No,” Zohn said. “Take the
message back to your Council, that their one and only Elder is
moments from becoming the number one target for all three factions.
These attacks are unwarranted and will no longer be
ignored.”

“
If that is your last
word.”

“
It is,” Quinn said. The
Ferus backed out of the room, and they heard the guards escorting
them out.

Mark came in, grinning, “They really aren’t
that smart.”

“
What now?” Quinn asked,
watching him.

“
They came in a car and
parked it at the gate,” Mark told them. “They said it was by
council order that they park it close to the Equites gates… to show
they aren’t afraid.”

“
She’s going to get herself
killed,” Kyle said. “That may seem funny, but their Council won’t
put up with that for long.”

“
If they decide to banish
her…” William said, “For being a weak link.”

Quinn looked over when the phone rang. He
frowned and hit the speakerphone button, “Equites Council.”

“
Let Vaughn go,” Emily said
angrily.

Quinn glanced at Chevalier, and he
shrugged.

“
No,” Zohn said. “Stop
attacking the three factions.”

“
We will not! Not until you
release Vaughn and swear us in as an actual faction,” she
said.

“
That’s not going to
happen,” Chevalier said, his eyes narrowing.

“
The sooner you realize
we’re a true faction… then the sooner you’ll have peace, and the
sooner you’ll once again be able to sleep at night, Ok?” she
yelled, and hung up.

“
Dissect that,” Chevalier
said. “Everything she said.”

“’
Let Vaughn
go’
… seems straightforward,” Kyle said. “I
suspect that was to make the call.”

“
Agreed,” Quinn said.
“’
We will not, not until you release
Vaughn and swear us in as an actual faction’
”

William shrugged, “That is straightforward
also.”

“
Try the last part…
‘
The sooner you realize we’re a true
faction… then the sooner you’ll have peace, and the sooner you’ll
once again be able to sleep at night, Ok?’
”
Zohn said. “She knows we don’t sleep at night.”

“
The sooner you realize
we’re a true faction,” Aaron said, thinking.

“
She keeps saying sooner?”
Chevalier said, shrugging.

“
We have a Sooner Coven,”
William said. “In Oklahoma.”

“
Named after a heku?”
Dustin asked.

“
No, Oklahoma is the Sooner
State,” William explained.

“
She ended the sentence
with Ok,” Chevalier said. “Call Bennion Coven, tell them to check
their state.”

“
Right away,” Mark said,
and disappeared from the room.

***

Emily looked over at the Council, “That’s
the fourth try. It doesn’t sound like they want to let Vaughn
go.”

“
We have to get him back.
You aren’t technically qualified to run a faction,” the Chief
Interrogator said.

“
Hey! I’m doing my best,”
Emily said angrily. “If you don’t like how I do things, then I
suggest you get out.”

“
No, no, Elder, that’s not
what I meant.”

“
Then back off!”

“
Yes, Elder.”

Emily stormed out of the room and slammed
the door shut. She went to her room and laid down on the bed. Her
heart was aching for the baby she’d never been able to spend time
with, and hearing Chevalier’s voice made it worse. She’d been
looking for a way out for six weeks and hadn’t seen anything. They
watched her carefully, though she hoped the phone call and message
from the Equites threatening her might make them let up a bit.

She sat up when there was a knock on the
door, “Come in.”

The Chief Interrogator entered and turned
away from her. She’d obviously been crying, “Do you need
anything?”

“
I need out of this damned
palace! I’m mortal, I need to see the sky and get some fresh air,”
she said, and shut her eyes to keep from crying. “You do all
realize I need sun to live?”

“
Let me talk to Val,” he
said, and left the room.

Emily leaned back on the bed and stared at
the ceiling until another knock sounded, “Come in.”

Val and the Chief Interrogator came in and
she glanced over at them.

“
I’ve informed them that it
is true, as a mortal you need the sun,” Val said. “The Council has
agreed to let you take one trip out of the city to gather anything
you might need, and then has agreed to let you out of the palace
once a day to get some sun.”

Emily sighed, “It’s about time.”

“
We’re sending four of the
guards with you, and the Chief Enforcer, if you try to run...” the
Chief Interrogator said.

“
Why would I run?” Emily
asked. “Where exactly would I go?”

“
That is true… still… the
guards will be necessary.”

“
I’ll do anything just to
get out of here,” she said. “Do I get clothes at least?”

“
No, the purple robe will
suffice.”

“
Fine, let’s go,” she said,
and started for the door, followed by the doctor and the Chief
Interrogator.

Emily was shown into the garage where four
cars were parked. The four guards crawled into the back of a black
Suburban and Emily got into the passenger side, while the Chief
Enforcer crawled into the driver’s side and started up the engine.
They drove out of the city in silence while Emily watched the
terrain. She rolled down the window and took a deep breath of the
fresh country air.

“
What store?” the Chief
Enforcer asked.

“
I don’t know this area.
Somewhere that I can buy a swimsuit and some personal items,” she
said, still watching out the window.

“
We do not have a
pool.”

Emily smiled, “I need sun, and I’d rather
not lie out naked.”

“
Oh, right,” he said,
grinning slightly.

Emily turned away from the window when the
beautiful hillside faded away into cement walkways and large
stores. She sat back and let the Chief Enforcer find a store, then
sighed before heading in, not looking forward to the odd looks.
With her purple robes and five hulking bodyguards, she imagined she
would cause quite a commotion. To help some, she pulled her hood up
to shadow her face.

The people cleared out of their way, staring
with wide eyes as they moved away from the six odd figures. She
pulled a bikini off the shelf and handed it to the Chief Enforcer.
He frowned slightly and took it, carrying it awkwardly through the
store. After grabbing a few more items, she went to the car with
the guards while the Chief Enforcer paid for the items.

Emily sat in the car and looked around her,
waiting for him to get through the long lines. A sleek red sports
car caught her eye, as there was a matching black one beside it.
She couldn’t quite tell, but it looked like there might be a V on
the tires. She glanced back at the guards and smiled. She was able
to watch the two cars without them knowing, because her hood was
still up.

Her heart almost stopped when she saw the
four huge men come out of a store and head for the cars. She knew
she had limited time. They were only a hundred feet from her, but
she knew she couldn’t outrun the heku in the car. As the heku
neared their cars, Emily sprang from the car and ran for them.

She heard a growl behind her as one of the
Ferus guards grabbed her, catching the attention of the Valle.

“
Sotomar!” Emily screamed
before the Ferus heku put his hand over her mouth. The Valle
glanced at one another and then headed over for where the Ferus
were restraining her.

“
There a problem?” the
tallest one asked. Emily noticed the insignia on his collar and saw
he was a General in his coven.

“
No, just a problem child,”
one of the Ferus said. Emily bit his finger, and he pulled it away
quickly as blood filled her mouth.

“
Take me to Sotomar,” Emily
said, and he put his hand over her mouth again.

“
Who is that?” the Valle
asked, stepping closer.

“
None of your business. Get
back,” the Chief Enforcer said, blurring up.

Emily was frustrated with the standoff. She
had recently tried to burn the Ferus, but hadn’t been able to work
up the energy, or she would do that now.

“
If the lady wants to talk
to the Elder, we’ll take her,” the Valle said, and his three
companions began to surround the Ferus.

“
She doesn’t know what
she’s talking about,” the Chief Enforcer said. “She’s just
confused.”

The Valle beside Emily inhaled and hissed
slightly. She looked at him with wide eyes as he turned to the
others, “Smell that?”

The tallest Valle nodded, “You have a
Winchester there.”

“
No, it’s not…” the heku
holding her said nervously.

“
It’s kinda funny that the
factions have been looking for the Winchester, and here you have a
mortal yelling for our Elder.”

“
She’s
delusional.”

“
Pull her hood down,” the
Valle said, leaning back against a nearby car.

“
No reason to… why don’t
you move along. We aren’t hurting anything,” the Chief Enforcer
said, and motioned for the heku to move back to the car with
Emily.

Emily finally got a clear shot to the heku’s
knee and kicked at it, displacing his kneecap as he screamed and
fell to the ground.

She ran for the Valle, “I’m Emily, help
me!”

The Chief Enforcer caught her and threw her
up against a truck. She slunk down to the ground as the Valle
attacked the Ferus and they blurred into a fight in the dark
parking lot. Emily sat on the cold cement, leaning back against the
truck, her head pounding. The fight didn’t last long, and she
looked up as the Valle neared her, crouched slightly with tightly
clenched fists.

The General knelt down, “Lady Emily?”

She nodded, but could feel the blood drip
down the back of her neck, “Don’t come too close.”

“
We smell it, it’s ok,” he
said. “Can you stand up?”

Emily nodded again and he helped her to her
feet. She glanced at the dead Ferus and let him lead her back to
the sports cars. She cringed, but crawled in on one of their laps
as they sped off toward their coven.

“
This’ll be an interesting
conversation with the Council,” the heku said, laughing. “All three
factions are out looking for you.”

“
I couldn’t get away from
them,” she whispered.

The heku that she was sitting on began
looking through her hair, “You have a few cuts, but they don’t look
very bad.”

“
We’ll see better inside,”
the General said. Emily watched his face. She could tell he was
very young when he turned, but his eyes held wisdom and compassion
beneath the rugged exterior.

“
Thank you,” Emily told
them softly. “If you hadn’t noticed me, I think I might have been
punished.”

“
It’s our pleasure. I’m
sure we’ll be rewarded for returning you,” he said,
smiling.

Emily nodded and watched as the city turned
back into country and farms, and the cars were soon pulling in to a
compound surrounded by high cement walls. She got out of the car
with help from a shocked guard, and then followed the General into
the coven’s mansion.

“
Charlie, what did you
bring back?” a heku asked. He was obviously the Coven Leader, and
had dark gray robes on that were embroidered with golden
V’s.