Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (125 page)

“
Go away!” she yelled, and
pushed against his nose.

“
Whose species is
superior?” Chevalier asked, leaning back against the
wall.

“
Mine!”

“
She’ll change her mind,”
Chevalier said, smiling.

“
Ew ew ew,” she yelled
after the stallion sneezed on her.

“
I almost feel sorry for
her, but not quite,” Kralen said.

“
Species… Emily… whose is
superior?” Kyle asked, smiling.

“
Mine is,” she said, and
pulled her hair out of the Arabian’s mouth.

“
Going to be a long night,
Em,” Mark said, sitting down on a bale of hay.

“
No! No!” Emily screamed
when the Arabian turned around and picked at the hay. She pushed
against his rump to keep her face away from his hind
end.

Mark blurred across the barn and Emily
turned when he chuckled. He had a squirming mouse grasp between his
fingers and her eyes grew wide.

“
Mark, I’ll ash you… so
help me…”

Chevalier grinned, “You don’t like
mice?”

“
Em, how can you be afraid
of mice? You work in a barn,” Kyle chuckled.

“
I’m not afraid of them,”
she said, her eyes locked on the rodent.

Mark took one step closer to her and held
the mouse out, “The superior species?”

“
Mark, stay away from
me!”

Mark stopped and looked around, confused,
“What exactly’s going on here?”

“
Emily!” Kyle
gasped.

“
Put the mouse down,” Emily
said, watching Mark.

He looked down at the mouse and around at
those gathered, “I’m… what’d she erase?”

Silas went over and took the mouse from
Mark, and then took a step toward Emily, “Em…. Whose is the
superior species?”

“
No!” Emily yelled, putting
her hands out. “Quinn!!”

“
Yes?” Quinn asked,
stepping in.

“
Help me, please,” she
said, still watching the mouse.

“
Of course, Dear,” he said,
and moved over beside her. “As soon as you tell us who the superior
species is.”

“
Quinn! Damnit, let me
down,” Emily yelled, and then brushed the Arabian’s tail out of her
face. “Go away!”

“
I was told I could find…”
William began, and his eyes grew wide, “Your Chief Enforcer in
here.”

“
William… William… I’ll
join the Encala if you let me down,” Emily said, and screamed when
Silas moved the squirming mouse towards her.

“
Superior species, Em,”
Kralen said, grinning.

“
Come on in William, what
did you need?” Chevalier asked, smiling.

William looked at Emily, and turned his head
to see her right-side-up, “Do you require assistance?”

“
Yes!” Emily yelled, and
reached out for him.

“
Interesting,” he said, and
went over to Chevalier. “We’ve finished cleaning out the Ferus hold
in Oklahoma, and would like to turn some of your previously
banished criminals over to you.”

“
Let me go or I’ll ash
Zohn,” Emily said, and started to laugh.

Chevalier glanced at her, “Why would you do
that?”

“
Because then he’d make
your life a living hell for having me around,” she said, and
grinned.

Emily screamed as Silas put the mouse even
closer to her. She started to panic and fight to get her feet
untied, “Species… which one is it Em?”

“
That’s it… I’ll get you
back for this,” Emily said, looking over at Chevalier.

“
I’m sure you will. Now say
it and we can go inside.”

Emily glared at him, but started to laugh,
“Fine! Yours is.”

“
Ours? What might our
species be?”

“
What!? Let me
go!”

“
Say it,” Chevalier
chuckled.

“
Damnit… The Valle, they’re
the superior ones,” she said, and started laughing
again.

William raised an eyebrow, “I see this… what
is this? Punishment… is warranted.”

“
Just letting her know
who’s in charge here,” Kyle said, and smiled over at
Emily.

“
Oh… you did not just say
that!” she yelled.

“
Say it,” Silas said again,
and pushed the mouse so it was almost touching her
stomach.

“
No!” Emily screamed. “No!
I’ll say it… get it away!”

Silas moved the mouse away from her, “I’m
counting to 10.”

Emily mumbled and grinned, “There.”

“
Louder,” Chevalier told
her.

“
Heku, ok? Now let me
down.”

“
What about the heku?”
Kralen asked.

Emily screamed and then started to laugh,
“Heku are the superior species… happy now?”

Chevalier chuckled, and let her down. She
untied her feet and then slapped him on the chest and looked at
him, “You’ll pay for that.”

“
I surely hope so,”
Chevalier said, and tried to kiss her, but she moved away from
him.

“
Not today leech. You’re on
your own,” she said, and ran into the palace.

Kyle smiled at William, “Let’s go see about
those prisoners.”

“
I’m still confused why we
tied her up,” Mark whispered. He was led away by Silas and Kralen
as the rest of them headed into the council chambers.

“
Done playing?” Zohn asked
angrily.

“
Yes, we are,” Quinn said,
and sat down. “You really could lighten up.”

“
That was irresponsible and
destructive of her. We’ve wasted countless hours pursuing her
façade.”

“
You’re just mad because
she won,” Chevalier said, and sat down.

“
If this Council is going
to show strength, we need to rule with an iron fist and not play
games.”

“
Show them in, Derrick,”
Quinn said, grinning.

Emily sat down in the dining room for dinner
while the Council was in session. She held the baby in one hand,
while she ate with the other and watched Allen and Alexis talk over
their drinks.

Finally, Allen looked over at her, “Did I
hear you scream that the heku are superior?”

“
Yes, but it was coerced,”
she said, and took another bite.

“
Coerced?”

“
Yes, I was bullied into
it.”

“
By whom?” Allen
asked.

“
Your Dad and his
posse.”

“
Then I assume you’ll be
getting him back?”

Emily grinned “Of course I will.”

“
You’re asking for
trouble,” Allen told her.

Emily frowned, “Alexis, I said you had to
eat food tonight, too.”

“
Mom, I don’t want any,”
Alexis said, wrinkling her nose at her hamburger.

“
It wasn’t a suggestion,
eat it.”

“
Dad said I don’t have
to.”

“
Your Dad’s not here,
eat.”

Alexis cringed and took a small bite of the
hamburger, and then looked up at Allen, who shrugged and began
reading again.

“
Why are you reading the
Cavalry Manual?” Emily asked.

“
I want to join the
Cavalry, you know that,” Allen said.

Emily sighed, “When you’re older.”

Alexis grinned at Allen and went back to her
hamburger. Emily finished eating and handed Dain off to Allen. He
fussed some, but she left anyway, hurrying up the stairs. Within a
few minutes, she was in the tub and was relaxing in the bubbly
water.

“
Where’s the book now?”
Chevalier asked William.

“
It’s being analyzed. We’ll
submit copies to all factions when we’re done,” William
said.

“
Now what to do with you,”
Zohn said, turning to the eight formerly banished Equites. “My
first inclination is to re-banish you.”

“
Let’s take it on a case by
case business,” Quinn said.

The Council turned around when Emily came
in. She smiled and sat down in a chair by Chevalier that Quinn had
installed for her. She leaned forward slightly and looked at the
eight banished Equites.

“
Can we help you?” Zohn
asked her, irritated.

Emily glanced at him, “No, I’m good.”

“
Were you here to disrupt
these proceedings?”

Emily frowned, “No.”

“
I agree with Zohn,” Quinn
said. “Let’s try them all separately, except for Colby, Matthew,
Nick, and Freeman. Those are all to be banished as soon as Kyle
returns.”

“
Agreed,” Chevalier
said.

“
Or I could just banish
them now,” Emily said, and blushed when they all looked at
her.

“
No,” Chevalier told her.
“Kyle will be back in an hour.”

“
Derrick, remove the four,”
Zohn said, and they waited until the four were removed before going
to the next.

“
Step forward, Rusty,”
Quinn said. An angry looking heku stepped forward. He was cocky and
sure of himself, and bore tattoos from all three of the
factions.

“
Just banish me. I don’t
want to be here with you,” Rusty said, glaring at the
Elders.

“
You only had 43 years left
on your sentence,” Chevalier said. “You’re so willing to go back
into the ground without even pleading for an early
release?”

Rusty looked at Emily, “I heard that the
factions are aligned for her. I don’t want to be anywhere near that
mess.”

Kyle frowned, “Yet you join the alleged
faction that she runs?”

“
Elder Exavior promised us
she would be put in her place and would respect the
heku.”

“
I completely respect the
heku. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” Emily told him.

“
No you don’t,” he said,
glaring at her. “You stay with the heku so they can serve
you.”

Emily put her hand on Chevalier’s leg when
he started to get up.

“
If that’s what you think,
then I believe maybe you do belong in the ground,” Emily said
softly, watching his eyes.

“
You don’t even deny
it?”

“
Why should I? Seems to me
you’ve already figured things out.”

Rusty grinned, “Yeah, I have.”

“
If he so badly wants
re-banished, then give him another 200 years,” Quinn said. Derrick
nodded and led Rusty out.

Zohn looked over at Emily, “What are you up
to?”

“
Nothing, would you like me
to leave?” she asked him.

“
You’re playing at
something being in here. You didn’t even complain when Quinn added
to his original sentence.”

“
I don’t strive to
interrupt your job, believe it or not.”

“
We’ll see… next?” Zohn
said, and turned back to the trial area.

“
Do you and I need to go a
round?” Emily asked, glaring at him.

Zohn raised an eyebrow, “A round of
what?”

“
You name it and I’ll be
there. I’m tired of you acting like all I do is get in the
way.”

“
Do you not?”

“
Calm down,” Quinn said.
“Both of you.”

“
No, I don’t just get in
the way. I believe I’ve saved your ass more than once.”

“
I highly doubt that. I
could have freed myself given time.”

“
In whose dreams?” she
said, standing up.

“
Sit down, Child,” Zohn
said, and turned back to the front

“
Bite me,” she growled, and
started forward, but Chevalier stood up and picked her up off the
ground with an arm around her waist.

“
May we continue?” Zohn
asked her.

“
I’ll be right back,”
Chevalier said, and headed for the door.

“
No! Maybe if I kick his
ass he’ll stop treating me like that,” Emily yelled, pulling
against Chevalier’s hands.

Chevalier grinned and shut the door behind
him.

“
What’s up with you?” Quinn
asked angrily. “She was sitting there minding her own business and
you just couldn’t let it go.”

Zohn turned to the other Elder, “She goes
out of her way to interrupt the workings of this Council.”

“
No, she does not,” Quinn
said. “She rarely comes in here just to interrupt us for no good
reason.”

“
Oh come on… she lives to
interrupt the workings of this entire palace.”

“
Put them in prison. I’m
done for the day,” Quinn said, and walked out of the council
chambers, followed by Kyle.

Zohn slammed the book down, “Fine, put them
in prison.”

Chevalier put Emily down and then sat down
when she disappeared into the closet. She came out a short time
later in a short summer dress and began to tie her hair up. He had
to remind himself of the bet as she walked around the room. The
short dress showed off her thighs, and the halter top clung to her
delicate shoulders, moving with her as she worked. His thoughts
returned to the moment when he noticed she was packing.

“
Leaving?” he asked, and
took Dain from Allen when he brought the baby in.

“
Yes, putting as much
distance between myself and Zohn as I can.”