Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (29 page)

“
No,” Quinn said. “You can
protect yourself against heku, but you have no defense against
mortals.”

“
The Valle agree. We can’t
risk the Winchester for the lives of this coven,” Sotomar
said.

“
The Encala agree also,”
William told them.

“
I’m the only one that can
do it,” Emily said. “How many are in there?”

“
The coven housed 21
members,” Kyle said. “I don’t know how many are left
alive.”

“
Then let me go now. Don’t
risk their lives by hesitating.”

“
We can’t risk it, Em,”
Chevalier told her.

Emily walked up into the Council area and
knelt down by Chevalier, “I can do this.”

“
I’m not saying you can’t,
but it’s too risky.”

“
I’m the only one that can
do this. It has to be a mortal that the V.E.S. can’t change the
mind of. It has to be me.”

“
No, I’m not going to let
you save the heku again,” he whispered.

“
It’s not a matter of
saving the heku anymore, it’s a matter of saving my family,” Emily
told him, and touched his hand. “Let me go.”

“
I don’t…”

Emily smiled, “I can do this.”

Chevalier sighed and looked down the row of
council members, one at a time they nodded.

Emily stood up and walked back down, “I
already have a plan on how to get in. After that, I’ll wing
it.”

“
How are you so sure they
will take you?” Zohn asked.

“
Bites… lots of bites…”
Emily said, smiling.

Chevalier frowned, “I already don’t like
this.”

“
It can’t be worse than
when dumb nuts had me bitten thirteen times,” Emily reminded
him.

“
What? When?” William
yelled.

Emily glanced at him before continuing, “So
I show up at the V.E.S.’s doorstep covered in bites, pale, sick,
weak… they’ll take me in and I’ll owe them my life.”

“
Pale? As in… almost
drained?” Kyle asked, growling. “That’s not safe.”

“
It’s a sure way in,” Emily
said, shrugging. “I need to get in fast and I need to gain their
confidence before they kill one of the heku.”

“
We will have no way to
contact you once you get inside,” Quinn said, frowning.

“
Chevalier will know if I
need help, or if something happens to me.”

“
By then it could be too
late,” Chevalier said.

“
So it’s agreed, I’m
going?” Emily asked.

“
I don’t like it, but I
also don’t see another option,” Sotomar said. “We
agree.”

“
As Equites, we agree,”
Quinn whispered, glancing nervously at Chevalier.

“
Fine,” William hissed,
“But if there needs to be a rescue effort to get to Emily, the
Encala want in.”

“
As do the Valle,” Sotomar
said.

“
Great, then I leave as
soon as someone decides to have me for dinner.” Emily smiled, and
the enemy heku each took a step away from her.

She rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, you have
all been dying to taste for hundreds of years.”

Chevalier stood up, “No, I will do it.”

Emily nodded, “Mark?”

Mark appeared suddenly beside her,
“Yes?”

Emily sighed, “Hit me.”

“
What?” Mark asked,
glancing nervously at Chevalier.

“
Hit me. I need a good
bruise too,” she said, and shut her eyes. She opened one eye and
then the other, “Mark?”

“
I… I can’t… hit you,” Mark
said.

“
Do it,” Chevalier growled.
“I just can’t watch.”

Mark watched as Chevalier left the room.

“
Why me?” Mark asked,
unsure.

“
Because I trust
you.”

“
But…”

“
Just don’t break anything,
come on, hit me,” Emily said.

Mark frowned at the Council and then sent
Emily flying into William’s arms with a hit to her cheek. He pulled
her away from the enemy and sat her down on the floor.

“
Are you ok?” Mark asked
frantically.

Emily nodded, “That really hurt.”

“
I’m so sorry.”

Emily smiled, “Will it bruise?”

Mark nodded and helped her to her feet.

Emily lifted her shirt up on the side, “I
need one of those rib bruising ones, too.”

“
No,” Mark said sternly.
“I’m not hitting you again.”

Kyle hurdled the desk, “Come here, Em.”

Emily walked over and lifted her left arm
and braced for it. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she
fell to the ground, gasping for air.

“
Holy shit,” Emily wheezed
as Kyle helped her to her feet.

“
You ok?” he asked,
checking to make sure he didn’t break a rib.

Emily nodded, “Now a few bruises and we’re
good to go.”

Kyle sighed and nodded, “Here goes.”

Emily held out her arms, and Kyle wrapped
his hands around each of her wrists and twisted his hands, leaving
round bruises on her wrists. He finished with a grab to her upper
arm, which left a perfect hand bruise.

“
Now, just the bites and
we’re good,” Emily said, looking at the bruises.

“
Bites?” Mark asked,
frowning.

“
We’ll tell you,” Kyle
said, and ushered him out. Emily, Quinn, and Zohn followed them up
to her room where Chevalier was waiting.

He hissed slightly when he saw her and
forced his temper under control, “I don’t like this.”

“
You won’t be able to do it
alone,” Kyle said. “One bite, yes, but over and over could be too
much.”

Chevalier nodded, “I was just thinking
that.”

“
Fine, then Chev gets the
neck, Kyle on one wrist, and Quinn on the other, then Mark and Zohn
can each take a spot,” Emily said.

“
Silas, Kralen,” Zohn
called out, and the two Cavalry members appeared. “We’ll need
them.”

Emily nodded and sat on the chair, “I need
to be pale though, don’t stop too fast.”

Silas and Kralen looked at Zohn, terrified.
He quickly filled them in, and they took up positions around the
chair Emily was in, both looking at each other nervously.

“
Ok, I’m as ready as I’m
going to be,” Emily said, and didn’t have time to blink before she
felt five sets of teeth pressed against her soft skin. She felt the
relaxation that feeding brought and didn’t realize how long it had
been until she heard Silas.

“
Enough,” Silas
growled.

Emily tried to pull her arms away from Quinn
and Zohn, but couldn’t move them. She heard growls and hisses as
the heku were pushed off of her violently and thrown across the
room, crashing into the stone walls.

Emily managed to get to her feet and stumble
into the bathroom. She was deathly pale, and the red punctures
stood out on her skin. Her lips were white and cracked, just like
she wanted. She came back out as Mark and Silas struggled to get
Quinn and Zohn out the door. Chevalier and Kyle were already calm
and waiting.

“
Now I just need dropped
off,” Emily said, and tore one sleeve off of her shirt.

“
I’ll do it, I know a good
spot,” Kyle said.

Emily handed her phone to Chevalier, and he
pulled her into a tight embrace, “You can change your mind.”

Emily pressed her face against his chest and
then looked up at him, “But I won’t.”

“
If it gets too bad, get
out, we’ll find another way.”

“
I will,” Emily reached up
and kissed him.

Kyle took her arm and helped her down the
stairs while the other heku stood with Chevalier and watched her
go. Quinn returned and looked down the stairs.

“
I’m sorry.” Quinn frowned.
“It was harder to stop than I imagined.”

Mark grinned, “We know.”

“
I still don’t like this,”
Chevalier said.

“
I know,” Zohn said,
joining the others. “There’s no doubt she’ll get in, not the way
she looks right now.”

“
I’m not worried about her
getting in. It’s getting out that I don’t know about.”

“
She’s smart, she’ll find a
way.”

Emily looked down the dirt road and smiled
at Kyle, “It’ll be ok.”

“
I just wish you weren’t
going alone,” Kyle told her.

“
I have to. This could take
a while to get them to trust me, and I can only do that alone,”
Emily said, and got out of the Ferrari.

“
If you get any way to
contact us, to let us know…”

Emily smiled reassuringly, “Go, I’m going to
head in.”

Kyle nodded, turned the car around, and sped
away.

Emily looked up the dark road, grabbed her
aching side, and started up it. She knew it was from the blood
loss, but she was cold and tired and was ready to get inside so she
could sleep. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, and she
could feel the swelling in her cheek growing as it began to creep
into her left eye.

It wasn’t long before Emily saw light from a
window of a huge compound. There were cement walls and armed guards
at the front gate. She stumbled closer, and when she heard one of
them yell, she fell to her knees on the gravel road.

Emily felt strong arms pick her up, and she
let her body fall limp in his arms.

“
Look at her neck. They
done fed off her,” the man said.

“
Get her in to Larry,”
another voice said.

Emily felt movement when the man carried her
into the compound as soon as someone turned off the electrified
iron gates. The smells changed, and then Emily felt the warmth from
a fire as she was laid down on a couch. She groaned slightly and
then settled down as warm blankets were put over her. She knew she
should stay awake, to listen to everything, but the warmth was
making it impossible to fight the sleep, and she drifted off.

Emily woke slightly when she felt rough
hands pick her hands up and flip them over.

“
Each wrist, and her neck,
and upper arms, did you see these scars? She’s been fed off of a
lot,” a man said, and slid her hands under the blanket. “She’s so
pale. I’m surprised they didn’t kill her.”

“
How do you think she got
free?” a woman asked.

“
From the looks of her, she
fought her way out,” the man said. “Bring her some B12 and folic
acid. We won’t know more unless we can get her to wake
up.”

Emily felt an arm under her shoulder as
someone lifted her up and put a cold glass to her lips.

“
Drink this, Dear,” a voice
said, and Emily took the pills and drank some orange juice. She was
laid back down and fell asleep quickly.

When Emily woke up again, she noticed she
had wrappings on her neck and arms and was now in a soft bed. She
opened her eyes and looked around at the small cement room. There
was a chair and dresser, and with the bed, the room was full. She
didn’t see a fireplace, but could smell wood burning.

“
Hello?” she tried to call
out, but her voice cracked and she ended up coughing. She could
feel a cold coming on.

The door opened and an older woman looked
in, “Oh good, you’re awake.”

Emily looked at her and pulled the covers
up, “Who are you?”

“
I’m Vicki, I’ve been
taking care of you,” the woman said, and brought in a glass of
orange juice.

“
Where am I?” Emily asked,
fear creeping into her voice.

“
You’re safe. I can only
imagine what you’ve gone through.”

“
That didn’t answer my
question, where am I?”

“
You’re at the V.E.S
compound in North Dakota.”

Emily frowned, “Let me see your teeth.”

The woman smiled brightly, “That’s a valid
request.”

Emily looked hard at her teeth and then
nodded, “Ok.”

“
Drink, you’ll need your
strength. The leaders want to talk to you.”

“
What leaders?” Emily
asked, taking the B12 pill the woman handed her.

“
The leaders of the
compound. We are here to protect ourselves against the
vampires.”

Emily leaned her face into her hands and
started to cry, she let the loneliness fill her emotions and the
tears began to flow freely.

“
I’m… I’m so sorry, I
shouldn’t have said that,” the old woman said. She sat down beside
Emily and put her arthritic hand on Emily’s arm.

Emily finally stopped crying, “It’s ok. It’s
just been a long time.”

“
Don’t talk now, the
leaders will be here soon,” Vicki said.

Emily frowned, “I’m not dressed.”

“
Oh, yes, there are clothes
in the closet, help yourself,” she said, and left Emily
alone.

Emily got unsteadily to her feet and looked
through the closet. All she found were several oversized t-shirts
and some large bib overalls. She put them on as best she could and
was just rolling up the bottom of the pants when four men entered.
Emily backed up against the wall and watched them.

“
It’s ok,” one of them
said, and looked at her with soft, caring eyes.

“
We’re not here to hurt
you,” another told her.