Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (63 page)

“
Yes, one perfectly suited
for you.”

“
What is it?”

“
You’ll have to wait until
we get back,” Chevalier said, and knelt down by the tub. “Stay away
from the Durango while I’m gone, ok?”

“
Are you three going after
Exavior?”

“
No”

Emily nodded, “Then ok… besides… Kyle ripped
the door off.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Sorry, he thought you
were hurt.”

“
Have it towed away.
Exavior’s never going to let me be alone again.”

“
We’ll get him.”

“
You are going after
Exavior, aren’t you?” Emily asked suspiciously.

“
Not today,” Chevalier
said, and then kissed her lightly.

“
Promise me.”

“
I promise, we’re not going
after him today,” he said, and stood up.

“
You have to leave right
now?”

Chevalier nodded, “We’ll be back in four
days.”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

***

Emily glanced over at her clock when she
heard a knock on the door.

“
Who is that?” she asked
Mark, who was standing guard inside her door.

“
Zohn has asked to see
you,” Mark told her, and shrugged.

“
It’s 3am.”

“
Yes, it is,” Mark said,
sounding irritated that someone woke her up.

Emily crawled out of bed and threw on a robe
before heading to the door, “This damn well better be good.”

“
Sorry, Em, he wants you in
uniform,” Mark said, cringing at the look she gave him.

“
Well, freak,” she yelled,
and grabbed her uniform before disappearing into the bathroom. She
came out a short time later in her uniform, and dug through her
drawer for the .45, which she slipped into her hip holster. She
grabbed a rubber band and followed Mark out as she braided her
hair.

Mark knocked on Zohn’s office door and
opened it when Zohn told him to enter.

“
Both of you sit,” Zohn
said, and Emily sat down as she wound the rubber band around the
bottom of the long braid.

“
It’s 3am, Zohn,” Emily
said, irritated.

“
I’m sorry for the late
hour, but I have a mission for you and the Cavalry,” Zohn told
her.

“
Is this the one Chev told
me was coming?”

“
Yes”

“
He also mentioned I would
go when he got back.”

“
I’ve overridden that, and
I’m sending you out immediately,” Zohn said, and looked up at her.
“I need you to rehabilitate the guard unit of the Michaels Coven,
and reinstate Lord Taylor back to power.”

“
Where is Lord Taylor?”
Mark asked.

“
He’s imprisoned by his
guards. General Bowman has taken control of the coven and is
threatening to remove them from the Equites,” Zohn explained. “We
want Emily to do what she did with the Island Coven guards and put
the coven back in line.”

“
No,” Emily said,
frowning.

Zohn was taken back, “Excuse me?”

“
No, that was awful… it’s
not my place to keep your guards from misbehaving and I won’t do
it.”

“
You have no choice,” Zohn
said sternly. He noticed how Mark grimaced when he said that and
how Emily’s eyes narrowed.

“
No,” Emily said again.
“I’m not going to go around and ash all of the coven guards so they
behave.”

“
You will do as you’re
told,” Zohn said, and turned to Mark. “The Cavalry will go to
assist, but let her do most of it. She has the ability to put them
in order without too much force.”

“
No,” Emily said, and stood
up.

“
Sit down!” Zohn
yelled.

“
Sir,” Mark whispered, too
softly for Emily to hear. “She doesn’t take harsh commands
well.”

“
Sit down, now,” Zohn said,
ignoring Mark’s remark.

“
I’m not going,” Emily told
him, and crossed her arms.

Zohn stood up, “Sit down!”

Emily’s eyes grew wide and she sat
suddenly.

“
You will do as you’re told
and you will leave immediately for Michaels Coven with the
Cavalry,” Zohn growled. “You will rehabilitate the guards and then
return to the palace without complaining.”

Emily sat back in the chair as Zohn looked
around oddly.

“
Oh, you’re here,” Zohn
said. “I have a mission for you.”

Mark looked at Emily, shocked.

“
One moment though,
please,” Emily said sweetly. “I need to go to the
bathroom.”

Mark wasn’t sure what to do, so he sat back,
afraid to intervene.

“
Sure,” Zohn said. “I’ll go
over some things with Mark while we wait.”

Emily stood up and left slowly, but as soon
as his door was shut, she took off running for the garage. She ran
past the Jeep and slid into Chevalier’s McLaren, needing something
fast.

“
Was that Chevalier’s car?”
Zohn asked, frowning.

Mark sighed, “She wiped your memory. You’ve
already told her about the mission, and she said no.”

“
What!?” Zohn growled. He
blurred into the garage and quickly sped out of the city in his
Jaguar XJ220.

Mark sat back and waited for Zohn’s fury. He
knew that the Jaguar couldn’t catch up with the McLaren if Emily
pegged it. He couldn’t call Chevalier or Kyle. They would have
their phones off during their mission, so he was going to have to
handle this on his own, and he wasn’t quite sure how.

Emily had Chevalier’s McLaren steady at 236
mph and was praying no police were around as she sped west. She
kept a close eye out for Zohn’s Red Jaguar, but Chevalier once
bragged that his car could outrun the sleek XJ220.

Emily opened her phone and speed dialed
Chevalier. When she got no answer, she dialed the Valle
Council.

“
Ryan here,” she heard over
the phone.

“
I need to talk to
Sotomar,” Emily said frantically.

“
He’s not here, Emily.
What’s wrong?”

“
Gah,” Emily yelled, and
then disconnected. She quickly dialed the Encala Council and waited
what seemed like an eternity for them to answer.

“
Encala Council,” a voice
said.

“
I need to talk to
William,” Emily said, the panic in her voice evident.

“
What’s wrong, Emily?”
William asked, concerned.

“
I need somewhere to go. I
stole Chevalier’s McLaren, and Zohn’s chasing me in his Jag, and I
don’t know where to go.” She hated to ramble, but her mind was
blurring and she knew Exavior was out there, somewhere,
too.

“
You can outrun him if you
keep it above 220 mph,” a strange voice said, impressed.

“
Can I come, please?” Emily
asked fearfully. “Chevalier, Quinn, and Kyle are gone and Zohn’s
trying to send me on some stupid mission… I don’t know where to
go.”

“
Of course you can,”
William said. “Are you heading west from Council City?”

“
Yes, I’m on I-94 now,
about two hours outside of the city.”

“
What color is the
McLaren?”

“
Black, I’m worried about
cops though.”

“
Keep it pegged… Look for
three CCX’s, two black and one red. They will be Encala, and they
will guide you in,” William said.

Emily sighed, “I don’t know what a CCX
is.”

She heard some chuckles before William
spoke, “They’re sports cars, just look for two black and one red
car. They should meet up with you in about an hour.”

“
Thank you, William,” Emily
said, finally relaxing.

“
Do you not have a fast
car, Dear?” Elder Reese asked.

“
No, I have a Jeep and a
truck. I don’t like these cars… it’s like driving a tin
can.”

“
The McLaren is not a tin
can, Child,” she heard a strange voice say.

“
Does this really matter?”
Emily asked, irritated.

“
We will buy you a car when
you get here,” William said. “You need a means of getting away
without stealing.”

Emily sighed, “We’ll talk when I get
there.”

She shut her phone and watched around for
the red Jaguar. She weaved in and out of traffic, trying not to
panic as she drew closer to Encala City. An hour later, she saw
three cars appear behind her, two black and one red. The windows
were tinted too dark to see inside, but they matched what William
had told her. They boxed around the McLaren and slowed, taking her
down to just under 100 mph.

Within a few hours, they guided her off of
the Interstate and onto a private road lined with tall sycamore
trees. They moved single file with Emily in the middle. As they
approached the front gates, the guards talked a moment to the front
car and then waved them all through.

Emily breathed again when she saw the Encala
palace come nearer. She knew that Zohn wouldn’t dare try to come
into the enemy city. The cars disappeared into the garage, but
Emily stopped the McLaren outside the front entryway and stepped
out. Guards came out and lined the front walk as William
emerged.

“
So glad you made it,”
William said, and Emily smiled when she walked up. He was surprised
to see her in the guard’s uniform and ranked as a Commander, but
couldn’t help but glance at the diamond cutouts that showed her
soft skin or the way the shirt left a band of her muscular abdomen
showing.

“
Thank you, I didn’t know
where to go,” Emily told him.

“
You are always welcome
here… would you like someone to return the Elder’s car?”

Emily thought for a moment and then nodded,
“Yes, that way he can’t arrest me for stealing it.”

William chuckled, “I doubt the Elder would
have you arrested.”

“
He already has, for
stealing his Hummer,” Emily said, grinning slightly.

“
Interesting, come inside
then, we’ll have it returned to Council City,” William said, and
took her arm to lead her into the palace. “If you don’t mind, the
Council would like to say hello.”

Emily nodded and followed him into the trial
area. William went back up to his seat and waited while the Chief
Enforcer, Chief Interrogator, and Chief Investigator returned to
their seats.

“
Now that we’re all
here…”

“
First off, thank you for
helping me,” Emily said, and the three members of the Council in
the CCX’s all smiled and nodded.

“
First, Dear, may we ask
why you were running from an Equites Elder?” William
asked.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t see why not. He
ordered me to help rehabilitate some out of control coven.”

“
You said no to an Elder?”
one of the council members asked, shocked.

“
Yes, I did… I don’t want
to rehabilitate a coven,” Emily explained calmly.

William grinned, “You have to realize the
position she holds on their Council. They don’t hold her to the
heku rules.”

“
I see,” the council member
said. “Yet you’re a Commander in their Cavalry?”

“
I only train them on the
horses,” Emily said.

“
It’s just… different… for
us to see a member of the guard staff say no to a member of the
Council… we realize you aren’t held to the heku rules though,”
William explained.

“
Well, Zohn seems to think
I am and ordered me… so I took off and I have no doubt he was
chasing me,” Emily explained.

“
Why is it you refuse to
help?” Elder Aaron questioned.

Emily frowned, “That makes it sound
bad.”

“
Sorry, that’s not what I
meant,” Aaron told her. “We are just curious why it is you
ran.”

“
I don’t want to shape them
up like I did on Island Coven,” Emily said, looking at the ground.
“I had to ash two of them and burn one… I don’t like doing
that.”

“
I think that sounds like a
good enough reason to leave…” William told her.

“
I’m sorry again to
intrude. If it’s a bother, I can call Sotomar.”

“
No!” Aaron said, and then
calmed his voice. “It’s a pleasure to have you here. However, we
will need to notify the Equites that you are here and
safe.”

“
Does it have to be Zohn?”
Emily asked. “Can you just tell Mark?”

“
Who is Mark?”

“
Captain of the Cavalry…
he’s one of my guards, and a friend.”

“
Sorry, Dear, we will need
to tell Zohn then,” Aaron said.

“
He’ll tell you to send me
home.”

William grinned, “We don’t follow the orders
of another faction’s Elder.”

Emily smiled, “So I can stay until Chevalier
gets back?”

“
Of course, we have
unfinished plans,” William reminded her. “Carson… take Lady Emily
to her room so she can get settled.”

Emily headed out the door with the guard and
turned when William spoke.

“
When we are done here, I
want to go buy you a car,” William told her.

Emily frowned, “They are too expensive. I
have a Jeep and a truck already.”