Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (66 page)

Andrew placed himself between Jeffrey and
Emily and crouched slightly, “Take him back to the barracks.”

“
I’m… what happened?” Emily
asked as they hauled him away.

Andrew grinned, “It’s in our nature to fight
back when injured that badly. You had more than enough time to run
though.”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I did… will he be
ok?”

Andrew laughed, “Yes, he may think twice
about calling you Tiny again. Damn, let me look at your neck.”

Emily leaned her head back as Andrew touched
her neck softly.

“
Do you bruise easily?”
Andrew asked, frowning.

Emily laughed a bit, “Yes, very.”

“
Are you
injured?”

“
No, not at all,” Emily
told him.

“
Let’s take a break. I want
to show you some more things tomorrow. I heard that Exavior also
used your hair to pull you up?” Andrew asked.

Emily cringed, wondering how much the Elders
had told him.

“
It’s ok. They only told me
the holds used against you,” Andrew whispered, noticing the look on
her face.

“
Yes,” Emily said. “Plus,
the Equites like to bear hug me.”

Andrew raised his eyebrows, “Do the Equites
restrain you often?”

“
More than I think I
deserve.”

Andrew chuckled, “We can show you how to get
out of that, too. Come, let’s take you for lunch.”

Emily nodded and ran to keep up with his
long legs as he strode to the palace, “I really appreciate
this.”

“
My pleasure, it’s not
often we get to teach someone as famous as you to defend herself,”
Andrew said.

Emily sighed, “Have I ashed you?”

Andrew leaned his head back and laughed,
“Yes.”

“
I’m sorry,” Emily told
him.

“
You know, I wouldn’t mind
seeing that.”

“
Me ash
someone?”

“
Yes, it’s not something we
see every day,” Andrew said, and opened the dining room door for
her.

Emily looked in and saw the three Encala
Elders sitting around the table talking. They looked up at her when
she walked into the dining room.

“
How is it going?” William
asked, smiling.

Emily grinned, “I can’t wait until the next
time the Equites try something stupid. I’ll show them some Encala
lovin’.”

“
Encala lovin’?” Andrew
asked, and laughed as he left the dining room.

Emily grabbed half of the grilled cheese
sandwich and sat back to eat. She’d been working so hard during
training that she was starving.

“
Hmm, not sure I like the
look of the bruise on your neck,” William said,
frowning.

“
I bruise easily,” Emily
told him, and then took another bite.

“
Would you be willing to
spend some time with our Chief Interrogator?” Aaron
asked.

Emily coughed, almost choking on her
sandwich, “Excuse me?”

William frowned at Aaron, “He didn’t mean it
that way. He’s been our Interrogator for over 950 years, and he’s
one of the best. We think if you were to work with him, you may be
able to hide deception from Zohn.”

Emily grinned, “Really?”

“
May not work, but if you’d
like, we can try it.”

“
I would, that would be
great!” Emily said, smiling, and took another bite.

“
Good, we’ll see what he
can do with you.”

***

Emily looked up from the grass and then sat
up to see if the ball connected with the heku she’d thrown it to.
She cheered from the ground as he blurred into the end zone and
scored for her team.

She got slowly to her feet. This was the
third football game in three days. Add in the self-defense
training, and every muscle in her body hurt. She also had dark
bruises on her neck, wrists, and a perfect handprint bruise on her
arm from training.

“
Lady Emily?” a heku guard
said from the sidelines.

“
Time-out!” Emily yelled,
and the heku moved toward the sidelines. She walked over to the
guard, wiping her forehead with a towel. This game was a lot more
violent than the game with the Cavalry and Emily wondered if they
had held back because of her. Hardly any Encala made it into the
end zone with the ball, and any attempt to do so resulted in
removal of limbs, and blood saturated the field by the end
zones.

“
The Council needs to see
you,” he said, and turned slightly so she could follow
him.

“
Leonard! You’re in,” Emily
called to a heku, and then followed the guard into the palace. She
dried the sweat off of her arms as she waited for the Council to
give her permission to enter, then she stepped in when the door
opened, and moved to them.

“
Sorry to interrupt your
game,” William said, smiling.

“
It’s ok, I think they were
cheating,” Emily told him, laughing.

“
Chevalier called,” Aaron
said.

Emily raised her eyebrows, “He’s back?”

“
Yes, and he’s asked if we
can send you home.”

“
I thought Zohn wasn’t
allowing me back.”

William grinned, “I would imagine that order
has been vetoed.”

“
Did he sound mad?” Emily
asked, wrinkling her nose.

“
Yes, which is why we
wanted to talk to you. Would you like one of us to come with you?”
William asked.

Emily sighed, “No, I think I better face the
music alone, but I do appreciate the offer and everything you’ve
done for me.”

“
It has been a pleasure to
have you here and do hope you’ll come again.”

Emily laughed slightly, “Once they get a
look at my new purple car, my poker face, and some new moves, I
think they’ll hesitate to let me come back.”

William grinned, “Encala lovin’?”

Emily nodded, “Encala lovin’.”

“
We told them you would let
them know when you left. We will send the same council members with
you and ask that you not outrun them.”

Emily couldn’t help but grin, “I can outrun
them?”

“
You can... but we ask that
you not.”

“
When I meet up with the
Equites cars?”

“
Then you have my
permission,” William said, smiling.

Emily walked up to the Council area and gave
the Elders each a hug, “Thank you, again.”

The guards followed Emily up to her room
where she changed into the clothes she came in, and tossed the
dirty ones into the basket, then glanced around the room, surprised
at how much she enjoyed her visit. She’d learned a lot from the
Lieutenant and the Chief Interrogator, played football, been given
a new car, and even went bowling with a group of guards.

Emily walked out of the room and saw Andrew
with her guards.

“
Heard you’re leaving,”
Andrew said. “I actually think we might miss you, odd for a
mortal.”

Emily smiled, “I’ll be back, when I’ve
recovered.”

“
Still sore?”

Emily nodded, “Some.”

“
Next time you need to show
us your ashing,” Andrew said, walking down into the garage with
her.

“
It’s not that
spectacular,” Emily told him, “But we’ll see.”

“
Purple?” Andrew asked,
looking at the Aero. “The fastest street car in the world and you
got it in purple?”

Emily started to laugh, “I want everyone in
the palace to know this car is mine.”

“
Oh, I think it says that
loud and clear.”

Emily crawled into the car and noticed how
well she fit. The dealer had been right. No tall person would fit
in the car without modifications. She liked the smell of the new
leather and the dust-free dashboard and booming sounds system.

“
Come back,” Andrew said,
and shut the door.

“
I will,” Emily told him,
and carefully pulled out of the garage. She waved when the city
guards waved at her, and was soon out on the Interstate. The CCX’s
surrounded her, and she picked up her cell phone and dialed
Chevalier.

“
Are you on your way back?”
Chevalier asked.

“
Yes, I should be there in
about 9 hours. I can’t go above 100 mph or I could get a ticket,”
Emily said softly, unsure how mad he was about her visit to the
Encala.

“
What are you driving
back?”

“
They bought me a little
car,” Emily told him.

“
I see,” Chevalier said,
obviously irritated. “Myself, Mark, and Kyle will meet you at the
halfway point so you are never alone. Just look for the red cars.
They said you’ll be escorted by three CCX’s?”

“
Yes”

“
Will see you there,” he
said, and hung up.

Emily cringed at the anger in his voice, and
put the phone down on the passenger seat. She cranked up the music
and kicked back for the long drive. Each time she had to stop for
gas, the people looked oddly at the four expensive cars and she let
the heku fill the tank. The windows in her purple SSC were so dark
that no one could see inside.

Emily slowed slightly when she saw the three
Lamborghini Reventons waiting on the side of the road. The CCX’s
backed off and the other three cars took their places around her.
She was glad they couldn’t see into her car, and she couldn’t see
into theirs.

With only 100 miles to the
turnoff to Council City, and a straight road ahead on the
Interstate, Emily decided to show the heku her new car. She popped
it into 4
^th
gear, and sped up as the Reventons matched her speed, so she
pushed it to 5
^th
gear and grinned as they followed suit. As she
passed the mark, only 75 miles left to the turn-off, she pushed it
into 6
^th
gear and watched the needle travel past the 260 mph mark on
the speedometer and keep going. The Reventons slowly began to fall
behind.

Emily slowed and took the off-ramp onto the
private road to Council City, and was no longer able to see the
Reventons behind her. She took the curves as fast as she felt
comfortable and stopped at the city guards.

“
Get that thing out of
here,” one of the guards said, admiring her car.

Emily rolled the window down, “Evening,
John.”

“
My God, Em. What did you
get?” he asked, and walked around the expensive car.

“
Just a little car, like
it?”

“
It’s… purple… who would
buy this car in purple?” he asked, laughing.

“
I would,” Emily answered,
and spun out. The tires caught and she took off to the palace. She
pulled into the garage and parked next to the empty spot by her
Jeep. It had previously been for her Durango when it was fixed, but
she finally resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to
get it back.

Emily popped the door open and waited for
the others to arrive. Not even five minutes later, the three red
Reventons pulled into their spots and the three heku slowly walked
over to her car.

“
Having fun?” Mark asked,
running his hand along the car.

“
Maybe,” Emily replied,
unsure of their moods.

“
Bought you a little car?”
Chevalier asked, walking around the Ultimate Aero.

“
It’s a very little car,
look at the front… I can’t even clear a cow pile with this
thing.”

Kyle slid into the passenger seat and Emily
started to laugh. His head was smashed against the roof, putting
his neck at an odd angle and his knees were up against the
dash.

“
Couldn’t get the custom
height, eh?” he asked, and got back out.

“
Why should I? I fit
fine.”

“
Purple though? It’s…
weird,” Mark said, popping the hood to look at the
engine.

“
It’s mine,” Emily said,
smiling. “From what I can tell, it’s faster than yours.”

“
Yes, it is,” Mark
chuckled.

“
Come on, Speedy,”
Chevalier said. “We have a meeting.”

“
We?” Emily asked, getting
out.

“
Yes, we.”

Emily sighed, “William said you sounded mad.
How mad are you?”

“
Pretty mad,” Chevalier
said angrily. “That’s why we’re meeting with Zohn, he had no
right.”

“
You’re not mad at
me?”

“
Why? What did you
do?”

Emily shrugged, “Nothing I guess.”

“
Em? Can… we…” Kyle
started, and Emily tossed him the keys. Before she and Chevalier
got to the door, Kyle and Mark tore out of the garage in the purple
Aero.

Emily held tightly to Chevalier’s arm as
they walked up to Zohn’s office. Before Chevalier could knock,
Emily stepped ahead of him and kissed him, wrapping her arms around
him. He kissed her back and then chuckled.

“
You’re stalling,”
Chevalier said, and knocked on the door, his face suddenly turning
serious.

“
Enter,” Zohn
growled.

Emily took Chevalier’s arm again and they
walked into Zohn’s office. He was watching them furiously as Quinn
stood by his side. It was obvious that Quinn had been trying to
calm Zohn down.

“
Sit,” Zohn
hissed.