Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (79 page)

“
We’re hoping she’s relaxed
and calm, and will talk to us when she wakes up,” Ryan told
him.

“
Damn, I want to see her
back,” Chevalier sighed, and disappeared from the room. He appeared
by the bedroom door and opened it, careful not to make a noise. The
room was so hot that it was almost hard to breathe, but his eyes
immediately focused on Emily sleeping on the bed.

The sheets were pulled low across her hips,
exposing her delicate figure and the soft curve from her waist to
her hips. He sat gently on the bed and ran his fingers lightly over
the dark bruises left from falling off of the horse. He pulled her
hair back slightly so he could see her soft shoulders and the
little dip at the nape of her neck.

Her hands clasped softly and she jerked in
her sleep, but settled back down. Chevalier knew it was intrusive,
but he reached out and gently laid his hand on her back.

“
Just let them go, you can
keep me,” Emily begged as Exavior held a baby in his
arms.

“
Why should I? The three
other factions think you disappeared as warned. They’ll never know
that you are in my care,” Exavior said, and handed a glass over to
Alexis as he cradled the baby in his other arm.

“
They will find out, but
if you let the kids go, I’ll agree to stay.”

Exavior grinned, “Now that I’ll have to
consider... but will you stay as my wife?”

Emily watched as Exavior put the baby down
at the table and moved to her. He wrapped his arms around her and
kissed her roughly, pulling her body against his.

“
Sir?” Allen said
officially.

Exavior broke the kiss and looked up.

“
We’re ready, shall we
head out?” Allen asked. He was dressed in a classic guard uniform
with a royal blue cape.

“
Yes, report as soon as
it’s done,” Exavior told him.

“
Where are you going?”
Emily asked. She tried to pull away from Exavior, but he held her
tightly.

“
He’s a guard now. They
are raiding Powan tonight.”

“
No,” Emily said,
frowning. She looked over at Exavior, “Please, don’t send him to
fight.”

“
There’s only one thing
that will keep him here for the raid,” Exavior said, grinning as he
ran his fingers up Emily’s back.

Chevalier pulled his hand away from her and
watched her sleep for a few minutes. She settled back down into
slow, deep breathing. He stood up slowly and walked out of the
room, silently shutting the door behind him.

“
No one… goes in there,”
Chevalier said as Emily’s half covered body came to
mind.

“
Yes, Sir,” Mark and Silas
both said.

“
Where’s Allen?” Chevalier
asked Silas.

“
In his room, reading,”
Silas answered.

Chevalier walked up to his room and saw
Allen reading by the fire. Allen looked up when his Dad came in and
set his book down.

Chevalier sighed, “I know you’re protective
of your mother…”

“
Yes, I am,” Allen
said.

“
However, you are never to
interfere when I am there, is that understood?”

“
I understand, but I don’t
agree,” Allen told him. “If you overstep, I may be the only there
that will stop you.”

Chevalier pulled Allen up with a hand around
his neck, “Do you need a reminder of where you fit into this
family? Do not cross me.”

Allen glared at his Dad and whispered, “Then
keep your hands off of her when you’re mad.”

Chevalier slammed Allen against the wall,
“You’re my son and I demand respect. Do not talk to me like
that.”

Allen nodded, hesitantly, and Chevalier put
him down.

“
Stay in here until talks
are done with your Mom,” Chevalier growled, and left the room. He
joined the other Elders in the castle’s conference room.

“
What now?” Sotomar
asked.

“
We wait, and hope when she
wakes up that she remembers her dream,” Chevalier said, and pulled
a roster book from the shelf.

“
Do we get to know what the
Princess dreams about?” Zohn asked.

“
What’s up with you
lately?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“
Lately… I’ve just been
reminded of the point Damon made,” Zohn said, and held his hand up
when Quinn started to protest. “He went about it the wrong way...
but he had a point.”

“
What point might that be?”
Sotomar asked.

“
That she needs discipline
and rules, like everyone else in the palace.”

Sotomar frowned, “She’s not like others in
the palace… or in the faction for that matter.”

“
No, she’s spoiled and gets
away with anything,” Zohn said. “If a heku acted like she does,
they would immediately be imprisoned or banished.”

“
She can’t be held to the
same standards of a heku,” William said. “She’s young, very young,
and a mortal that was thrown into this world suddenly. She can’t be
expected to behave as if she had a choice in the matter… like a
heku.”

“
You make it sound like I
forced her,” Chevalier said, irritated.

“
Not you... but years and
years of feeding attacks forced you to bring her to us for
protection,” William explained.

“
Don’t let him fool you. He
didn’t bring her into our world to protect her,” Zohn said,
grinning.

“
Excuse me?” Chevalier
hissed.

“
You fell in love with
someone you were sent to evaluate as a possible
Winchester.”

“
I think we need to change
the subject,” Sotomar said, frowning. “It doesn’t matter why she is
here, no matter what Zohn said, we need to keep her, at all
costs.”

“
The second she disappears
from our protection, she’s going to walk right into Exavior’s,”
Chevalier told them.

“
Is that where the Veyron
came from? Exavior was waiting on the pier?” William
asked.

“
Veyrons… plural,”
Chevalier said. “We saw them on the pier, and Emily ashed the
occupants before they had a chance to explain.”

“
You have their ashes?”
Sotomar asked.

“
Yes, as soon as we get a
Chief Enforcer, we’ll talk to them.”

“
Where are the other cars?”
William asked curiously.

Chevalier grinned, “Em pushed them into the
ocean.”

“
She… she pushed a $1.7
million car into the ocean?”

“
Three of them.”

William shook his head, “What a shame.”

“
Allen saved the fourth.
She just won’t let him drive it though.”

“
Why not? He’s almost as
tall as a full heku, and obviously intellectually advanced,”
Sotomar said.

“
I know, but she still sees
him as an 11-year-old,” Chevalier told them.

“
I’ve been thinking, we
should send him to Powan for guard training,” Zohn said. “He’s
expressed an interest many times.”

Chevalier shook his head, “Emily will never
allow that.”

“
See, you let her set down
the law.”

“
He’s her son, and I’m not
taking mother privileges from her. She has a fear that Allen will
be sent to a war and right now, we don’t need to exacerbate any
fears of what happens if she stays with us,” Chevalier
said.

“
Agreed,” Quinn said. “If
he keeps showing an interest, we will mentor him with the
Cavalry.”

“
That… she may go for,”
Chevalier said, nodding slightly.

“
Damn, that didn’t last
long,” Sotomar said when they heard Emily run across the floor.
They heard the door open into Kyle’s room.

“
I’m going to check on
them,” Quinn said, and blurred from the room. He appeared outside
of Emily’s door, but saw the door to Chevalier’s room was open, and
Emily was sitting on the bed, wrapped in a sheet.

“
She just ran out of her
room and into here,” Silas whispered to Quinn.

Emily reached out and touched Kyle’s face
softly, “Kyle?”

Kyle didn’t move, even when Emily took his
hand.

Emily jumped for the cell phone when it
rang.

“
Kyle’s phone,” she
whispered.

“
Who is this?” Exavior
asked angrily.

She frowned, “It’s Emily… keep the attitude
down.”

“
My dear wife, I was hoping
to find you with the boyfriend.”

“
Stop calling him that… and
what do you want?” Emily asked.

“
To warn you, my
love.”

“
About what?”

“
You turned eight of my
guards to ash. That is unacceptable behavior and will be dealt with
harshly,” Exavior said calmly.

“
I’d like to see you try,”
Emily whispered angrily, and turned away from Mark when he reached
for the phone.

“
I will try, and I will
succeed… you must learn what your place is, and you will control
your abilities around my subjects.”

“
Oh, that was very
controlled,” Emily said, smiling.

“
Tsk tsk, my love, you will
learn soon enough. Discipline is what you need,” Exavior told
her.

“
Funny, that’s what Zohn
said.”

“
For once, he is correct.
Come to me now and I will lessen your sentence to a small
punishment.”

“
May I try something?”
Emily asked sweetly.

There was a pause, “Like what?”

Emily shut her eyes and kept the phone to
her ear. Mark, Silas, and Quinn watched her, curious as to what she
was trying to do.

“
Are you there?” Exavior
asked.

There was only silence and the heku could
see the concentration in Emily’s face.

“
Emily! I know what you’re
trying to do…”

She frowned slightly and squeezed her eyes
together.

“
Stop it! I order you to
stop!” Exavior screamed at her. “You are earning the harshest
punishment, once I get my hands on you, you’ll pray for
death.”

Emily fell to her knees as blood began to
trickle from her nose and she dropped the phone. She leaned over,
one hand clutching the sheet and the other supported her on the
floor.

“
Chevalier,” Quinn called
out, and picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

Mark grabbed the phone and listened, but the
line had disconnected. The other Elders met Quinn as he carried
Emily to the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and she squeezed
her eyes shut and wiped away the blood in her ear.

Chevalier spun and looked around, “Who did
she turn to ash?”

Quinn stepped back, “I don’t think
anyone.”

“
Why is she ill then?”
Sotomar asked.

“
I think she was trying to
turn them to ash over the phone,” Mark said, and handed a warm rag
to Chevalier.

“
What?” Sotomar yelled.
“Can she do that?”

“
Not that I’ve seen,”
Chevalier said, and sat down. “Em… look at me.”

Emily looked up at him with bloodshot eyes
and whispered, “He threatened me.”

“
Who did?”

“
Exavior,” Emily whispered,
and pressed her palms into her eyes.

“
Exavior called on Kyle’s
phone,” Quinn explained. “He threatened her for turning the eight
in the Veyrons to ash… she… she asked if she could try something,
and then Exavior became furious. I think he knew what she was
attempting.”

“
I earned the harshest
punishment,” Emily whispered, and rolled over onto her side, away
from the others.

“
Lock down the island,”
Chevalier said, and within seconds, an alarm sounded in the city
and the castle came to life with the buzzing of guards as they
moved to their posts.

Emily opened her eyes slowly and looked
around the familiar bedroom. She saw the door was open, and Silas
and Mark were standing outside of it. She swung her legs off of the
bed, confused about what happened over the last few days, then
remembered pieces of events, but nothing made much sense.

Emily put on a robe and limped over to the
heavy drapes hanging over the small balcony. She stepped out and
inhaled the salty air, smiling at the memories it brought back. She
looked around the island. Things seemed particularly silent and
Encala guards patrolled the castle grounds in groups of three.

The smell of coffee and pancakes brought her
back from a daze, and she went back inside and sat at the table to
eat.

“
Good morning,” Mark said
from the doorway.

Emily sat back in the chair with her coffee,
“What day is it?”

“
Friday,” Mark told her,
and glanced at Silas.

Emily sighed, “I’ve been here for four
days?”

“
Yes, the island is on
lockdown right now and no one’s leaving,” Silas told
her.

“
Why? What happened?” Emily
asked, sitting up.

Silas glanced at Mark, “The Elder is on the
way, he can tell you.”

“
Is Kyle awake?”

“
Yes, he woke up last
night,” Mark said.

Emily put her cup down and walked out of her
room and in to Chevalier’s, where Kyle was sitting up on the
bed.