Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series (2 page)

“You’re one of us, Em. We protect our own,” Kyle said softly.

Emily rolled her eyes, “He’s not going to take me. I’m not going to be the damsel and faint when they try… I’ll fight back.”

“You can’t fight those numbers, just let us do this,” Kyle said to her.

Emily nodded, “Fine, when you’re done planning a war, come get me.”

When she left, Kyle looked at Chevalier and smiled, “She’s grouchy.”

Chevalier couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yeah, she is.”

“Congratulations, Sir.”

Chevalier’s face lit up and Kyle couldn’t help but grin, “Unexpected, actually.”

Kyle nodded, “I would imagine.”

“Let’s go find that cat,” Chevalier said, seriously. Kyle nodded and they both left toward the barn.

After numerous meetings and sessions with the Elders, plans were being made to whisk Emily away to an undisclosed location. She was irritated with the entire process and spent most of her time in the barn. Things were tense around the castle because of her strong scent, which Chevalier finally explained to her. She felt better being outside, away from the heku.

Emily stepped into her room after being away in the barn all day and smiled when she saw the roses and a note on her bed. She smelled the flower and read the note.

Em,

Let’s ignore the Elders and go away together on the boat. We’ll be safe there and we won’t have to put up with guards or worry about anything but us.

Meet me there as soon as you can pack and get away unnoticed,

Chev

Emily’s insides jumped. She wasn’t going to have to run away and be guarded 24/7 by the heku. She’d be where she preferred, out on the ocean with Chevalier. She hurried and packed a bag, then went to the wardrobe where she’d stuffed the sheets she used the last time she had to get away. It was easy enough to tie it off to the balcony and then she nimbly swung over the side and worked her way to the ground.

She hid in shadows the entire way, moving quickly through the streets of the island. With dusk approaching, there were plenty of hiding spots and she was soon within sight of the pier. All seemed quiet there and she knew the guards on duty wouldn’t question when she passed them and headed down the beach.

“Evenin’, Travis,” Emily said as she rounded the corner of the tall cement fence and stepped out onto the pier.

She gasped, there was blood covering the pier. She saw pieces of heku piled into a macabre heap just as someone grabbed her from behind. She struggled to kick at the knee of her attacker, but he brought a rag to her face and she started drifting into unconsciousness. Just as blackness took over, she saw a head roll out from the pile, it was Travis.

***

“I think we’re ready then,” Chevalier said to the group in the conference room. “We’ll leave in the morning.

Kyle nodded and then excused the rest of the guards on duty that were assigned to escort them to the staging area.

“I’ll just feel better when we’re off the island,” Kyle said, walking with Chevalier up the stairs.

“I agree. It’s taken too long to get this put together, thanks to the hesitancy by the Elders.” He was still frustrated with their slow reaction.

The two walked into Emily’s room. Chevalier saw her shoes and headed to the bathroom, “Hey, Em?”

He glanced into the bathroom and frowned when he didn’t see her.

“Chevalier!” Kyle yelled from behind him, frantic.

Chevalier turned as Kyle handed him the roses and the note from Emily’s bed. He read the note and crumpled it in his hand, his eyes burned red with fury.

An alarm sounded in the town, the alarm of an attack. Chevalier growled and ran to the balcony, quickly jumping out and landing hard on the ground. Kyle was on his heels as they ran for the pier. They both stopped suddenly as they caught sight of the blood and bodies that were piled high on the wooden planks.

Kyle reached down and picked up a rag. Smelling it, he turned to Chevalier, “It’s chloroform,” he said, and handed it to the Chief Enforcer.

Chevalier took the rag and smelled it, inhaling deeply, “Emily too… they got her, Kyle.”

Kyle’s heart sank as he looked out across the ocean and saw nothing but waves as the sun set.

Others began to appear on the pier, and a small vigil had begun to bury the remains of the four pier guards and their dogs. Shutters were closed across the island, clocks were stopped, and lights were put out.

“Get me the location of the Valle Elders, now!” he yelled to Storm, who had just arrived on the scene.

Storm didn’t respond, but quickly ran off to do as she was told. She’d never seen this amount of rage coming out of the Chief Enforcer, and it scared her.

***

Emily was finally able to pull herself out of the fog. She wasn’t sure why she felt so dizzy and disoriented. As she repositioned in bed, she felt even more confused. The bed was hard and the covers were stiff and scratchy.

“Chev?” she whispered into the dark, her words were slurred.

He didn’t answer, and the room seemed quieter than she remembered. Finally, she opened her eyes and then sat bolt upright, looking around the small room.

“Chev? Kyle?” she called out louder, starting to panic.

Emily jumped out of bed, but when her feet hit the floor, it moved out from under her and she fell to the floor, the world spinning. She finally managed to get to her knees and pulled herself to standing using the bed as support. A desk lamp was the only light in the room, but she was able to make out the dark blues and grays of the room’s decoration. There weren’t any windows, and she felt trapped.

Stumbling, Emily made it to the door and swung it open to another unfamiliar room. The room was dark and she felt along the wall until she found a light switch. She looked around, confused, as she tried to figure out where she was.

This room was larger than the other. There was a TV and couch on one end, and a small kitchen on the other. There were no windows here either, and the same blue and gray décor was also throughout this room. She saw a metal door on the far end by the TV, and she steadied herself as she went to it. When she couldn’t open it, she began to pound on the door.

After several minutes, she stopped when no one answered and turned back to the room. The TV was turned off and there was no sound in the room, the silence was eerie. She walked past the couch and ran her hand along a tall bookshelf full of books, then looked around for some hint of familiarity.

Emily’s eye caught sight of something strange in the far corner, something that was moving. She got closer and looked up at it, it was a camera, and it was facing her. She moved to the side and it moved with her.

Emily had an idea on how to get some attention. She picked up one of the kitchen chairs and swung it at the camera, knocking it loose and leaving only exposed wires in its place. She went into the bathroom and looked around, but didn’t see a camera. Hesitating, she walked back into the cave-liked bedroom and saw a camera face her. She used the chair again to knock it off the wall.

“Emily?” someone called from the larger room.

Emily emerged from the bedroom, still carrying the chair, figuring it would work rather well for self-defense. She stopped when she saw three heku at the large metal door. They were all wearing hospital masks. She wrinkled her nose when she got closer because they smelled like strong menthol.

“Who are you?” she asked, still holding the chair.

“We’re here to protect you, Child,” the one in front said.

“Then let me go.”

“No, you will be staying with us for a while. We are going to replace the cameras, and there will be a punishment if you destroy them again,” he said calmly.

Emily frowned, “Excuse me?”

“A punishment, you will follow our rules or face the consequences.”

“Are you Equites?”

The three looked at one another nervously, “Leave the cameras alone. This is your only warning.”

Emily threw the chair she was holding at the head of the front heku, but he blocked it easily.

“Last warning, Emily,” he said, and then walked out, locking the heavy metal door behind him.

Emily was starting to understand. She wasn’t sure when, but the Valle must have gotten her. She sat on the couch and curled up into a ball. Her mind was still foggy about when she was taken. She couldn’t remember if there had been a wide-scale attack and if Chevalier was alive. She buried her head in her arms and felt a tug on her arm, then looked over and saw the remains of a small puncture wound, one a needle leaves.

She wasn’t sure of the time. There were no clocks in the rooms, but a short time after the three left her room, five more of them came back. Two grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, while the three others replaced the cameras. The two held her arms and kept away from her legs, she couldn’t get a decent shot off. As soon as the cameras were replaced, the five left quietly, never saying a word to her.

When they left, she grabbed another chair and smashed the two cameras again. Her eyes flared when the metal doors opened, and she held the chair in front of her, ready for a fight. Three heku entered the room again, wearing hospital masks and smelling of menthol.

“We warned you, Child,” the first on said calmly.

Emily readied the chair in front of her, “Come and get me then.”

They descended on her and she managed to break the shorter one’s jawbone with the chair before they restrained her. They forced her onto the bed and pulled leather straps up, then restrained her to the bed. The soft padded leather straps around her wrists and ankles trapped her in an uncomfortable X position.

Emily screamed out in fury as they left the small bedroom and she heard the heavy door lock.

She pulled and tugged at the restraints, but couldn’t slip her hands or feet out of them. Her back began to ache miserably as she rested to catch her breath before starting again to find a way out of this. Hours passed before she finally gave up, and her exhausted body succumbed to sleep.

Emily jerked awake as soft, warm hands began working at the restraint on her wrist. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar man, a mortal. She frowned and fought against the restraints.

“Wait, let me get you out,” he said, working on straps.

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled at him.

“You want to stay there?” he asked, looking over at her. She ignored him as he went back to getting her out of them.

Within a few minutes, she was free of the bed and stood up quickly to face the man.

“Who are you?” she asked, watching him carefully.

“My name is Tim. Do you know how we got here?” he asked, and looked around the room.

She frowned at him, “You don’t know?”

He shook his head, “I’m not sure. I was just heading in to work when some guys grabbed me and pulled me into a van.”

“Uh hu,” she said, not buying his story.

“Let’s get out of here,” Tim said, heading into the front room. He tried the handle of the heavy door and then pounded, “Let us out!”

No one came, so Emily just watched him. The cameras were now on Tim instead of her, and he turned to look at them.

“First off… we get rid of those,” he said, looking around for something to use.

“That’s what landed me in straps. I broke their cameras one too many times,” she said, staying away from him. She still didn’t trust him, “I’m Emily, by the way.”

Tim just nodded at her and started hunting around the room.

“What are you looking for?” she asked.

“Anything to use as a weapon. There has to be a way out of here.”

Emily sat down on the couch and watched as he went through every drawer and every cupboard, even thumbing through books looking for something he could use. She eventually turned on the TV and groaned when the shows weren’t in English.

“Is that Finnish?” Tim asked, looking at the TV.

Emily shrugged. She grabbed a book and began to read, still watching Tim pace out of the corner of her eye.

“You have to know something,” he said, turning on her.

“Yeah, well I don’t,” she told him, irritated.

“Are you from Atlanta?”

“No”

“Do you know anyone from Atlanta?”

“No”

“How long have you been here?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.

“I don’t see any clocks around here, do you?” she snapped. “I’m guessing a day or two.”

An awkward silence fell over them as Emily read and Tim watched muted TV. They glanced at each other every so often. It was obvious that neither trusted the other. When it seemed like a lot of time had passed, Emily stood up and went to the bedroom, followed by Tim.

Emily figured Tim was a few years older than she was. He was almost as tall as Keith, but wasn’t as muscular. He had a nice tan that contrasted with his blond hair, pretty blue eyes, and an attractive smile.

“Oh no ya don’t, bed’s mine,” she said, lying down.

“How do you figure?” Tim asked. “There’s room for both of us.”

“In your dreams,” she said, pulling the covers over her.

“Fine,” Tim said, and went to make his bed on the couch.

Emily woke up to the smell of pancakes, and she wandered out into the larger room.

“Breakfast is ready,” Tim said, smiling.

Emily narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t trust him and wouldn’t put it past him to poison her food, but she was starting to feel sick and she didn’t see any crackers lying around.

“Here, sit,” Tim told her, putting a plate of pancakes down on the small table.

“Thanks,” she said, and then hesitated before sitting down.

“To make up for last night. I was just edgy, and I apologize.” He sat down with a plate for himself.

They ate in silence, and the hot food helped Emily’s stomach settle down.

“Thank you, that was good,” Emily said as she stood up and began washing the dishes.

“Don’t do those, I have it,” he said, standing up.

“I’ll wash,” she said, and tossed him a towel. “You dry.”

“Sounds good, and then let’s see how we can get out of here.” He glanced toward the door again.