Everyone turned and looked at the shut ceremonial room door.
Zohn slowly opened the door and looked inside, then gasped and quickly walked in with the others. Emily was in the exact center of the room, lying on the floor with her arms crossed and her eyes closed.
“What’s going on?” Mark whispered.
Chevalier knelt down and touched her, “I don’t know.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Zohn said, and looked down at her.
“Em?” Chevalier said, and shook her arm lightly. When she didn’t move, he turned to the others.
“Elders,” Silas called out, and when they turned to him, he held up the sledgehammer. “I think she was trying to get rid of the room.”
Zohn’s eyes grew wide and he looked over at her, “She tried to destroy the ceremonial room?”
Mark sighed, “She’s mentioned it before.”
“She tried to get Miri to do it once,” Chevalier added.
“So… is she hurt?” Kralen asked, walking up to her.
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone trying to destroy one,” Zohn said, and looked around the room.
“Did the runes do this then?” Silas asked, shocked.
“That’d be my guess,” Chevalier told him, and then glanced at them. “I’m sure they don’t want to be damaged.”
Mark reached down and gently picked her up. She lay limply in his arms, “Well that’s a start. I wasn’t sure we could move her.”
“Take her upstairs to the bedroom,” Chevalier told him.
As soon as Mark was out of the room, Emily looked up at him, “What happened?”
“Are you ok?” Chevalier asked, moving up to look at her.
She frowned, “Put me down.”
Mark gently set her on her feet and she looked at the heku, “What happened?”
“You tried to destroy the ceremonial room,” Chevalier explained.
“Yeah, so?”
“It didn’t want destroyed.”
Her eyes narrowed, “Did I just get my ass kicked by a room?”
“I wouldn’t call it…” Chevalier started, but then stopped when she headed back for the room.
Emily got to the door and headed inside just as a flash of bright light shone from the room and she was thrown backwards against the stone wall.
She rolled onto her hands and knees and groaned, “What the hell?”
The heku were too stunned to help her. They’d never seen anything like what was going on in that room. Finally, Mark went over and knelt down.
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes, I hit my head,” she said, and slowly got to her feet. She felt the back of her head and cringed when she hit a large knot.
“Maybe we should go upstairs,” Chevalier said, and held his hand out.
Zohn walked up slowly to the room, braced himself, and then walked in. He looked around, “Nothing happened.”
“You didn’t try to destroy it,” Kralen said, and walked in also. He grabbed the sledgehammer and followed the others up the stairs.
“That room has to go,” Emily grumbled when they got to the main floor.
“It’s not that easy to get rid of. Though, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone trying to destroy one with a sledgehammer,” he explained.
“Then you get rid of it. I don’t want it here.”
“We’ll work on it. It takes months, and it will have to be relocated.”
“What? How do you do that?”
He smiled, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it moved.”
“Did Exavior do that?” she asked, looking back down the stairs.
“I don’t think so. You’re trying to destroy magic older than your own species using a sledgehammer. It’s not that simple.”
Emily looked at Zohn and smiled, “Come for a visit?”
“Yes, I wanted to see what the big deal was. Glad I did come, that was quite interesting.”
“For you maybe, gave me a headache,” she told him, and sat on a couch in the foyer.
Silas appeared in front of her with a glass of orange juice and some aspirin.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, and then took it quickly.
Chevalier sat down beside her, “I’d like to ask you something.”
“Yes, I tried to destroy it with a sledgehammer.”
He grinned, “That was obvious, but this is something else.”
“Ok,” she said, and looked over at him.
He looked into her eyes, “Do you have Frederick?”
Emily looked up at Zohn briefly before answering, “Yes.”
“Wait… you do?” Chevalier gasped, shocked she’d told them.
“Yes, I have him and no, you can’t have him back.”
“You have Frederick?” Zohn asked, surprised.
“I just said I did.”
“It’s just… we’ve been looking for him… the Encala… You’ve had him this entire time?”
“Yes”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“You didn’t ask, and I didn’t want to offer up that information,” she explained, and then picked Dain up when he walked past her.
Kralen chuckled, “That’s true. We didn’t ask her.”
Chevalier sighed, “We need him.”
“No”
“No?” Zohn asked, frowning.
“No, you can’t have him.”
“Em, I don’t think you understand how serious this is,” Chevalier explained. “This is going to cause a major incident.”
Emily held out her hands, wrists together, “I’m an Equites and will take the punishment, but you can’t have him back.”
Mark glanced at Chevalier and he thought for a moment and then nodded. Kralen stepped forward and put handcuffs on Emily, and led her out to the Humvee.
“No!” Dain screamed. He ran up to Kralen and bit him on the leg.
“Damnit!” Kralen growled as Silas pulled the toddler off him.
“Dain, stop it,” Emily said sternly.
“No!” he yelled again, and kicked to try to get away from Silas.
Emily got into the Humvee and sat in the middle of the backseat between Silas and Kralen. Mark took the screaming toddler in the Jeep and Chevalier talked to him before locking up the house and getting into the Humvee with Zohn.
Emily smiled slightly, “Am I going to prison?”
“I don’t know yet,” Chevalier said. He gunned the Humvee and sped toward the city.
Chevalier slammed the Humvee into park and blurred into the palace, followed by Zohn.
“Take a deep breath,” Kralen said to her.
She nodded, starting to feel scared.
“We’ll stay with you as long as we can,” Silas told her, and helped her out of the truck. They all walked slowly up to the fourth-floor.
Derrick didn’t greet them as usual, but kept things completely by protocol as he opened the door, “The Council will see you now.”
Kralen and Silas each took an arm and led her into the trial area. They gently helped her down onto her knees and she looked up at the Council.
Quinn sighed, “Why is Emily under arrest?”
Kyle looked over at Chevalier, but he was too angry to speak.
“I have Frederick… and I’m not giving him back,” Emily told him.
Quinn gasped, “You do?”
“Yes”
“You are refusing a direct order by the Council to return him?” Dustin asked.
“Yes”
Kyle sighed, “Why, Em?”
“He killed members of my Cavalry, and I’m going to make him pay.”
“By causing a war?”
“I don’t think this will cause a war.”
“Of course it will!” Kyle yelled.
“Then turn me over to the Encala in exchange.”
“We can’t do that,” Zohn told her. “Put her in a holding cell until we decide what to do.”
Silas and Kralen helped her up again
and took her out to the one of the holding cells. They uncuffed her and she lay back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.
“What are we going to do?” Quinn asked, turning to the other two Elders.
Zohn shook his head, “My first suggestion would be to find him. Get the Cavalry looking. Go anywhere Emily hangs out and find him.”
“Mark!” Quinn called out. When the General came in, he ordered the Cavalry out to search for the ash of the Encala Elder.
Kyle looked over at Chevalier, “Are you ok?”
He nodded, “I’m starting to calm down. First she’s attacked by a room, and now she’s in a holding cell… not my best day.”
“Wait, how was she attacked by a room?” Quinn asked.
Zohn chuckled, “She tried to destroy the ceremonial room with a sledgehammer and… well… it fought back.”
The entire Council gasped and started talking among themselves.
Kyle’s eyes were wide, “What did it do?”
“Knocked her unconscious. We found her lying on the floor,” Zohn explained. “She woke up the second she got out of the room, and when she tried to get back in… a bright blue flash sent her flying against the wall.”
“Wow,” Dustin said, shocked.
“We need to log that,” the Records Keeper said. “I don’t believe that’s ever been tried.”
“I don’t think the Valle will be very upset when they find out that Emily has had Frederick this entire time,” Zohn told them. “However, the Encala are not going to be happy.”
“We should expect an attack over this,” Chevalier said. “Alert the covens to go into level 2 lock down.”
Kyle nodded and blurred from the room.
“Things might go smoother if she’ll hand him over,” Quinn sighed, frowning.
“We should send a delegation then to tell them,” Zohn suggested.
“One that won’t make it back here.”
“True… maybe we should call them and have Emily tell them.”
Chevalier nodded, “That might be our best bet. They’re too afraid of her to do much.”
“What do we do with her then?” Dustin asked.
“She told us that she’s an Equites and will take the punishment,” Zohn said. “However, we all know we can’t banish her, nor can we put her in the prison for long.”
“Why not?” Dustin growled.
Chevalier looked over at him, “She’s not going to prison.”
Dustin sat back in his chair.
“House arrest then,” Quinn said. “Complete house arrest, no stables, no cars, nothing.”
“We can’t keep her on house arrest. She gets out,” Zohn told him.
“She’s accepted responsibility for this. I think she’ll stay,” Chevalier said.
“So house arrest until further notice, and she has to tell the Encala?”
“Sounds good to me,” Quinn said, and called for Emily to be brought back in. When she came in, she was no longer cuffed, but walked in with Kralen and Silas. She stood before them and avoided looking at Chevalier.
“There are several parts to this punishment, any of which can be lessened if you just tell us where his ashes are,” Zohn told her, and stood up.
“No, get on with it.”
“You are hereby put on house arrest until further notice. That means you won’t step foot off of the fifth-floor for any reason, except when you will be required to tell the Encala that you possess the remains of their Elder and refuse to return them.”
Emily nodded, “Very well.”
Quinn watched her, “We have the Cavalry out looking for his ashes. If we find them, we may be able to renegotiate your punishment.”
She smiled, “They won’t find him.”
“Punishment starts immediately. The Cavalry will change rolls from personal guards to wardens. There must be one guard higher than Lieutenant with her at all times.”
Both Silas and Kralen nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
Chapter 2 - House Arrest
Emily woke up and sat up in bed to stretch, and then looked around the all too familiar room. She’d been on house arrest for nine days, and was starting to get bored with the small amount of entertainment left for her. The guards could bring her books, food, and drink, but nothing else, and she spent most of her days playing with Dain, helping Alexis with homework, or training the dogs. She knew today was the day the Encala arrived, and she had to tell them about Frederick.
“You can come in,” she called out when someone knocked at her door.
Kralen came in with a tray, “Breakfast is on, and the Council wants you in an hour.”
She nodded and watched as he walked out. After eating breakfast quickly, she took a shower and got dressed, then finished just as she heard another knock.
“We’re here to escort you down,” Mark told her. The guards were treating her differently. They no longer joked and teased her, but were curt and proper. She knew they were irritated that the Cavalry spent countless hours searching for the Elder’s remains, because she wouldn’t tell anyone where they were.
“I’m ready,” she said, and put her hands out. Silas slipped the handcuffs on her and she walked down, surrounded by members of the Cavalry.
Derrick opened the door immediately, and Emily walked in with the guards, surprised to see Sotomar and Valle Imperial Guards standing beside the Encala.
“What is this!?” William yelled when he saw her. He turned angrily to the Council, “Let her go at once!”
“Hear her out first,” Zohn said. “We have our reasons.”
“There is no reason to keep the Winchester in restraints!” Sotomar yelled.
“Hear her out,” Chevalier told him.
William’s eyes narrowed and Emily walked up to him.
He put a hand on her arm and whispered, “Do we need to get you out of here?”
“No, I’m fine. I deserve this,” she told him.
“How?”
“I have Frederick.”
William’s eyes narrowed, “You do?”
“You mean the Equites have Frederick,” Sotomar corrected.
“No, they don’t. I have him, and I’m not giving him back yet,” she told them.
“Is this a joke?” William asked the Equites Council.
“No, it is not,” Dustin assured them.
“She’s on house arrest, and we’re searching everywhere she’s been in the last month to try to find him,” Kyle said.
“You cannot tell?” William asked their Chief Interrogator.
“No, actually… thanks to your Interrogator.”
William grinned slightly, “Oh, that’s right.”
“I’ll be back in my room then,” Emily said, and turned to leave.
“We aren’t done,” Sotomar told her. She sighed and turned around.
“I’m not telling you where he is.”
“Why is that, exactly?”
“His forces killed my Cavalry. It’s only fair that I get to punish him, and after talking to the heku around here, he won’t even feel pain for a year after I ashed him. For now, I’m just waiting.”
Sotomar’s eyes narrowed, “Tell me where he is.”
“No”
“I demand you hand her over to us for interrogation then,” William growled.
Emily’s eyes grew wide, “In an interrogation room?”
“If you won’t tell us then, yes.”
“No!” Chevalier yelled. “She is in custody of the Equites for crimes against this faction. You cannot have her.”
“Her crimes against the Encala are greater, and you must turn her over to us.”
“No,” Quinn said calmly. “We will not allow her to be interrogated either.”
William’s eyes narrowed, “We demand our Elder back.”
Chevalier motioned to her, “Give it a go.”
Emily looked over at him and he turned to her.
“Tell me where Frederick is.”
“No”
He concen
trated.
“Won’t work,” Emily said, watching him.
William growled, “Tell me!”
“Not until I’ve gotten my revenge.”
William moved to backhand her, but Sotomar caught his hand, “Do not hit her.”
Chevalier and Kyle appeared beside her.
“Lay a hand on her and you’ll have to deal with me,” Chevalier said, glaring at him.
“Tell me, now!” William roared.
Emily took a step back, “Calm down or I’ll ash you.”
“You’re not helping,” Kyle hissed, and stood in front of her.
William lunged at Emily, but Sotomar held him back, “You will return the Elder or face my interrogation room.”
“Enough!” Quinn yelled. The booming fierceness of his voice immediately calmed the entire room.
William looked up at him, “If you cannot get Frederick from her, then I insist you let us try.”
“No one is putting Emily into an interrogation chamber.”
“Let me talk to her, alone,” Sotomar suggested calmly.
“I’m not telling you either,” she whispered.
“Just for a moment.”
Quinn glanced at Chevalier and then nodded, “Derrick, escort Emily and Sotomar to the conference room.”
Derrick opened the door and Emily and Sotomar followed him out.
“You have 5 minutes to calm down, or we’ll have you removed,” Kyle yelled at William.
The Encala Elder stood up, still furious, “Get a handle on her immediately, or I will.”
Emily sat down next to Sotomar, and he reached out and broke the handcuffs from her wrists.
“There, you don’t need those,” he said, and sat back.
Emily rubbed her wrists, “Thank you.”
“I’m not going to ask where Frederick is.”
“Then why am I here?”
“I want to know if you need assistance.”
“With what?”
“A place to go to get away from being on house arrest. A place where the Encala cannot get.”
“You mean come stay with the Valle?”
“Yes”
Emily sighed, “I brought this house arrest on myself. It’s worth it to get the revenge that my Cavalry is due.”
“I understand that,” Sotomar said, and touched her hand softly. “However, with the Valle, you won’t need to be on house arrest, and we don’t care if Frederick is ever returned.”
Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 4
