“I can handle him.”
“Barely, Em,” Chevalier said. “I’m not saying come back to me. I’m not saying to come back to the palace to stay… but at least let Dr. Cook look at Dain. What if he dies?”
Emily looked over at her son and her heart sank. She knew they were right. He was getting too big and too strong for her to control during his pain, and even Pelton was having problems controlling him.
“I won’t stay,” she whispered.
“Yes!” Alexis yelled, and ran down the stairs.
“You don’t have to. We won’t even assign you guards or put your stuff in our room.”
“My room. I’ll take servant’s quarters.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” she said, and leaned over closer to Dain. “Baby?”
Dain sighed in his sleep.
“We’re going back to Council City, just for a little while. I won’t leave you, I swear.”
Kyle appeared in the doorway and Emily looked over at him when he spoke, “What do you want to do with Pelton?”
“Erase today from both Pelton and Tucker. Tell them I quit and left… that’s all,” Emily said, and stood up. “I can’t come back here now.”
“Land the helicopter in the empty field,” Chevalier told Kyle. “I’ll bring him out.”
Kyle nodded and smiled at Emily before blurring away.
Chevalier put his hand on hers, “I know how hard this is for you. You’re an amazing Mom to do this for him.”
She turned away from him and walked down the stairs.
“I heard you’re coming back,” Kralen said, and smiled.
“Not permanently. I just need to get some help with Dain and then I’ll be off again.”
“To where?” Mark asked, and walked out to the field with her.
“Somewhere else is all. I made some mistakes… next time, the heku won’t find me.”
Silas turned and hissed towards the trees, and before Emily could turn also, the Cavalry blurred from the lawn and disappeared in the woods behind her house.
“What’s…” she started, but Mark put his hand over her mouth.
“Shhhh, someone’s out there,” he whispered.
Chevalier appeared in the doorway and looked toward the woods. Emily watched the trees when she heard the sounds of heku fighting. Mark let go of her and disappeared into them.
The helicopter landed behind her, but she ignored it and listened to the growing sounds of fighting coming from the trees. Chevalier and Kyle carried Dain out of the house and into the helicopter, followed by Alexis. Emily called again for the dog, and he jumped into the helicopter, excited to be with her.
“Let’s go, they’ll catch up,” Chevalier said, and put a hand down for Emily.
Even with only one good arm, she managed to get herself into the Blackhawk helicopter without help and then found it hard to breathe as it lifted off, taking her away from the home she grew to love, and toward the home she’d fought for a year to try to forget.
Chevalier looked over at Emily, “The Encala found you, too.”
“Oh,” she said, looking down at the ranch.
Kyle nodded, “Yes, a scout group though… the Cavalry is already on their way back to Council City.”
Chevalier and Kyle glanced at each other, both surprised the thought Encala were after her didn’t seem to bother her.
Emily watched out the window and her eyes filled with tears. The insults and humiliation came flooding back to her, and she dreaded nothing more than returning to the palace. The trip seemed nightmarishly short and she was surprised when the pilot gently landed on the roof. She watched out the window as the customary palace guards filed out onto the roof, forming a line into the palace.
“Dr. Cook is waiting in our room,” Chevalier said, and hopped out. She got out on her own and ignored the shocked looks on the guard’s faces when they saw her.
“Emily!” Quinn yelled, and ran up to her. He picked her up into a tight embrace and then set her down, “It’s so good you’re back.”
“I’m not back,” Emily told him, and followed Chevalier inside.
“My God, Emily!” Zohn gasped when he saw her walking down the stairs.
“I’m not staying,” she told him, and walked past him coldly.
Emily stopped when she saw Dustin standing by the stairs, and she looked over at him. He nodded slightly, and she hurried past him and into the bedroom with Dain and Chevalier.
“Good to see you, Dear,” Dr. Cook said with a smile. “I was so worried when you left here, you were very ill.”
“Help him, so we can go,” Emily said, and sat down beside Dain.
While Dr. Cook looked over the boy, Chevalier filled Quinn and Zohn in on what happened on the ranch.
Dustin came into the room and looked down at Dain, “I wouldn’t have recognized him.”
Emily nodded, but didn’t speak. She was concentrating on the doctor and could feel the old hatred for the Powan flooding back into her.
“What’s he been fed?” Dr. Cook asked, and looked over at her.
“Why?”
“I need to ascertain if outside influences are causing this. Maybe bad blood or…”
Emily readied herself and then pulled off a thick black leather bracelet, revealing the bite marks, “I feed him.”
Dr. Cook quickly looked down at Dain and began to listen to his heart.
“Em, you can’t supply a full grown heku,” Chevalier said, and touched her shoulder.
“I sure as hell can, and I have been,” she snapped at him, and brushed his hand off of her.
“He’s not fully grown. I know he’s big, but he’ll get bigger.”
“It’s no concern of yours.”
“It is though. I care about you.”
She couldn’t answer. She felt like there was a lump in her throat.
Dr. Cook looked over at her, “How often are these attacks.”
“At first they were months apart, now they are only a week or so between.”
“Then when he wakes up he is taller?”
“Taller, heavier, even more intellectually advanced,” she explained.
“I hate to call them growing pains, but that’s what they are, just extremely bad ones. I’d like to try medication when he has the next attack. I hope he has enough mortal blood in him that it can dull the pain,” Dr. Cook said.
Emily shook her head, “No, we’re not staying that long.”
“Emily?” Chevalier said from behind her. She turned and gasped, and then stood up when she saw two identical Chevaliers, “This is what I was trying to tell you.”
The doppelganger looked at her, scowling, “Run away, Princess.”
Emily simply turned and sat down beside her son and took his hand.
“How long has he been asleep this time?” Dr. Cook asked.
“It’s been just about 12 hours.”
“Can you wait until he wakes up? Stay at least until then so I can study him further?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I guess.”
Dr. Cook turned to face her, “I want to talk about you now.”
“What about?”
“You were vomiting blood.”
“I had a bleeding ulcer, surgery fixed it.”
“Just the blood though, not the pain?”
She shrugged, “I have pills that help.”
“And your weight?”
She frowned, “What about it?”
“You’ve lost a lot. You look unhealthy and pale.”
“Why thank you. You look like hell too.”
Dr. Cook smiled, “I just want to make sure you’re well.”
“I am.”
“Did your doctor say how to solve the stomach pains?”
“Yes, alleviate stress was his solution.”
Dr. Cook chuckled, “I see… so it’s just gotten worse.”
“I’d say so. I’m ok though, just fix Dain so I can go.”
“Emily, you saw the
doppelganger. None of that was Chevalier,” Quinn told her.
Emily turned to Zohn, “Thank you for stopping him from hitting me.”
Zohn nodded slightly, “We’re ashamed about the rest. We watched it happen and planned in secret to stop it, but we were too late.”
“How did you break your wrist?” Dr. Cook asked.
Emily looked down at her cast and then back up to the doctor, “I was attacked.”
She ignored the soft hiss from behind her.
“A mortal?”
“Yes”
“How was he stopped?”
“Tucker stopped him. He’s been watching over us.”
Dr. Cook smiled, “I’m glad he was there.”
“Mom!” Allen yelled and ran into the room. He picked her up off the bed and spun her, “You’re back!”
Emily smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too. Never take off again!”
He sat her down and smiled down at her.
“I’m not staying, Allen.”
His face fell and he glanced at Chevalier before talking, “But you saw the doppelganger. You saw who did it.”
She shrugged and took his hand, “One doppelganger and everyone else just let it happen. I’m safer out of the palace and I have a job offer that I fully plan on taking.”
Zohn spun suddenly and stormed out of the room.
“Come live with Miri and me then.”
She laughed softly, “No, no newlyweds need their mother around.”
“The castle then. Stay there where I can see you every day. I’ll help with Dain… and Grayson was a professor at Duke. He can teach Alex and Dain.”
She shook her head and reached up to kiss his cheek, “No, I’m ok on my own with them.”
Allen looked over at his brother, “He’s huge, Mom.”
Emily looked over and smiled, “He’s a good boy. He doesn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“Why is there a dog loose in the pa…” the Chief Interrogator started, then stopped when he walked in. “My God, it’s Emily.”
She smiled, “Hello, Richard.”
He smiled broadly, “It’s so good to have you back.”
“I’m not back though,” she told him, and then sat down by Dain. “As soon as he wakes up we’ll go.”
“Hey, Mom, can I go swimming?” Alexis asked. Emily looked over and she was already in her swimming suit.
“No, Alex, stay in my sight.”
“Then you come, too. You’ve been complaining that there was no pool in town.”
Emily smiled slightly, “I don’t know…”
“Go swimming, Em. We’ll clear the out-building,” Chevalier told her.
“I don’t even have a swimming suit anymore,” she said, and brushed the hair away from Dain’s forehead.
Chevalier moved to her dresser and pulled out a bikini, “You mean this?”
“There’s an entire Council here to watch over Dain. Go swimming, take a break,” Kyle said, and handed her a towel.
She looked at Alexis, “I really do want to swim.”
“Come on, Mom. It’ll be fun.”
Emily sighed and then nodded and took the bikini from Chevalier, “One comment about my looks…”
“I wouldn’t,” Chevalier said, and then frowned, insulted.
She disappeared into the bathroom and Alexis waited anxiously with the heku. When Emily stepped out, Chevalier turned away from her suddenly as rage passed over his face. Quinn gasped. She was too thin, and her ribs poked out of pale, bruise covered skin. There were bruises of varying depths across her torso, some as old as a month, some as new as within the last day. Emily took Alexis’ hand and walked out, assuming the quietness of the heku was to keep from saying anything that might upset her.
When she was gone, Dr. Cook turned to Chevalier, “Do you realize that too much bruising can cause liver problems?”
Chevalier shut his eyes and then opened them slowly, “Those were fist and hand bruises.”
“I suspect Dain did them in his pain.”
“She’s so thin,” Quinn whispered.
“She’s had two years full of stress. It causes ulcers, a weak appetite, and weight loss. I would imagine she’s sicker than she knows,” the doctor said, and turned back to Dain. “Has she mentioned if she was pregnant?”
“No, she just told Kralen that there was no baby in the house,” Kyle said.
“What did you make of Tucker and Pelton?” Chevalier asked.
Kyle glanced at the door, “Good men. They care a lot about Emily and watched over her.”
“Just care?”
“Ok, so Tucker loves her, but that’s a common mortal emotion around her.”
“And Pelton?”
“He’s more like a brother to her. He cares a lot about her and has helped her over the past year.”
“No attraction?” Chevalier asked, surprised.
Mark shook his head, “No, Allen was right. Pelton’s more infatuated with Tucker.”
“I’m glad they were there.”
“Yeah, well, Mark and I have been considering approaching Tucker.”
Chevalier looked over at Kyle, “You are?”
Kyle nodded, “He has the kind of instincts you can’t teach. He’s protective and strict.”
“Emily would kill you.”
“If she’s not around, then she won’t know.”
Quinn looked over at Kyle, “You think he would be interested?”
Kyle smiled, “I know he would. I know the type… I’ve found three in my life that I thought had heku qualities, and each has joined and become a strong leader.”
Emily’s Border collie ran into the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. He looked over at Dain and his tail began to wag.
“What is his name?” Quinn asked.
“Devia,” Kyle replied, and then smiled.
“I wonder who named him that.”
“I don’t know. Emily might have found it on her Internet, or Alexis might have suggested it.”
“Alex speaks Native?”
Kyle nodded, “Yes, both she and Allen are fluent.”
“It seems odd, a dog named Lonely,” Dr. Cook mentioned.
“My guess is Alex named him, and Em doesn’t know the meaning,” Chevalier said.
“I’m worried about her health,” the doctor said, and looked over at the Elder.
“I am too, but she won’t let us look at her.”
“Do we know who her doctor is?”
Kyle glanced around the room and then opened up Emily’s bag. He pulled out a bottle of pills and tossed it to Dr. Cook, who quickly memorized the information and gave it back to Kyle to put away.
“I’ll contact him,” Dr. Cook said, and blurred away.
“I still can’t believe how big he’s gotten,” Kyle said, and looked down at the massive 7-year-old.
“I know, faster than even Allen,” Chevalier said.
“When he wakes up, they’ll disappear.”
Chevalier nodded.
“I thought seeing your doppelganger would help.”
“I did too.”
***
Alexis swam up to Emily, who was floating on her back and letting the warm water wash over her.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Alexis asked.
Emily nodded, “Very much so.”
“Did you know you’re covered in bruises?”
“I forgot about that. No wonder the heku were so quiet,” she said, and grinned.
“Did Dain do that all?”
“Some are from Rod.”
“That guy… he was creepy from the start.”
“I know. I didn’t hire him though.”
“Tucker was furious,” Alexis said, and rolled over to float by her Mom.
“I know.”
“He likes you.”
Emily smiled, “I know that, too.”
“Mom?”
“Yeah”
“I want to stay here.”
Emily began to tread water and looked over at her, “You do?”
“Yes, I miss it. I missed Dad and my teachers.”
“It’s not safe here.”
“It is too. You saw the guy that looked like Dad. Dad’s the same Dad I’ve had for 14 years, that wasn’t him.”
Emily started to get choked up, “You really want to stay here?”
Alexis nodded, “Badly, this is my home. It’s where I belong.”
“We’ll… talk to your Dad when we get inside.”
“Stay with me.”
“No, I know you think you belong here, but I know for certain that I don’t.”
“You can’t stay in one place in the mortal world. You’ll be moving for eternity.”
“As opposed to being afraid here?”
Alexis shrugged, “You loved it here. One little incident and off you go forever? Think about the amount of good times as opposed to the bad.”
“Alex…”
“Also consider how nervous you were on the ranch. Getting attacked from the shadows, always having to look over your shoulder, always having to check and make sure no one was there.”
“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Emily said, and swam over to the ladder. She climbed out of the warm water and slipped on a soft pink robe.
Alexis followed her out and grabbed a robe off of the rack, “I already understand more than you know.”
Emily started out the door with Alexis, “It’s not that easy to just waltz back in here after being gone for a year.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know… it just isn’t… and I can’t help but remember that during all of that crap with your Dad…”
“His doppelganger.”
“Whatever… I can’t help but remember that the heku let it all happen.”
“I saw that happen. They were too shocked to react. Dad doesn’t think those things about you. He adores you. They didn’t know what was going on.”
“He doesn’t adore me,” Emily said, and glanced nervously at the door guards when they smiled at her and opened the doors to the palace.
“Oh yeah he does! Why do you think they are all so afraid of him? He’s insane without you.”
“That’s a little extreme, Alex.”
“No it’s not…” Alexis and Emily both stopped when they heard yelling from inside the council chambers.
“Lots of them!” William screamed. “We demand immediate action by this Council to repair the damages to our city that were made without justification.”
Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 29
