Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Who are you?” Emily whispered. She was too afraid of the strange man to speak louder.

  “Emily, what’s wrong?” Mark asked, frowning.

  “Don’t come near me,” she said louder, and then screamed. “Keith!”

  Mark raised his hands, “I won’t, I promise.”

  “You’re one of them aren’t you?” she asked, starting to get angry.

  “One of who?” Mark asked.

  “The vampires.”

  Mark narrowed his eyes, “Do you know where you are?”

  Emily glanced quickly around the room, looking for a weapon. She saw a familiar item, her bag, tucked by the dresser. She ran to it and opened it, then pulled out the 9mm and turned it on Mark.

  “Where’s Keith?” Emily asked, pointing the gun directly at his heart.

  “I don’t know,” Mark said, unsure what to say or do.

  Emily pulled on a robe she saw hanging over a chair and tied it around her waist, “Get in the closet.”

  Mark slowly moved to the closet and stepped inside. He saw fear in her eyes as she shut the door, and he heard it lock from the outside. As soon as Emily ran from the room, he opened the door and followed after her.

  Emily hit the stairs running and descended, two at a time, unsure why her leg was hurting. She ignored the pain and kept going.

  “Keith!?” she screamed.

  “Emily?” Kyle asked, appearing before her on the stairs. He stopped and put his hands up when she leveled the 9mm at him, “Whoah, what’s up?”

  “Stay away from me,” she said angrily.

  Kyle looked up at Mark as he quickly filled him in, in a voice too silent for Emily to hear.

  “Emily, listen to me,” Kyle said with his hands up. “I can explain, ok? We aren’t going to hurt you.”

  “Sure you aren’t, just one little bite, eh? A little blood to quench the thirst?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Just put the gun down before you hurt yourself,” Kyle said softly.

  “I’m not the one that’s going to get hurt. You better stay back,” she warned.

  Kyle took one step toward her, and the sound of a gunshot rang through the palace. The entire Council appeared on the landing below Emily. One of them moved quickly to Kyle, who was shot in the chest but quickly healing.

  “Em?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

  “Keith!?” Emily screamed, and pointed the gun at the Council.

  Chevalier took a step back, his eyes wide. Mark’s lips moved quickly as he whispered what he’d seen.

  “Put the gun down,” Damon said sternly.

  Emily glared at him, “You would like that, wouldn’t you, vampire? You are not drinking from me.”

  “Keith? Sam?” she yelled.

  “Yes, Emily?” Sam asked, appearing beside her. He gasped and watched Emily hold the gun on the Equites Council.

  “Where’s Keith?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of the Council.

  Sam frowned and looked at Chevalier.

  “Get back in that room,” Emily yelled at the Council. Chevalier nodded, and they all stepped back into the council chambers.

  “Follow me,” Emily said to Sam, and ran down the stairs to the ground floor. She turned on one of the guards and held the gun up to him.

  “Where’s the door out?” she asked him, glaring.

  The guard frowned, confused, and pointed at the front doors.

  “Is this Montana?” she asked the guard, and he shook his head.

  “Sam, where is Keith?” she asked again when she stepped out into the daylight.

  “He’s… I don’t know where he is,” Sam said.

  Emily turned on him, “Are you with the vampires now?”

  He shook his head, “No, I’m not.”

  “You are acting weird… you are, aren’t you?” she accused.

  One of the Cavalry members walked up and patted Sam on the back, “Emily, Sam, how’s it going?”

  Emily stepped back from them and pointed her gun at Sam, “How could you, Sam? You were my Dad’s friend. How could you join the vampires?”

  The Cavalry guard looked at her with wide eyes. Emily heard the whinny of a horse from behind her, and took a few steps back, the 9mm still directed at Sam and the guard. She couldn’t figure out how she’d gotten here. She just hoped Keith was back at the ranch and would protect her from them. The vampires had never gone so far as to kidnap her before. She knew how mad Keith would be when he found out. Her head was pounding, making it hard to think clearly.

  Emily looked around and spoke to herself, “Car… I need a car.”

  She spotted the stables and backed toward it, “One move, vampire, and I’ll shoot. You can just stay here, Sam, I… I can’t believe you joined them.”

  The guard nodded and watched her closely.

  Emily pressed her hand to the side of her head, and fought to clear her mind. The only thing she was sure of was that the vampires kidnapped her, and she had to get back to Montana, to the safety of the ranch and Keith. She tried to remember how long she’d been gone. Long enough to be very pregnant was all she knew.

  When she was a safe distance from the vampires, she spun and ran for the stables. The guards watched as she ran past them in her nightgown and robe. Her bare feet made very little noise against the ground. Their orders were to stay away from her, so they moved into the shadows as she passed.

  Emily stopped when she got into the stables and turned to make sure no one was following her. She looked around the stables and gasped when she saw Patra watching her from her stall.

  Emily grabbed an unfamiliar bridle off of a hook and disappeared into Patra’s stall. She put the bridle on quickly, but couldn’t pull herself up onto the mare. Cursing under her breath, she led the mare into the stables and used a bale of hay to climb onto her back. When she turned the mare toward the exit of the stables, she saw the exit blocked by heku.

  She raised her gun toward them, “I have enough ammunition to kill all of you, so back off.”

  Chevalier put his hands up in front of him, “Emily, you need to listen to me.”

  “Listen to a vampire?” she snapped. She didn’t notice how they winced at the name.

  Kyle moved quickly off to the side and Emily spun toward him. She felt arms wrap around her from behind and pull her off of the mare, while another set quickly took the gun.

  Emily screamed and fell to the ground as the arms around her turned to ash. The sudden impact made her head hurt worse, and knocked the wind out of her. She looked up as the vampires descended on her.

  Chevalier knelt down beside Emily and put her face between his hands, he stared down into her eyes. He hated the way she looked at him with terror filled eyes, but they soon calmed as her breathing slowed to match his. He knew he shouldn’t have been able to control her. This only worked on Emily when she was sick or tired.

  “Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice smooth and calm.

  “Yes,” Emily whispered.

  “Where are you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where do you live?” he asked, not breaking her gaze.

  “Cascade, Montana.”

  “Where is Keith?”

  “At the ranch,” she said softly.

  “Who are the Equites?” Chevalier asked, concentrating on her eyes.

  “I don’t know,” Emily said, and then blinked a few times. She screamed and fought against the vampires holding her.

  “Do it,” Chevalier ordered, as he re-caught one of her hands and pinned it to the ground. Damon quickly gave her an injection, and then grasped his chest when he felt the burn starting. He fell backwards just as the pain stopped. Emily stopped fighting and fell silent against the ground.

  “What the hell was that?” Chevalier asked, letting go of Emily and looking around.

  “She’s lost seven years of memory,” Sam said, looking down at her.

  “Damon, get Mark revived. He’s the only one that was by her when it happened,” Cheva
lier said. He picked Emily up, not sure exactly what to do with her.

  “She’ll turn us all to ash if we aren’t careful,” Quinn said, looking down at her.

  “Move Allen into Kyle’s room, and we’ll have to restrain her to the bed. Sam is the only one she can’t ash, so he’s the only one to have any contact with her until I figure this out,” Chevalier told them.

  Chevalier looked over as Mark stood up, still grimacing from the pain of being burned.

  “What happened, Mark?” Chevalier asked.

  “The first I knew something was wrong was when she started yelling for Keith. I went into her room… and she pulled a gun on me and ordered me into the closet. She even locked the door,” Mark explained.

  “Quinn, please talk to Exavior. Mark, get some four-point restraints,” Chevalier said coldly, and headed up to Emily’s room.

  Chevalier and Damon hooked the soft leather restraints to her wrists and ankles. They stood back and watched her slow breathing as she slept.

  “This was one of her fears,” Chevalier said as he sat down on the bed.

  “Losing her memory?” Damon asked.

  “No, being restrained,” Chevalier sighed.

  “I don’t think we have a choice.”

  “I know we don’t. I also know that no heku can be in here until she’s calmed down. Seven years ago, she had no control over the ability, didn’t even know she could do it,” Chevalier said. He remembered the long hours in Colorado it took to get her where she had some shred of control.

  “What if she never remembers?” Damon asked, lowering his eyes.

  “I don’t know.” Chevalier looked up when Sam entered.

  “Allen’s moved over, but he’s pretty upset about being away from his Mom,” Sam said as he approached the bed.

  “I’ll talk to him,” Chevalier said.

  “If she orders me to let her go, I have to,” Sam reminded him.

  “Damnit, I forgot about that,” Chevalier growled.

  “Can’t we claim something… like insanity, to nullify that?” Damon asked the familiar.

  “I don’t make the rules. I just follow what my master says,” Sam told him.

  “Didn’t Emily tell you that you had to obey me?” Chevalier asked him.

  “Yes, then she canceled it, and re-issued that order,” Sam said.

  “Is there anything I can say to make my word stronger than hers?” Chevalier asked.

  “No,” Sam said bluntly.

  “What about Allen? Can you move to him as your master as long as Emily is incapacitated?” Damon asked.

  Sam thought for a moment, “If I truly believe that Emily is not in her right mind, I would naturally fall to Allen.”

  Chevalier growled, irritated, “Well do you?”

  Sam nodded, “Yes, I do believe she’s no longer capable of handling the situation. Therefore, Allen would be my new master until that changes.”

  “Fine, so I tell you not to let her go, and the only person that can tell you any different would be Allen?” Chevalier asked.

  “Yes”

  “Then that’s what I’m saying. Give her food, water, whatever she asks for, as long as you don’t undo the restraints,” Chevalier ordered.

  Sam sighed, “I agree, though I don’t like it.”

  “Doesn’t she have a way of slipping out of restraints?” Damon asked.

  “No, these are the kind the Valle used. She couldn’t get out of those,” Chevalier said. He hated himself for putting her in them.

  Damon left quietly and Sam sat down on a chair to wait. Chevalier stayed with Emily until she started to wake up, and then left hesitantly. He waited outside of her door, hoping her memory would come back.

  “Sam?” she asked softly.

  “I’m here.” Chevalier heard him sit on the edge of her bed.

  “Let me out of these. Why am I in them?” she mumbled, the drugs were still affecting her.

  “Do you know where you are?” Sam asked, and Chevalier cocked his head to the side to listen closer.

  “Keith?” Emily screamed, and Chevalier could hear her straining against the binds.

  Quinn appeared at Chevalier’s side, “Did Emily ingest more blood from the Encala yesterday, than she did from you when you bonded?”

  “Probably, I only gave her a few drops in some wine,” Chevalier said.

  “Exavior said that if she ingested more of Vaughn’s blood, it’s allowing them some control over her. They apparently used the control to make her forget the last seven years,” Quinn explained.

  “So, what now? She needs to drink my blood to remember it again?” Chevalier asked angrily.

  “I asked him and he didn’t know if that would work.”

  “But he hasn’t had any of her blood, and I have.”

  Quinn nodded, “That’s our only hope, that one connection. He has the runes though, and you don’t, that could very well put you on an even playing field.”

  “Does he think the memories are gone?” Chevalier asked as he watched the door. Emily was screaming at Sam to let her go.

  “He thinks they are just masked,” Quinn said hopefully.

  Chevalier and Quinn turned to the door when they heard Emily scream out in pain. Chevalier stepped in cautiously, and watched her from the door. Emily was screaming and her back was arched. Sam stood helplessly to the side.

  “Sam help me! It burns,” she groaned, and fought against the restraints.

  Allen appeared in the doorway and screamed, “Sam! Leave her alone!”

  Sam nodded, and walked out of the room as Chevalier growled.

  “Allen, no! Tell him to come back,” Damon said, and ran out after Allen when he left.

  Chevalier took his chances and knelt beside her bed, “What burns?”

  “What are you doing to me?” Emily screamed, and then groaned as the burning intensified.

  Chevalier pulled the sheet off of her thigh and looked at the fiery red skin around the runes, and how the skin was starting to blister. He knelt by her side and held her face between his hands. Again he was able to lock her gaze.

  “Leave her alone,” he said, concentrating on her eyes.

  Emily was relaxed beneath him. He held her gaze, even when Damon came into the room. He was listening, hoping to catch an emotion, or image of what was happening to her.

  “Sleep,” he whispered after a few minutes, and she slowly closed her eyes.

  Chevalier crouched down and pushed the sheet off of Emily’s thigh. It was still blistered and red, the runes barely visible beneath the burn. He began to gently rub her ankles. They were purple and welted from her struggle against the restraints.

  “If she’s not afraid, she won’t attack,” Chevalier said to Damon.

  “We lost Sam. Allen won’t tell him to come back because he thinks Sam was hurting her,” Damon explained.

  “Great”

  “How do we keep her from being afraid, when she’s tied up in a strange location?” Damon asked.

  “We don’t, we untie her.”

  “Then she’ll run.”

  “Leave us,” Chevalier said, and heard Damon leave, shutting the door behind him.

  “Em?” he said, softly touching her cheek.

  “Keith?” she whispered.

  Chevalier looked at her and sighed, “Forgive me, please.”

  He pulled his shirt back away from his right wrist and bit himself until his own blood poured freely, then put a hand against her lower jaw and pulled her mouth open. He hesitated for a moment, and then moved his hand over her face, letting the blood pour into her mouth. When Emily started to fight, he held her chin tightly so she couldn’t move away from him. He watched as she began to wake fully. When she did, he pushed her lower jaw shut so she couldn’t spit it out.

  Emily struggled to spit out the thick liquid, but couldn’t get her mouth open.

  “Swallow it,” he said, looking into her eyes. She stopped struggling as he locked her gaze, and she finally swallowed the
blood.

  Chevalier fell back to the floor and leaned against the wall. Emily was awake now and pulling frantically against her restraints. He watched as his arm slowly healed, erasing the only trace left of what he had done.

  “Keith… please,” she said softly, and settled down on the bed. “Help me.”

  Emily sounded helpless and alone. Her heart-wrenching plea for help from her abusive ex-husband made Chevalier furious. He couldn’t move, though. He didn’t want to alert her to his presence. For now, he could watch her in secret. Chevalier heard a knock on her door and it opened slowly.

  Silas came in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He glanced once at Chevalier, and Chevalier wondered what he was up to.

  Emily looked at Silas with terrified eyes, “Get away from me!”

  “Shhh,” Silas said, and shut the door behind him. “Are you a vampire?”

  Chevalier started to say something, but stopped and watched.

  “No,” Emily said angrily.

  “Me either, let me get you out of those. I think we can get away from them,” Silas said, and moved to her side. He pulled and struggled with the restraints, Chevalier even heard him groan once from pulling so hard.

  Chevalier nodded, the plan was brilliant, and he wondered who came up with it. It was similar to the Valle’s use of Tim, someone to gain her confidence, yet someone to watch over her.

  “Damn, they are locked,” Silas said, and looked around the room.

  “Try again, get me out of these,” Emily begged him.

  Silas tried again, but pretended he couldn’t get them off of her, “Slip your hands out while I pull them, ready?”

  “Ready,” Emily said.

  Chevalier heard the two of them pulling and straining, finally, Emily sighed, “They’re too tight.”

  “Someone’s coming,” Silas said, and slipped into her closet. Chevalier heard someone come in the room.

  “Go away!” Emily screamed.

  “It’s just some food,” a strange voice said.

  The door to the room shut and Silas emerged from the closet and looked around, “What did they want?”

  “They brought food,” Emily told him. “Idiot, how do they think I’m supposed to eat?”

  Chevalier chuckled silently. They had forgotten that tiny part of their plan. He was impressed with Silas’ quick thinking.