Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Emily sat down and held Alexis on her lap as their lunch was brought out. Alexis began to eat immediately, but Emily just watched her, not hungry. She knew she had lost a lot of weight recently, but she never felt hungry. Her guards hadn’t told Damon that she wasn’t eating. They understood it was the one way she felt in control of herself, and they weren’t going to take that from her. Damon hadn’t noticed her weight loss, and was pleased at how she was complying with his every whim.

  Alexis screamed when her Nanny pulled her from Emily’s arms. Emily felt numb as Alexis was blurred from the room. Her hands shook as she stepped out into the foyer and headed up the stairs. Her guards said nothing as she went to the roof, somewhere she recently spent a lot of time. She stood up on the wall of the roof and looked down over the grounds. Her guards mistakenly thought she liked the view, they didn’t realize that it was up there that she contemplated the consequences of jumping.

  “Emily?” Damon said from behind her.

  “Yes?” she whispered, longing to throw herself off of the tall wall.

  “Go, take a nap,” he demanded.

  Emily turned around and jumped down from the wall, and headed into the palace without once looking up at Damon. She shut the door to her room. Damon had the inside locks removed, only the locks on the outside of the door remained.

  Emily saw that she was alone in the room and sat down on the bed. She didn’t feel like napping, but Damon would get suspicious if he didn’t hear her on the bed.

  She turned when she heard the door open, and her eyes fell to the floor when Zohn entered. As Chief Interrogator, he was able to easily detect lying, and had only spoken to Emily when she was suspected of misbehaving or breaking a direct order from the Council.

  Zohn pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, “How are you?”

  “Fine,” she lied, and watched her hands.

  “Please, look up at me,” he said kindly.

  Emily looked up at the heku, expressionless.

  Zohn frowned. He suspected that Damon may have overstepped as Emily’s keeper, and was here to find out for himself if someone needed to intervene. It struck a nerve in most of the Council when Damon demanded that she have a baby. It seemed to them as if that were a personal choice, and didn’t think the option should be taken away from her.

  “How are you?” he asked again, watching her eyes.

  “Fine,” she said, and he easily saw the lie.

  “Try again, how are you?”

  “What do you want me to say?” Emily whispered, and looked back at her hands.

  “The truth,” Zohn said softly.

  “I’m fine,” she said again.

  Zohn sighed, “Do you want another baby?”

  Emily nodded.

  “To hell you do. Stop lying to me,” he said calmly.

  “I’m sorry,” she said properly, no longer able to pull anger from inside.

  Along with knowing when he was being lied to, Zohn was also exceptionally aware of his surroundings and had a photographic memory of anywhere he’d been. It hadn’t escaped his notice that the handle of Emily’s 9mm was no longer sticking out of the bag where she kept it.

  “Look up at me and tell me if you are considering suicide,” Zohn said softly.

  Emily hesitated and then looked up at him, “No.”

  “Damnit, get mad, ash me if you want… show something,” Zohn growled.

  Emily’s eyes fell back to the floor.

  Zohn nodded and left angrily. The passion and fire the Council loved in Emily was gone. She no longer seemed to care about anything, including herself or the heku that she so loved. He decided to pull together the others in the Council that thought as he did, and come up with a solution. He couldn’t risk bringing in Maleth or Chevalier, they were already on the verge of being banished.

  Once he was gone, Emily laid down on the bed to start her forced nap. Once she woke up, she returned to her place on the roof and looked out over the grounds. The corral was empty and she felt a small spark of fury before bottling it up and falling numb again. The horses weren’t properly being cared for, and she briefly debated shooting them all to put them out of their misery. Better dead than neglected.

  Emily picture herself falling, over and over, how when she hit the ground below. She wouldn’t feel a thing, not a snap of her neck or the break of a single bone, it would all happen too fast. She occupied her time trying to decide if it would even matter if she were no longer around. She was no longer allowed to even be a mother to her children, and Chevalier seemed far away and untouchable.

  “I don’t think you should be up here. I’m banning you from the roof,” Damon said from behind her. She briefly considered jumping, right in front of him, but turned and hopped off of the wall.

  Emily walked back to her room for the night and saw Chevalier was there when she stepped inside. She moved to him quickly and crawled into his lap, laying her head against his shoulder. She couldn’t talk to him, afraid Damon would listen to anything they said.

  Chevalier wasn’t as worried about being heard. He kissed her forehead lightly and then whispered into her ear, “They can’t force us to have a baby.”

  Emily nodded and shut her eyes, listening to the slow rhythm of his heart.

  “I’ve been thinking, I have another house, one only Kyle knows about… we could go there, together,” he whispered.

  Emily shook her head, “No, if they found us you would be banished.”

  “I don’t really care. You can’t stay like this, you’re barely even alive,” he hissed.

  “I’m ok, I can handle it,” she whispered, and looked over at the fire.

  “Give the word, one word, and we can be out of here in a few minutes, you and me with the kids… alone,” he promised, and kissed her lightly.

  Emily nodded.

  Chevalier looked toward the door and whispered softer into her ear, “I know you aren’t eating, please, for me… eat something.”

  Emily didn’t answer, but just watched the flames dance in the fireplace.

  ***

  Emily woke up suddenly when her stomach tightened. She ran to the bathroom just in time, slamming the door behind her. It’d been four weeks since Damon ordered that she try to have a baby, and nothing in the palace had changed. She had odd conversations with some of the council members, where they demanded she tell them things about her health and well-being, but she always stuck with the plan to tell only what Damon wanted to hear.

  Emily was just leaning back against the wall when she heard a knock on the door, “Em?”

  She didn’t respond. She didn’t want Chevalier in the bathroom, but knew that Damon would be mad if she told him that.

  Chevalier stepped in and frowned, “Are you ok?”

  Emily nodded, afraid that if she spoke, she would throw up again.

  Chevalier sat down beside her and whispered, “The flu?”

  Emily nodded again.

  Chevalier halfway grinned, “Damon’s going to think you’re pregnant.”

  Emily leaned over and laid her head in his lap. He brushed her hair away from her forehead and felt the back of her neck. Her head was pounding and she felt aches throughout entire body.

  “You have a fever. I should call the doctor,” Chevalier said, frowning.

  “Don’t,” Emily whispered. “Please.”

  Chevalier nodded, “Ok, I won’t.”

  Once Emily fell asleep, Chevalier carried her into the bedroom. He glared when he saw Damon standing in the room.

  “This is my bedroom, and as Elder, you will ask to come in here,” he growled.

  “Sorry, Elder, I didn’t know you were in here,” Damon said, eyeing Emily. “Has it happened then?”

  “Has what happened?” Chevalier asked, knowing full well what Damon thought.

  “Is she pregnant?” Damon asked excitedly.

  Chevalier grinned. He knew there was no way that she was, but he wanted nothing more than to make Damon look like an idiot, �
�Probably.”

  “That’s great! See, it’s not hard to get obedience from her,” Damon said. He slapped Chevalier on the shoulder and then went to tell the Council.

  Zohn and Maleth cringed when Damon announced that Emily was pregnant. He had a huge grin on his face, but the council members were uneasy. Chevalier took his seat and no one congratulated him or even looked him directly in the eye. He left word with Kyle, in secret, about Emily’s flu, and Kyle was currently helping take care of her in his absence.

  “I say we tell the Valle and Encala immediately. It may help keep peace with the factions if we don’t keep the baby from them,” Damon said.

  Quinn frowned, “I disagree.”

  Maleth nodded, “As do I.”

  “Why exactly would we tell them?” Chevalier asked.

  “Control! To let them know that we completely control the Winchester now,” Damon grinned. “Once they realize she has no desire to act alone, they will understand our hold on her, and will know that their quest to gain power over her is futile.”

  “You mean to speed them up in kidnapping her, torturing her, letting ancients control her, all of those fun things they do when she’s pregnant,” Quinn said bluntly. Chevalier glanced at him quickly, and wondered if the Council was finally starting to sway away from Damon.

  “They need to see that this Council is now in control again, that we aren’t being ruled by a mortal. We can show them that by the forced pregnancy,” Damon said.

  “Damn, you make it sound like we…” Zohn stopped, he couldn’t even say it.

  Chevalier sat back easily in his chair, relaxed and enjoying what he was seeing.

  “You may have control over Emily, but we still control the Equites and as such, the Elders have final say in who is notified of the baby,” Quinn growled, angry at how Damon was acting.

  “Of course, Sir,” Damon said, somewhat calmer.

  “Tell them,” Chevalier said, looking at Quinn.

  Quinn frowned, “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  Maleth saw a glint of life in Chevalier, something that he’d not seen since this all started, “I agree, tell them personally, Damon.”

  Quinn shrugged, “Whatever, 2 to 1 says do it.”

  Damon grinned.

  “Go call them now, we’ll wait,” Chevalier said, and Damon blurred from the chambers.

  “She’s not pregnant, is she?” Zohn asked, grinning.

  Chevalier shook his head, “She has the flu.”

  Quinn chuckled.

  ***

  Emily was feeling better by the next morning, but she opted to act sick so she could stay in bed all day, something that Damon had expressly forbid, unless she was feeling ill. She held onto Alexis as long as she could before the Nanny took her, and now she was left alone to think.

  Emily kept perfectly still when she heard the door to the bedroom open, then sighed when she heard the voice.

  “Damon needs you in the council chambers, sick or not,” the guard said. Emily didn’t know him, and he was gruff and angry.

  She slowly crawled out of bed, still achy from the flu, and dressed quickly in the closet. The guard took her arm roughly and led her down to the council chambers. He pushed her into the room and shut the door behind her. She walked forward, rubbing her arm where he had grabbed her.

  “Ah, there you are, Emily,” Damon said with a grin. “Next time I’ll expect a faster response.”

  Quinn glared at him and whispered something that Emily couldn’t hear.

  Damon nodded and turned back to her, “This fellow by you needs to be turned to ash, please do so.”

  Emily turned to the heku who was cowering down on the floor beside her. She didn’t care anymore what she did. The drive to protect the heku was gone. The drive to keep Chevalier alive was all that she cared about. Emily narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Do it!” Damon growled.

  Emily stared at the heku, but she started to panic when he didn’t turn to ash, didn’t even scream in pain.

  “I said do it!” Damon yelled.

  “Damon…” Quinn said, irritated.

  Damon jumped the desk and took Emily’s arm roughly, “Do it now.”

  “I’m trying,” she whispered.

  “Do not defy me,” Damon roared, and tightened his grip on her arm.

  Emily looked back at the frightened heku and her heart went out to him. The fear and anger that she pulled from to turn someone to ash was gone. All she could feel now was envy that his life was about to end, and her torment would continue.

  Damon stormed out of the room, pulling Emily along behind him.

  Chevalier stood, angrily, “That’s it… you can banish me if you want, but I’m not going to watch this for another second.”

  “I concur,” Maleth said, standing.

  Quinn stood, “You can’t banish us all, and I suggest we deal with Damon.”

  Zohn had been Damon’s biggest supporter, and the Elders turned to him. They noticed the rest of the Council sitting quietly in their seats. No one made to defy the Elders.

  “I suggest we do it carefully. If he gets word of our plans, he could seriously injure the girl,” Zohn said. The Elders returned to their seats when they heard Damon approach.

  “For now, do as he asks, let the Elders handle this,” Quinn said sternly.

  Damon walked in the room and violently tore the head off of the small heku. He growled and sat at his seat, “We have to do something about that.”

  Zohn glanced nervously at the Elders, “About what?”

  “The defiance by Emily. She has to learn complete obedience,” Damon scowled.

  “She’s been sick, Damon, maybe she’s too weak,” Zohn suggested.

  “Lies, don’t fall for her lies,” Damon said. He began to look through the roster as the Council tried to decide on a replacement for a recently banished General.

  The Council all looked up when they heard a knock on the door.

  “Enter,” Maleth said.

  Emily’s guard came in, looking terrified, “I can’t find her.”

  Chevalier stifled a grin.

  “Can’t find who?” Damon asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Emily, I can’t find her,” the guard said, shaking.

  “How stupid do you have to be to let a mortal girl get away from you? Find her,” Damon growled.

  The guard ran from the room and the Council heard him call for all available guards to search the palace.

  “Where is she, Elder?” Damon asked, trying to sound respectful.

  “How am I supposed to know? You have her so afraid she won’t even talk to me anymore,” Chevalier said matter-of-factly.

  “The punishment for this will be severe,” Damon roared, and disappeared from the room.

  “If you’re not an Elder, get out,” Maleth said, and turned to watch the rest of the Council file out. “Zohn, stay.”

  Zohn nodded and sat in the chair by the Elders.

  “We have to deal with this before he finds her,” Quinn said hurriedly.

  “We better hurry then. He has the entire guard staff looking,” Zohn told them.

  “Emily can hide well. We have time to do this right,” Chevalier told them.

  “The only way to do it is to replace him immediately. If we kill him before anyone’s been chosen, that leaves us without the ability to revive. Though, it seems like Emily may not be able to even ash at the moment,” Maleth said.

  “Or she was faking not being able to,” Zohn said.

  “No, she wouldn’t risk it,” Chevalier said. “I’ve seen that look before. She was trying to turn him to ash, and when she couldn’t, she started to panic. She’s hiding out of fear for her life right now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Zohn said to Chevalier. “I shouldn’t have backed him on this. I was mad at the interruption in our trial, and what he said sounded true. Now I see that he is wrong.”

  “I’m not the one that needs the apology,” Chevalier whis
pered.

  Zohn nodded, “Fine then, I suggest Kyle.”

  “If we do that we lose a good Captain,” Quinn said.

  “So we replace him with Mark,” Zohn said. “I’ve been… thinking… about this for a while now and that’s what I’ve come up with.”

  “That leaves a trusted guard as the Captain,” Chevalier said, nodding.

  The Council fell quiet as they heard a call for more guards.

  “Is she ok?” Maleth asked Chevalier.

  Chevalier nodded, “She’s afraid, which is more emotion than I’ve felt from her for weeks.”

  “It’s like he killed that lovely spirit of hers,” Maleth said softly.

  “Kyle?” Quinn whispered, and he appeared in the council chambers.

  Chevalier stood up, “We want help searching the… stables for Emily.”

  Kyle frowned and nodded, “Yes, Elder.”

  The three Elders, Kyle, and Zohn hid in shadows and then blurred out to the stables. When he left, Kyle had a grin on his face and blood in his eyes.

  The Elders returned to the council chambers with Zohn to wait. The Council slowly reconvened to continue the trials for the day. Several hours later, Damon blurred into the room and sat down in his chair, obviously mad.

  “You still don’t know where she is?” he asked Chevalier.

  Chevalier frowned, “You’re questioning an Elder?”

  Damon scowled and silently turned back to the prisoner on trial.

  Damon froze when he heard a voice call that Emily was in the loft of the stables. A maliciously dark shadow fell across his face and he blurred from the room. The Council paused only for a moment, before returning to their prisoner.

  Once the prisoner was taken back to the cells, the entire room fell silent. The Elders and Zohn listened intently as the fight in the barn ensued. The council members all watched them, knowing something was happening, but it wasn’t their place to ask. One lone person left the stables, breathing hard and panting from exertion. When the Council doors opened, everyone turned to see who had won.

  “It is done,” Kyle said, stepping in and showing them the bloody dagger. His clothes were torn and covered in blood, but he was grinning and he had a small leather pouch in his hand.