Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Emily took Chevalier’s hand after the coronation, when it was time to greet Kyle and Mark, but still didn’t speak. Her hand felt cold to him, and after Emily shook Kyle and Mark’s hands, she disappeared out of the room through the back door. Chevalier remained cordial and joined the rest of the heku in the Great Hall for the reception.

  Chevalier frowned when he saw Emily’s bodyguards visiting with some of the coven dignitaries, but didn’t see Emily.

  “Mark?” he called out.

  “Yes, Elder,” Mark asked.

  “Who is guarding Emily tonight?”

  “Ted and Jack,” Mark said, and then spotted them. “At least, they should be.”

  “Your first official duty,” Chevalier said, and watched Mark approach the two guards.

  Chevalier watched as Mark became irate and yelled at the two guards. He heard Mark tell them to report to his office in the morning, and he blurred from the room.

  Chevalier turned when one of the coven dignitaries asked him about relations with a new coven that formed close to his. He stopped listening to the dignitary when he heard Mark yell for Kyle, and he saw Kyle blur out of the room.

  “Seems both of our honorees have disappeared,” Quinn said after Kyle had left.

  “Yes, seems so, and it’s making me nervous,” Chevalier told him.

  Maleth walked up, “Where are Kyle and Mark?”

  “I’ll go find them,” Chevalier said, and left the room through the back door. He listened carefully and heard angry voices from the stables.

  Chevalier walked up as Mark and Kyle seemed to be interrogating someone on the straw in the corner of the stable, “What’s going on?”

  Kyle turned to the Elder, “Seems like the Encala are pretty interested in talking to Emily today.”

  Chevalier looked down at the three Encala, “About what?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Mark said, and kicked one of the Encala, who started to whine.

  “Where’s Em?” Chevalier asked, looking around.

  “Strange thing is… she was cleaning out a stall when I got here, and these three brave souls were hiding in the corner watching her. When I called them out, she ran off,” Mark said, and shrugged.

  “So her personal guards, who skipped out on her, let the Encala get to her?” Chevalier asked, suddenly very curious.

  Mark nodded, “I can’t wait to deal with them. I called for Kyle in case Emily decided to come back and turn them to ash.”

  Three members of the Cavalry arrived from the city and took the Encala into the palace prison.

  “You two go back to the reception, it is for you after all,” Chevalier told them, and they both ran off to the reception area. Once they were gone, he shut the open stall and then blurred up to their room. He could hear the jetted tub running and grinned when he found the door was locked. A brief tap under the lock snapped it, and he walked inside.

  Emily jerked and looked over at him, “Don’t do that!”

  “Sorry, Em. Are you ok?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the tub.

  “Yes, if people would quit watching me in secret,” she said, and leaned back in the tub, re-covering her eyes with a washcloth. “I let Mark take them, happy now?”

  Chevalier was glad she covered her eyes, because her comment made him grin, “Yes, very.”

  Emily grumbled under her breath.

  “Would you rather stay here instead of going back to the island?” Chevalier asked.

  Emily shook her head, “No, I want to get away, and I want to get Allen away from his schoolbooks.”

  “He’s enjoying studying.”

  “He’s a little boy who needs exercise and sunlight.”

  “Maybe not, I mean… he may not need sunlight.”

  Emily pulled off the washcloth and glared at him.

  Chevalier chuckled, “Ok, I’m going… I’ll come get you for the helicopter later.”

  Emily stayed in bed as long as she could, and then got up and started to pack. When she heard the helicopter start up, she picked Alexis up out of bed and carried her, still asleep, up the stairs while one of her guards brought the bags.

  Emily handed Alexis up to Kyle, who was already in the helicopter, and then she looked around.

  “Where’s Allen?” she asked Chevalier.

  Chevalier shrugged, “He said he doesn’t want to go.”

  Emily’s eyes turned furious and she went back inside. She came out a short time later dragging Allen by his ear. Chevalier ran to them and took Allen from Emily’s grasp.

  “I’m not going,” Allen fumed.

  “Oh yes you are,” Emily told him, and pointed to the helicopter. “Get in or I’ll carry you.”

  “You can’t make me,” Allen said. He crouched low and glared at her.

  Emily’s eyes grew wide and she took a step back.

  “Get in the helicopter,” Chevalier said, picking Allen up and throwing him inside. He then turned to Kyle, “You have my permission to put him over your knee.”

  Kyle nodded and glared at Allen. Allen saw the anger in his eyes and buckled into the seat.

  Chevalier wrapped his arms around Emily, “He’ll come around.”

  “Yeah, if he doesn’t kill me first.” Emily laid her head against Chevalier’s chest.

  “I’ll meet you at the island in a week, ok?” Chevalier kissed the top of her head.

  Emily nodded and crawled into the helicopter, followed by four of the top members of the Cavalry, including Mark. She buckled in and then leaned her head back to sleep on the way.

  ***

  “Em?” Kyle said softly, and touched her shoulder.

  Emily jerked awake and almost fell out of bed trying to get away from the heku sitting on the edge of her bed.

  “Just me,” Kyle said, smiling.

  She nodded and pulled the covers up.

  “Who was attacking the Elder and I this time?” Kyle chuckled.

  Emily frowned, “It’s not funny.”

  “I know. It’s just surprising that after all of this time, you’re still trying to save us in your dreams.”

  Emily laid back down and rolled onto her side.

  “Did you know it’s almost 1pm?” Kyle asked.

  Emily sat up and looked at the clock, “Damn. Whose idea was it to travel in the middle of the night?”

  Kyle chuckled, “There’s coffee coming. Anna has Alexis down getting some lunch.”

  Emily nodded and stared at Kyle.

  “Oh, right, I’m gone.” He blurred from the room.

  Emily stretched and laid back down, not wanting to get up. The helicopter hadn’t landed on the island until almost 5am, and then she’d had to fight to get Allen off of it before it returned to Council City.

  Emily grumbled when someone knocked on her door, then sat up and pulled the covers up, “Come in.”

  Gordon walked in with a large smile and a pot of hot coffee, “Good to have you back, Lady Emily.”

  Emily smiled. She still felt that those around the palace considered it a demotion to help her with anything. It was nice to feel wanted again, “Thanks, always good to be back.”

  Gordon set the coffee down on the bedside table and then left the room. Emily had a few cups of coffee to wake up, and then slipped into her bikini. She’d been wanting to swim for a while. She threw a towel over her shoulder and grabbed a clean diaper, and she was tying her hair up into a ponytail when she walked out of the bedroom.

  The two members of the Cavalry smiled at her, and then quickly looked away. Emily headed down to the dining room and kissed Alexis on the head.

  “Sim?” Alexis asked her with a grin.

  “Yup, let’s go.” Emily picked her up and stripped her clothes off, handing them to Anna to get washed. They walked to the pool and the guards opened the door for her, “Send Allen down, please.”

  The guards nodded and stood outside of the door so she could swim in peace. Almost twenty minutes later, she looked up from the water as Kyl
e pulled Allen into the room. They were obviously fighting.

  “I don’t care what you say. I don’t have to do what she says,” Allen said, crossing his arms.

  “Yes, you do. Now get in.” Kyle glared at him.

  “Why should I have to listen to a weak-minded mortal? It’s not my fault Dad married down.”

  Emily gasped when Kyle backhanded Allen to the floor, “Unless you want a rough seven days here, I suggest you drop the attitude.”

  Allen stood up, glaring at Kyle, and stepped into the pool. Kyle moved over to a lounge chair and sat down, his eyes glued to the 6-year-old. Allen stood in the corner of the pool with his arms crossed.

  Emily sat Alexis up on the cement and she ran to Kyle, who wrapped her in a warm towel. Emily moved over to Allen.

  “Is it seriously that bad to come spend time with your family?” Emily asked him.

  Allen sighed, “Yes, it’s humiliating to be thrown into mundane mortal tasks.”

  “So swimming is a mundane mortal task?”

  “Yes”

  Emily sighed, “You have some mortal blood in that body, and it’s not good for you to sit with your nose in a book all day.”

  “Don’t insult me,” Allen glared at her.

  Emily slapped him and he lunged at her, but was suddenly dragged out of the water by his arm. Kyle pulled him off to the side, “You are part mortal, like it or not, and you will obey your mother and show her the respect she’s due.”

  Allen just glared at him.

  “The next time you attack her, or even so much as crouch, I’ll throw you in a prison cell for the rest of the day. Is that understood?” Kyle was furious.

  Allen nodded.

  Emily crawled out of the pool and wrapped in a plush towel. She sat down on a lounge chair to throw a diaper on Alexis while Allen and Kyle had a stand-off in the corner. She passed them as she and the baby headed out into the castle. Anna met them at the door and took Alexis, so Emily could get some alone time.

  Emily headed up the stairs to her room and sat on the bed to think. She hadn’t realized how anti-mortal Allen was, even though he was 25% mortal himself. She also hadn’t realized how much animosity he felt toward her, and the thought scared her. She felt a twinge of fear of her young son. She couldn’t turn him to ash if he attacked her, he was just a boy, but she knew that he could kill her if he wanted.

  Emily heard a knock on the door and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt before seeing who it was.

  “Can I come in?” Kyle asked.

  Emily nodded and sat down on a chair by the fireplace.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Kyle asked, sitting in the chair beside hers.

  “Talk about what? How my own son hates me, or how he considers me a lower life-form? How about we talk about how my son can and wants to kill me?” Emily asked, watching the flames dance.

  “I’ll never claim to fully understand him. No one can because he’s the first of his kind,” Kyle explained. “All I can explain is some things I see in him, things that I see in every new heku.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean like constant studying. Every new heku delves into books, studying everything they can get their hands on. For the first time in their lives, they remember everything, and so the world opens up to them in a way not previously possible.”

  “He’s a little boy. He needs exercise and interaction with people,” Emily said.

  “He may not though. He doesn’t require the food of a mortal or the sleep of a mortal, maybe he doesn’t need what other mortal boys his age need,” Kyle said, also watching the fire.

  “How do we know that though? How do we find out how much of him is heku and how much is mortal? There has to be some mortal in there, right?”

  Kyle thought for a moment, “Not necessarily, when a child is 50% mortal and 50% heku, he is completely mortal… with no sign of a heku at all. It’s therefore not unreasonable to think that with his body being mostly heku, that the mortal traits are gone.”

  Emily turned her face away from Kyle so he wouldn’t see the tears building, “You’re telling me my son is gone then.”

  “No, and I’m not saying what he does is right. I just wanted to see if I could help you understand the parts that I do understand.”

  “My son can kill me and wants to,” Emily said softly.

  “Today… wait a day and he’ll attack anyone who comes near you. He’s confused right now. His mind is that of a predator, but there’s a conscience there, he loves you and it gets confusing. Does he listen to his heart or his instincts?” Kyle said, touching her hand. She turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his.

  “What am I supposed to do? Let my 6-year-old run free? Turn off the mothering and let him be raised by the heku who, apparently, understand him more than I do?” Emily asked him.

  “Just give him time to figure out who he is.”

  “And hope he doesn’t kill me in the process?”

  “You may have to ash him to teach him who’s boss, even just a controlled burn. If he sees you as powerful, he’ll back down. Predators won’t take on prey that’s meaner than they are.” Kyle cringed after he said it.

  “Nice,” Emily sighed and got up, disappearing into the bathroom. She came a while later.

  “Going somewhere?” Kyle asked when she grabbed her purse.

  “Yes, I’m going to the mainland to go shopping.”

  “Oh good, have fun,” Kyle said, smiling.

  Emily sighed, “Alone.”

  Kyle’s smile faded, “Em…”

  “I don’t need to hear it. I’m going alone.” Emily sat down to slip on some shoes.

  “You know as well as I do, that we can’t let you go alone.”

  “And you know as well as I do, that if I want to go alone then I will.” Emily stood up and put her hands on her hips, “So you can either let me go peacefully, or I’ll do it anyway.”

  “Damnit, Em,” Kyle scowled.

  “I hate when you say that… is that part of the required Equites training? How to yell at me?”

  “Mark just got the job of trying to keep you safe, and you’re going to test him by running off alone to go shopping?” Kyle asked, standing up and starting for the door.

  “Fine! But just Mark. I’m not taking my entourage.” Emily scowled and headed for the pier. Mark caught up with her while she waited on the ferry, and she was glad to see he’d changed out of the cape and into jeans and a polo.

  ***

  Once Alexis was down for the night, Emily sat down on the bed to think. She suddenly had an idea. Grabbing a flashlight and a lot of extra batteries, she left the castle out the back door, followed by two of the Cavalry guards. She hopped on the ATV in the empty barn, and checked to make sure the guards were with her as she got to the tree line.

  “What are we doing?” one of them asked.

  “I’m looking for something,” Emily said, and flipped on the flashlight. She found what she was looking for after almost an hour.

  The two heku guards looked down at the cement slab.

  “I need that opened,” Emily told them. They hesitated and then easily lifted it from the ground. Emily crawled down into the crypt, followed by the guards.

  “Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t supposed to be down here?” one of them asked, looking at the scattered bones.

  “I’m not… come on,” Emily said, heading further back into the corridor.

  They went room to room as Emily shone her flashlight on the walls and ceiling. This time she ignored the bones and various objects and focused on the walls, looking for something written or drawn.

  Emily stopped when the walls of the crypt were stained red and bones were scattered across the surface of the hallway.

  “Damn, wonder what happened here,” the tallest guard said.

  Emily sighed, “Chevalier got mad.”

  He raised an eyebrow, looking around, impressed, and then followed Emily deeper into the tombs.


  Any door that Emily couldn’t open, the guards got for her. She searched late into the night until she found something that could help her. Behind one of the large, heavy doors was an office. Papers and books were laid out on the top of a crypt along with ancient parchment with dark writing in a language Emily didn’t recognize.

  Emily changed the batteries in the flashlight and sat it down, then she began pouring through books. If they were in English, she scanned for signs of what she was looking for, and if they weren’t in English, she sat them aside.

  “I’d like to yell and throw a fit… but at least you brought your guards this time,” Kyle said from the doorway to the room. Mark was standing behind him and looked irate.

  “Shhh,” Emily whispered, still reading through a book.

  “What are you looking for?” Kyle asked, picking up a book written in Danish and thumbing through it.

  Emily sighed, “I couldn’t ash Larsen or this Ancient.”

  “Right,” Kyle said.

  “They told me they protected themselves against my abilities.”

  Kyle nodded, “And you want to know how.”

  “It has to be in here,” Emily told him, and threw her book on the floor. She reached over and grabbed another.

  Kyle dismissed the rest of the guards and began to help her look through the books.

  After a few hours, Emily turned off the flashlight. She was running out of batteries and sat back against the wall.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked Kyle.

  Kyle sat down the book, “Sure.”

  “Are you an ‘old one’?”

  “No”

  “How old are you?”

  Kyle shrugged, and then realized she couldn’t see him, “I don’t know… don’t really remember.”

  “Do you remember who made you?”

  “Yes”

  “Did Chevalier make you?”

  “No”

  Emily thought for a moment, “Did you get to make the choice?”