Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “So now what?” the Chief Interrogator asked.

  “Now we wait,” Zohn said, obviously irritated at the lack of information.

  Almost an hour later, Allen entered the council chambers with a death grip on Dain. He was out of breath and terrified as he faced the Council, “Did they call about Mom?”

  “What happened?” Zohn asked, appearing at his side. “Your Mom’s in surgery, but we don’t know what happened.”

  Allen nodded, clearly upset, “We got out of the movie and someone took the battery from the Jeep, and somehow managed to take our cell phones. We were attacked by 24 heku and 15 mortals. They wanted Dain.”

  Dain wrapped his arms tightly around his brother, and his tiny body shook.

  “Then what? It’s ok… no one’s in trouble,” Zohn said softly.

  “Then Mom turned the heku to ash, but the mortals came at us. We were fighting when I heard gunshots and saw that Mom was shot. I couldn’t hold off that many of them… then the Valle appeared…”

  “Wait… what Valle?” Dustin asked, suddenly interested.

  “Uncle Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar. They joined in the fight and helped me kill the humans. Exavior called an ambulance, and then erased Alexis’ memory. Sotomar told me to take Dain and run back here, and then the three of them disappeared.”

  Zohn nodded, “That was smart of them… very smart.”

  “I didn’t want to follow his orders… but I panicked.”

  “I’m glad you did, Sotomar gave you good advice.”

  “How is Mom?”

  “Dustin… take Allen and Dain to the hospital… I want to talk to Sotomar,” Zohn said, and went back to the Council’s area and sat down.

  Dustin nodded, and disappeared with Allen and Dain.

  “Valle Council,” a strange voice said, irritated.

  “Is Sotomar there?”

  “I’m here… we were expecting your call,” Sotomar said calmly.

  Zohn sighed, “Thank you… first off.”

  “Our pleasure, we wish you would trust us again. How is she?”

  “We don’t know yet. She’s in surgery… who was it?” Zohn asked.

  Exavior spoke, “The Ferus… they recruited mortals it seems. They knew Emily would turn them to ash and they had a backup plan.”

  “Did we get any ashes?”

  “I managed a few piles,” Sotomar explained. “But the police were coming too quickly.”

  “Might we have them… please?”

  “Right away, we’ll send someone over with them.”

  “Very well, we’ll call you when we hear something,” Zohn said, and hung up.

  “What’s their angle? Suddenly eager to help us?” the Chief Investigator asked. “They want Emily. That would have been their chance to take her.”

  “I’m not sure, we’ll have to find out later,” Zohn said, and stood up. “I’m going to the hospital to see what I can find out.”

  The rest of the Council nodded and began to talk about how to handle Chevalier. Zohn arrived at the hospital just after midnight and parked next to Quinn. He rushed inside, and saw Allen, Quinn, Alexis, and Dustin waiting in the lobby. Dustin was holding Dain in his lap.

  “What’s going on?” Zohn asked, and sat down beside them.

  “The doctor just barely came out. She was shot twice, once in the left shoulder and once in the abdomen,” Quinn explained. “The shoulder shot didn’t do a lot of damage, but they had to remove some of her small intestine. They said she got lucky though, no major organs were hit.”

  Zohn relaxed some and sat back, “And the police?”

  “They questioned Alexis, but she was asleep in the Jeep and didn’t see anything. They’ve towed Emily’s Jeep in for forensic testing.”

  “Oh good, are you Emily’s husband?” the doctor asked, coming out to shake Zohn’s hand.

  “No, sorry, I’m an uncle,” Zohn explained, and shook his hand. “We’re still trying to get a hold of her husband. Can we see her?”

  “One of you can see her… we’ll keep her overnight, but she can go home in the morning.”

  “So soon?” Zohn asked, surprised.

  “Yes, we’ve repaired what we can, and now she’ll just need rest at home.”

  Quinn stood up, “I’ll go with you.”

  The doctor nodded, and Quinn followed him in to a hospital room where Emily was sleeping. Her left arm was casted and propped up and she had a pillow over her stomach. She had an NG tube in her nose and an I.V. running clear liquids into her arm.

  “She’s no longer sedated,” the doctor said. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit. Don’t upset her.”

  Quinn nodded and sat down on the bed beside her. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked at him.

  “How are you, Dear?” he asked, and smiled as he took her hand.

  “Kids…” she whispered.

  “They’re ok. They are all out in the lobby… the… Valle… appeared and helped.”

  She frowned slightly, “Always hurt.”

  He kissed her hand softly, “Part of your charm.”

  “Chev?”

  “We’re still trying to get in touch with him. He doesn’t know.”

  She winced and inhaled sharply.

  “Rest, ok?” he said, and slipped her hand back under the covers.

  She nodded and shut her eyes. He watched her for a moment and then did a quick survey of the room, noting the one window in her room was on the ground floor. He headed out to the lobby and was on the phone ordering a guard for the window before he sat down.

  “How’s Mom?” Allen asked, concerned.

  “She doesn’t look that bad actually,” Quinn said. “She’s just tired.”

  Allen looked up at Zohn, “Go ahead then…”

  “With what?” he asked, confused.

  “This was my fault, and I’m sure Dad will punish me. As I’m one of the guards, I expect you would like to get started with that.”

  “I’m not sure now’s the time…”

  “Now is the perfect time… Would you wait if I weren’t an Elder’s son?”

  Zohn sighed, “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

  Dustin stood up, “I’m heading back. I’ll take Allen.”

  “Take him before the Council, let them decide.”

  Dustin nodded and escorted Allen out after handing Dain over to Quinn.

  Alexis glared at Zohn, “That’ll tick Mom off. She ordered him to go.”

  “They won’t hurt him,” Quinn told her. “Chevalier… however, will.”

  Alexis eventually leaned over and fell asleep across two chairs. Dain was resting against Quinn’s chest and watching out the window behind him. They didn’t see the doctor again until late the next morning.

  “No word from her husband?” he asked them.

  “Nothing yet, he’s not due back until tonight though,” Zohn explained.

  “We can keep her here, or you can take care of her at home… she removed her NG tube and I.V. though, so she might as well go home, as long as she won’t be alone.”

  Quinn chuckled, “We’ll take her. She won’t be alone.”

  Zohn took the kids back to the palace while Quinn went through aftercare with a nurse, and then brought Emily home in the Zonda. She didn’t say anything during the ride, but relented finally to being carried up the stairs to her room. Quinn carefully tucked her into bed and propped her left arm up onto a pillow.

  “I just wanted to take my kids to a movie,” she whispered, watching the window.

  “I know,” he said, and sat down in a chair beside the bed.

  “Who were they?”

  “The Ferus mostly… and a handful of humans.”

  She finally looked over at Quinn, “He’s going to be furious.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “I should take Allen and go then.”

  “That wouldn’t help things.”

  “What will?”

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  “I c
an’t take his anger right now,” she said, and her eyes filled with tears. “Because of me, my young son was forced to fight, and the Valle got involved.”

  “I suspect most of his anger will be at Allen… we know you escape, we expect him to help us stop you, not help you do it.”

  Emily frowned, “I want Allen in here then.”

  “He’s down in prison, by his own choice.”

  “You can’t put a 14-year-old in prison!”

  “We can and we have, just until Chevalier gets back.”

  Emily swung her legs out of bed, groaning at the pain in her stomach.

  “Would you please, not get up?” Quinn asked, and moved to her side.

  “Touch me and I’ll ash you, Quinn. Step back.”

  He sighed and stepped away from her, “Where are you going?”

  “Allen and I are getting away.”

  “To where? The island?”

  “No, I have a place no one knows about,” she said, and stood up on shaky legs. She steadied herself against the wall and gripped a small pillow to her stomach as she inched out of the room.

  “It’s too dangerous. Just stop,” Quinn growled when she got to the door.

  “Back off,” Emily said to the strange guards at her door. They looked at her and took a step away.

  “What’s going on?” Zohn asked when he appeared on the fifth-floor landing.

  Emily caught her breath before speaking, “Move back or I’ll ash you.”

  “What? Why?” he asked, and took a step back.

  “She’s running off with Allen before Chevalier gets back,” Quinn told him.

  Emily took a step down and moaned as the pain in her abdomen shot into her chest. The fourth-floor guards glanced at her nervously.

  “Em, you need to lie down,” Zohn told her.

  The Elders followed behind her as she made her way slowly down into the prison.

  “Ma’am?” one of the prison door guards said nervously.

  She passed him and sweat dripped down her face as she moved toward the cells, “Allen?”

  “Mom?”

  Emily ignored the growing pain and the feel of wetness below the pillow as blood soaked through the bandages. She stepped to his cell, “Open it.”

  “Mom, what are you doing?” Allen asked, coming to the bars.

  “I can’t open that until Elder Chevalier gets here,” the guard told her.

  She was able to release the smallest bit of burn, and he fell back against the wall, clutching his chest.

  “Damnit, just open it,” Quinn growled when the guard got back to his feet. Emily sunk to her knees. The energy it took to burn the guard overwhelmed her, and it was too hard to stay standing through the pain.

  Allen rushed out of the cell and picked her up, “Let me get you back to bed.”

  “No, we have to run,” she whispered.

  Allen looked up at Zohn.

  “Put her back in bed. She’s trying to protect you from Chevalier,” Zohn explained.

  “Mom, I can take it. It’s ok,” he told her, and looked down at her shaking hand.

  “Go, to the helicopter… I have a house…” she said, trying to catch her breath.

  “I’m not afraid of Dad.”

  “I am… I’m afraid…” she whispered, and the Elders were shocked in the sudden change in Allen. His features grew dark and he stood taller and looked over at them with malicious eyes. A low growl started from deep within him as he took a step towards them.

  “Allen, listen to me… she needs to be in bed. She needs to rest,” Quinn said, and anger filled his voice. He saw Chevalier’s rage come through in the young boy, and knew there was no way to convince him now, they would have to stop him.

  “Please…” she whispered, and then groaned. The pain was growing worse.

  “Get back,” Allen hissed.

  “We’ll stop you,” Zohn said. “We can’t do it without hurting your Mom though, so let her go, and calm down.”

  Allen unexpectedly shot past the Elders. They hadn’t seen him move that fast before, and didn’t know he could do it. They easily caught up with him in the main foyer and froze. The 14-year-old was now face-to-face with his Dad, and the first-floor filled with the scent of fresh blood.

  Kyle and Chevalier were blocking the stairway and instinctively crouched when they saw Allen and the rage in him.

  “Get back,” Allen growled at them, his posture ominous and tense.

  “What’s going on, Allen?” Chevalier asked angrily.

  “We’re leaving… now.”

  “Car,” Emily barely managed to moan.

  Allen turned and blurred toward the garage, but Mark stood in his way.

  “You’re not taking her out of this palace, Boy,” Mark said, his hands balled into fists.

  “Allen, you can’t fight us with your Mom in your arms,” Chevalier said from behind him.

  Allen turned and glared at his Dad, “Alexis…”

  “Lexi, no!” Silas yelled, and grabbed her when Mark turned to ash. He carried her, kicking and screaming, up the stairs and away from the impending fight.

  “Your sister’s not here to do your dirty work. Put Emily down, and then you’re mine,” Chevalier said to him.

  Allen turned when he heard a noise and saw Kyle block the garage door, he was crouched and furious.

  “Mom,” Allen whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Get me away from Exavior,” she whispered, and her hand fell limply at her side.

  “She doesn’t even know where she is,” Quinn said. He was the only one in the hallway that was calm and thinking rationally. “You can smell her blood, we all can. We need to help her.”

  Kralen appeared when called, unsure what was going on. He stepped up beside Allen, “Let me have her.”

  Allen looked over at him. He knew he couldn’t win. They were right, he couldn’t fight them off with Emily in his arms and he knew she needed help. Hesitating, he handed Emily gently to Kralen and was suddenly pinned against the cold tile by his neck as Chevalier knelt above him.

  “You have a lot of explaining to do,” Chevalier said, and lifted his head slightly, then slammed it onto the tile.

  Kyle, Zohn, and Jaron pulled the Elder off of his son, while two prison guards roughly hauled Allen back down into the prison. Quinn blurred up the stairs to take care of Emily, while the other three helped Chevalier to calm down.

  Once Chevalier was calm, he started for the stairs and Kyle began to revive Mark. He appeared in the bedroom and watched Quinn pull the blood soaked bandages from Emily’s abdomen.

  “What happened?” he asked irately.

  Quinn focused on cleaning the wound, “She was shot, twice… once in the arm, and once in the stomach.”

  “What?!” Chevalier roared.

  Quinn shut his eyes, his hands covered in blood, “Let me concentrate.”

  Chevalier spun angrily when he heard someone behind him, and relaxed when he saw it was Zohn.

  “That’s a lot of blood. Let him do that, and I’ll tell you what happened,” Zohn said, and motioned for the hallway.

  Chevalier stepped out of the room and joined Kyle, Mark, and Jaron.

  “Emily slipped out with the kids to go to a movie,” Zohn explained. “When they came out, the battery was gone from the Jeep and they were attacked by heku and humans. Emily immediately took care of the heku, and then she and Allen fought the mortals. One of them shot her.”

  “And the others?” Kyle asked when he realized Chevalier was too angry to speak.

  “Allen was still fighting, and was joined by Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar.”

  Chevalier growled slightly.

  Zohn sighed and continued, “The three heku finished off the mortals and called for an ambulance. They told Allen to bring Dain back here, and then Exavior wiped Alexis’ memory, so she couldn’t tell the police what happened. Quinn was talking to Emily, and she started to panic about what you would do to Allen when you returned, so sh
e decided to take him.”

  “She was going back to the island?” Chevalier asked, fighting to calm himself.

  “No, she told Quinn that she owns a house that no one knows about. They were going there.”

  “Do we know who the attackers are?”

  “Yes, I asked Sotomar. He said they were Ferus,” Quinn said from behind them. They all turned and saw he’d cleaned the blood from his hands. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Chevalier looked behind Quinn and saw Emily watching him from the bed.

  “Don’t go in there if you’re mad,” Quinn said. “She’s pretty upset.”

  Chevalier nodded, “I’m ok.”

  “I want to go talk to Allen,” Kyle said, and turned around.

  “No,” Chevalier told him. “We’ll bring him before the Council when I’m done.”

  “Yes, Elder.”

  Chevalier went into the bedroom and walked over to the bed. He left the door open in case he lost his temper with her. She watched him carefully as he pulled a chair up to her side.

  “Don’t take this out on him,” she said, her words slightly slurred.

  “Why, Em? Why do you have to slip out and put yourself in danger?”

  A tear fell down her cheek, “I wanted a normal night with the kids… movie, popcorn, no guards… no palace… just us as a family… a regular family.”

  “We don’t have a normal family.”

  “Just one night, that’s all I wanted.”

  “I do everything in my power to give you anything you could ever want, and it’s just never enough, is it?”

  Emily frowned, “That’s not true.”

  “It is… when you’re better, I suggest you move back into the mortal world. Get a mortal husband, and then you can have your normal family.”

  “That’s not what I want.”

  Chevalier stood up and headed for the door, “Apparently it is.”

  Emily heard him send her guards away, and start down the stairs. She glanced at Kyle, who shook his head and followed the Elder.

  “It’s natural for her to want a day alone with the kids,” Quinn said as they took their seats in the council chambers. “It doesn’t mean she’s not happy here.”

  “She’s not,” Chevalier said. “All she does is undermine what I try to do to protect her. She spends her day trying to figure out how to escape and do things the mortal way. I’m tired of it, and if that’s what she wants, she can have it.”