Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “You don’t mean that,” Zohn said, frowning. “You’d be lost without her.”

  “Doesn’t matter, I’ll get over her… bring in Allen.”

  “Belay that,” Quinn said, and turned to Chevalier. “Sneaking out to a movie doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be here. We don’t lock her here, she is free to leave as she pleases, and I don’t see her running off to start a new mortal life… she’s not even truly mortal.”

  “Why else have a secret house then? If she’s not planning on moving away from us?”

  “I don’t know… though we all have secret houses, and yet we stay here.”

  Zohn sighed, “She wasn’t running to this house to get away from the heku…”

  “She was just running to get away from me, I see that.”

  “No… she was trying to protect her son.”

  “Our son. She seems to forget I helped.”

  Zohn grinned, “I think we all do at times. I apologize.”

  “I have as much right to punish him as she does to protect him from it,” Chevalier said, somewhat calmer.

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Bring in Alexis, let’s start with her.”

  Several minutes later, Derrick opened the door and Alexis came in, carrying Dain. She walked up to the trial area in front of the Council, looking fearful.

  “Um… you called me?” she asked, unsure.

  “Yes, Alex,” Chevalier said. “I wanted to hear from you about the plans made to escape the guards.”

  “No biting,” Dain said, and shook his head.

  “It was actually my idea,” she said, and looked at the ground.

  “Yours?”

  She nodded, “We never get to go out like normal kids… I’m not as… well… heku as Allen and Dain. For all we know, I could be fully mortal.”

  “I doubt that… ok, so you asked your Mom to go out to a movie?”

  “Yes, and she said no… because she didn’t want to leave the palace.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “Yes, but I don’t want to tell you.”

  “Bad, Daddy,” Dain said, and pointed at Chevalier.

  “Hushup, Dain,” Alexis whispered to him. “So she said no, and then Allen said no, and so… I kinda… got mad.”

  “So how did you change their minds?” Zohn asked, now curious.

  “I told them that it’s not fair. I’m mortal, and Allen and Dain aren’t, yet I don’t get to go out with friends or go to movies or even go shopping.”

  “If you told us that’s what you want to do…”

  “Then I’d go with guards. Yay, that sounds like fun… plus, I don’t have any friends younger than dirt.”

  Chevalier grinned slightly. Emily used that phrase a lot, “I didn’t realize you had these thoughts.”

  “I wish you’d just turn me and get it over with, so I can fit in.”

  A murmur ran through the Council, but was silenced by Quinn, “That’s something you can discuss with Chevalier when you’re older. So you finally talked Emily and Allen into going to a movie.”

  “Yes, after about 2 weeks of begging. I told them if they didn’t take me, then I’d just go alone. I know how Mom slips out most of the time, I can do that.”

  Chevalier sighed, “You and I will talk about that later.”

  Alexis nodded.

  Dain pointed at Dustin, “E’s a mutt?”

  Alexis wrapped her hand around Dain’s mouth, and quickly carried him out of the council chambers.

  Dustin cleared his throat.

  “Ok, bring Allen in,” Chevalier said.

  Zohn grinned, “I changed my mind. I don’t wish to find a mate.”

  Allen was brought in by a single prison guard and pushed to the front of the trial room. Chevalier couldn’t help but notice that even though Allen knew he was in trouble, he stood tall and met the Council eye-to-eye.

  “Is she ok?” Allen asked.

  “Yes, she’s fine,” Chevalier said. “Alexis told us it was her idea to go out, and then explained why it was you and Emily finally relented.”

  “Ok”

  “But what concerns me now is the standoff with the other Elders and then myself.”

  “Mom was afraid. She asked me to take her away.”

  “These Elders outrank your Mom, and you are never to defy them.”

  Allen looked at his Dad, “No one outranks my mother.”

  “We know you’re protective of her,” Zohn said. “But so are we, and we were only looking out for her best interest. Keeping her from us made it worse.”

  “Do whatever punishment you want, but if my Mom is afraid and asks me for help, she’ll get it.”

  “I’m not sure she was afraid… by that time, the pain was too intense and I suspect she forgot where she was,” Quinn said.

  “I see that now,” Allen told him.

  “How do we make you realize that you are not your Mom’s protector?” Chevalier asked. “First and foremost I am, followed closely by the Council and this entire palace.”

  “That’s handy when you’re around,” Allen said snidely. “She asked me for help, not you, not the Council… me. I can’t turn down my own Mom.”

  “Keep the attitude down, Boy,” Kyle growled.

  “I’m moving you back out to the barracks,” Chevalier said. “You will begin training as a city guard.”

  “Wait… that means I don’t have permission to enter the palace,” Allen said, shocked.

  “That’s right. You will need permission to enter, until we feel you are ready to freely walk these halls.”

  “Mom won’t stand for that.”

  “I’ll deal with her. Now report to Mark immediately,” Chevalier ordered.

  Allen turned and blurred from the room.

  Chevalier stood up, “I’ll go talk to Emily.”

  “Are you sure?” Quinn asked, frowning.

  “Yes, and I need to be there alone,” he told them, and disappeared.

  “Well… he doesn’t seem mad,” Zohn said, and turned back to Dustin. “Update on Loki Coven.”

  Chevalier walked into their room and shut the door softly behind him. He could smell the medicine on her blood and smiled slightly at how soundly she was sleeping. He sat down beside her and took her face gently in his hands.

  “Em?” he whispered.

  Her eyes fluttered and finally opened. He was immediately able to lock her gaze, aided by the injury and the medication. He held her gaze long enough to ensure it was strong, and finally spoke, using the soft, flowing voice he needed to control her.

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, her green eyes locked on his.

  “Do you want to move back to the mortal world?”

  “No”

  “Where do you want to live?”

  “In the palace.”

  “Are you happy there?”

  “Yes”

  “Why did you tell Alexis that you didn’t want to leave the palace?”

  Emily’s breathing picked up, and she came close to breaking the gaze, but he was able to hold it.

  “Why are you afraid to leave the palace?”

  “Exavior,” she whispered.

  “Did he hurt you when the Valle kidnapped you?”

  “No”

  “Did he talk to you?”

  “Yes”

  “Did he threaten you?”

  “Yes”

  “Emily… the ceremonial room behind the waterfall is gone, there are no more bodies, no more mice or rats… no one is going to drain you and no one is going to throw you down there.”

  “The bodies,” she whispered.

  “They are gone.”

  Chapter 10 - Misconduct

  “Ask Emily in here please,” Quinn said when they heard her bare feet padding down the stairs.

  When she walked in, the Council shifted nervously and glanced at the Elders. She was wearing only a bikini and sarong and had a towel in her hand.

  “
Must you run around the palace like that?” Dustin asked, irritated.

  “Must you always be a dick?” she asked, glaring at him.

  “You’re the first one to complain when a guard propositions you, yet you…”

  “You’re just grouchy because you haven’t been neutered yet.”

  “Stop it, both of you,” Quinn growled. Emily looked at him and smiled slightly as Dustin sat back in his chair.

  “It’s amazing how your bullet scars are gone,” Zohn said. He was more comfortable looking at Emily because Chevalier was out on a mission with Kyle.

  “Yeah, only took 6 months, but they’re gone… one plus of the odd immortality thing.”

  “I asked you here because Skye fell off of his horse again,” Quinn told her.

  Emily sighed, “I thought heku were supposed to have excellent balance?”

  “Most of us do… can you work with him?”

  “What was he doing when he fell?”

  “Chasing Mark, I do believe.”

  “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do… but no guarantees.”

  “Thank you, that’s all we can ask.”

  Zohn looked up, “The Cavalry is using the pool right now.”

  “Damn,” Emily said, and thought. “I guess I’ll just sit in the hot tub until they’re done.”

  “Why don’t you throw on a robe before you arouse the entire Cavalry?” Dustin growled when she turned to leave.

  Emily reached down, dropped her bikini bottom, and then pulled it back up, “What? No howling at the moon, wolf boy?”

  “That’s it!” Dustin yelled, and stood up.

  Emily walked out of the council chambers, ignoring the growling from behind her.

  “Sit down,” Quinn said, and then laughed.

  “Let’s just keep that little bit of rebellion to ourselves, shall we?” Zohn said, and turned to Dustin. “Take it from someone who’s been there… your life will be easier if you stop antagonizing her.”

  “It’s aggravating how she complains about being hit on by the guards, yet she parades around barely dressed!” he said, exasperated.

  “She’s merely going swimming, and isn’t wearing anything less than you would see at a beach. Now stop provoking her.”

  Emily was still grinning when she got out to the pool. Zohn was right, and the Cavalry was doing water rescue training. They glanced at her when she walked in, but Mark immediately called them back to attention. She sat down in a hot tub to wait, while Kralen and Silas walked over to her.

  “What are you up to? You have that mischievous look on your face,” Silas asked, and knelt down beside the hot tub.

  “I just mooned the Council.”

  “You did not!” Kralen said, shocked.

  “I did… it was kinda funny.”

  “Just have to push it don’t you?”

  “Why yes, Captain… What are you doing in here?”

  “Water rescue… Cooper there in the water plays scared and helpless, and we have to rescue him,” Silas said, and they all watched as Jaron dove into the pool, fully dressed, and took the heku’s arm and drug him to shore.

  “You have to do something, Cooper,” Mark said. “If you’re out in the water and need rescued, you aren’t going to casually float along with the rescuer. I’ve rescued four heku from water, and they damned near drowned me in the process.”

  “Is this all because of me?” Emily asked, suddenly interested.

  “Nope,” Kralen answered, and watched the next rescue.

  “Cooper!” Mark yelled when he was again pulled to the side of the pool. “Are you listening to me?”

  “Yes, General… I just…”

  “Move over, Cooper,” Emily said, and got out of the hot tub. He looked over at her, shocked, and then scrambled up onto the cement when she dove in.

  “Oh this should be good,” Kralen chuckled.

  Mark shook his head, “Can you at least make it hard for them?”

  Emily frowned, “Do you even know me?”

  “Alright… Jaron, show them how it’s done.”

  Emily took a deep breath and fell into a dead man’s float. She heard Silas tell Kralen that even fake, it bothered him. She looked up when she heard Jaron speaking.

  “Um… Sir… Elder’s orders, we can’t touch Lady Emily,” Jaron reminded Mark.

  “Well hell. She’s the only one that can pull this off… Silas, Kralen, go see if the other 2 Elders will override that order for this.”

  They both nodded and blurred away.

  “We need to speak to the Elders for a moment,” Kralen told Derrick.

  “Go on in,” the door guard said, and opened the door.

  Dustin sighed when the two Cavalry Captains entered, “What’d she do already?”

  Silas frowned, “Nothing but offered to help us do some training.”

  “Oh, that’ll be good for her,” Zohn said, and looked up at them.

  “Problem is… it requires rescuing her from the water.”

  “Ahh, completely breaking the no touching rule.”

  Kralen grinned, “The General hoped you two might veto that order for this specific training.”

  Zohn shrugged, “I’m ok with that.”

  “If she gets hurt, you get to tell him,” Quinn said, and glanced down at a book.

  Kralen and Silas returned to Mark with the new orders and Emily again fell into a dead man’s float. She heard the splash and felt hands on her arm, trying to pull her to safety.

  Emily looked up from the water, “You do realize I’m mortal, and I can drown while you drag me to safety.”

  “Oh, right,” Jaron said, and tried to pick her up. She went into fake panic mode and began to claw at him, and tried to crawl onto his shoulders. He fought to stay surfaced as she scrambled to keep him under.

  After a few minutes of struggling and fighting, Jaron finally picked her up onto the cement, and rested his head against the side of the pool, completely out of breath.

  “Now that’s what I call realistic,” Mark said, and helped Emily to her feet.

  Emily grinned and pushed one of the strange heku into the water and jumped in after him.

  “Hey, what was that?” he asked, surfacing.

  “Let’s see how they do a dual rescue,” Emily said, and swam to the center of the pool.

  Mark studied the Cavalry, “Levi, you’re up.”

  “I can’t fight both of them off, I’ll drown,” the heku told Mark.

  “We’ll even play unconscious for you,” Emily said, and fell into a dead man’s float, as the heku victim did the same.

  “You wanna know how I’d handle this?” Levi asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Mark said.

  Levi shrugged and dove into the water. He flipped Emily over so her face was above water, and easily moved her back to the cement and lifted her up.

  She sat up, “You forgot the other victim.”

  Levi got out of the water, “Are you kidding? The Elder’s wife is unconscious in the water, to hell with the heku. I get her to safety first.”

  Mark started to laugh, “That’s so true.”

  “Gee thanks,” the heku victim said, and crawled out of the water.

  “Back in, Em, you’re best at this,” Mark said, and pushed her into the water. The newer Cavalry looked at him, shocked.

  Emily splashed Mark before swimming over to the end of the pool and falling into the float. She was exhausted by the time the last member of the Cavalry gave it a try. She was successfully able to keep four of them from rescuing her, but the others all got her to the cement.

  “You’re on your own now, Em… change and mount up,” Mark said to the others.

  Emily swam over to the edge beside him, “What are you going to do?”

  “We’re just going out for a bit.”

  “Can I go? I want to see how Skye keeps falling off of his horse.”

  “Sure, meet us at the stables,” Mark said, and blurred away.

  Emily ran up the stairs an
d opted to just quickly toss on a pair of shorts. It was almost 100 degrees outside and she thought the sun would feel nice. She tossed her hair into a braid, and then ran back down to the stables. Her horse already had a bridle and saddle and was waiting at the hitching post for her. The others were already mounted and waiting.

  “Damn, you’re fast,” she said, and mounted.

  Kralen reached over and slapped one of the members of the Cavalry upside the head when he caught the heku looking at her lower back, where her tattoo peeked out from under her shorts. He immediately straightened up and looked at Mark.

  They kicked their horses into a canter and moved as one unit through the city. Mark and Emily fell to the back and she studied Skye. He looked uncoordinated and wobbly on top of the horse, when most of them naturally took to riding.

  When they reached the hills outside of the city, they took off toward the north tree line in pairs. Emily watched as Skye struggled to stay on his horse and almost fell off when he banked left and returned to the others.

  “What do you think?” Mark asked. “Honestly, he’s one of the best guards, but he and that horse…”

  “Skye, come here,” Emily said, and slid off of her horse. She handed the reins up to Mark.

  “Yes, Commander?” he asked, looking down at her.

  “Get off,” she told him, and he slid off of the horse. Emily unbuckled the saddle and slipped it off, dropping it to the ground. She hoisted herself onto the horse bareback, and then turned to the heku, “Up you go.”

  “Umm… behind you?”

  “Yes”

  Skye glanced at Mark. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. The rule to not touch the Elder’s wife would most certainly pertain when she wore only a bikini top and shorts.

  “Don’t look at Mark… get up here like I told you to,” she said sternly.

  The heku nimbly mounted the horse behind her, but was almost on the horse’s rump as he got as far away from her as he could.

  Emily sighed and looked up at the sky, “Come on, Boy, up here…”

  Skye nervously moved forward until he was directly up against her back.

  “Ok, lean forward a bit against me… and wrap your arms around me and take the reins,” she said, and guided his hands around her and handed him the reins.

  “Is… this…” Skye stammered, looking over her head at the trees, nervously.