“Damnit, her scent is all over here,” Mark said. “I can’t narrow down a specific location.”
“The rain’s coming, so we’re about to lose it all,” Kralen told him.
“Yes, but we have a cold front coming and it’s going to dip below freezing, so we have to find her.”
Emily shut her eyes tightly when pieces of rotted log began to fall in on her when another heku stood on the log.
“Did they tell you what happened?” Kralen asked.
“No, all they said is they aren’t mad, but they really need to talk to her,” Mark explained.
“Quinn here,” she heard from somewhere near the log.
Quinn sighed, “Yes we are looking for her.”
There was a long pause.
“We did not use that word near her!” Quinn growled.
Emily jumped slightly when thunder crashed and the sky grew dark. She heard the first taps of raindrops hitting the forest floor as Quinn slammed his phone shut.
She listened as footsteps came closer.
“She called William and asked about it,” Quinn said.
“I figured she would,” Chevalier sighed. “Head back in. She’ll just turn us all to ash if she sees us anyway.”
“But it’s going to be freezing tonight,” Silas told him.
“I know… and maybe she’ll come in, but it won’t do us any good to stand out here looking.”
“Yes, Elder,” Mark said, and Emily heard him step off the log and then the woods grew perfectly silent.
Chevalier and Sotomar stood at each side of the log and waited for her to come out. They would have very limited time to do what they needed to to calm her down, and as it took an ‘old one,’ they had only one try before they risked being turned to ash.
Emily strained to hear anything. All she could hear was the crash of thunder and the raindrops falling against the trees. She was trapped, didn’t know where to go. She couldn’t get away without a car, and she was too afraid to hitchhike as she’d done in the past. All three factions now seemed mad that she knew the odd word, and she wondered how one word could cause that kind of a reaction.
Emily’s mind ran through what happened when she said the word, and the fierceness it brought out in the heku. The feel of Chevalier’s hand grabbing her arm roughly while his eyes blazed kept coming back to her. It wasn’t often that she feared the heku, but in that moment, their anger sent a panic through her.
As the rain picked up and the night started, she began to get cold and to shiver. The log was no longer protecting her from the elements, and she was soaking wet inside of it. Late into the night she stayed in the log, unsure where to go or what to do. She was shivering uncontrollably and her teeth were chattering. Her wet hair was now frozen to hear head, and she could see her breath.
Unable to take it any longer, Emily slid backwards out of the log. Before she could even see, she was shoved against the ground and felt teeth against her neck.
Sotomar waited the few seconds it took her to relax against Chevalier, and took her face in his hands, “Look at me.”
Emily looked at him for a split second, but it was long enough for the ‘old one’ to gain control. Chevalier released her and knelt on the frozen grass while Sotomar held her eyes.
Sotomar’s voice became like a song, soft and flowing, “Calm down, Child. We won’t hurt you.”
She took a deep breath, and her body began to relax more, the shivering stopped and her teeth no longer chattered.
“Do you know what Yisolatara is?”
Chevalier stiffened at the word and watched Sotomar carefully.
“No,” she whispered.
“Did you read it?”
“No”
“Have you heard it?”
“Yes”
“Who said it to you?” Sotomar asked, controlling his voice to stay calm.
“I don’t know.”
“Where were you when you heard it?”
“In my dreams and in the palace,” she said. Her voice was far away and soft.
“Where in the palace?”
“In the council chambers.”
“A member of the Council said it to you?”
Chevalier growled slightly.
“No”
“Who then?”
“I don’t know.”
Sotomar paused while he regained control, “When did you hear it in the palace?”
“Tonight”
He frowned slightly, “While you were talking to the Valle?”
“Yes”
“Was it when you ran from your chair to the ante-chamber?”
“Yes”
Chevalier frowned.
“Then in your dreams you hear it?”
“Yes”
“Who says it to you?”
“The heku in black,” she whispered.
“In a ceremonial room?”
“Yes”
“With runes painted on the ceiling?”
“Yes”
“When have you been in that room before?”
“My dreams”
“When outside of your dreams?”
“Before”
“Think back, Emily, when was the first time you heard the word, Yisolatara?”
“Three”
“Three what?”
Emily gasped and pushed Sotomar’s hands away. He growled and stood up. Emily scrambled to her feet, her dress soaking and frozen, and she began to shiver again.
“Don’t ash us,” Chevalier said quickly. “We’re not here to hurt you, and we aren’t mad.”
Her hand moved up to her neck, “You bit me?”
He sighed, “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because we needed to calm you down and the only way to do that is if you’re weakened, and there’s an ‘old one’,” he explained.
Emily wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the dark forest, “I don’t know where to go.”
Sotomar slipped off his gray cape and wrapped it around her shoulders. Chevalier began to argue, but realized it would be warmer than his shirt.
“Come back to the palace. No one’s mad… you just surprised us,” Chevalier told her.
“They seemed mad.”
“I know, I’m sorry… but no one’s mad.”
“I promise you, no one’s mad at you, other than maybe Exavior, but he had it coming,” Sotomar said, and smiled.
Emily laughed slightly, “He won’t shut up.”
“Yes, we have that problem often.”
“What does Yisolatara mean?” she asked, and looked from one to the other.
“It’s…” Sotomar started, and then paused to think.
“It’s a ritual, an old one, and one that’s now not only restricted to perform, but even to speak of,” Chevalier told her.
“What did the ritual do?”
He smiled slightly, “Not even I am authorized to say that.”
“Then who is?”
“No one.”
She shivered harder and looked around when it began to snow slightly.
“Come on back where it’s warm,” Chevalier said, and put a hand out for her.
“Sotomar, tell me, please.”
He smiled, “I am unable to, Child.”
“Will Exavior tell me?”
“No,” Chevalier said, and picked her up into a cradle. She wrapped the gray cape tighter around her as they blurred back to the palace. The speed caused the wind to lash at her skin and the sleet bit at her painfully.
Emily looked up when she felt warmth against her arm and Chevalier put her down in their bathroom and began running a hot tub. She shivered and pulled the gray cape around her. The tub filled the bathroom with steam and Chevalier left and slammed the door behind him.
Emily’s eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the bathroom, also slamming the door behind her. She went over and grabbed a nightgown out of the dresser and started for the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked
angrily.
“Away from you,” she said, and left the room. She turned to the guards at her door, “Follow me and pay.”
They backed away when Chevalier ordered them to, and Emily headed down the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Kyle asked, shocked to see her in the cape of a Valle.
Emily yelled, “I’m headed out to get Yisolatara tattooed across my ass!”
Kyle gasped and took a step back. She spun and left the palace.
“Elder…” Kyle said when Chevalier flew down the stairs in a rage. Kyle stepped in front of him.
“Move,” the Elder growled.
“Calm down,” Kyle said, and soon, Zohn and Quinn were at their sides.
“We heard, but she didn’t mean it,” Zohn told him. “She doesn’t even know what it means.”
Chevalier started around them, but Quinn blocked his way, “Leave her alone until you both calm down.”
“If she’s so hell bent on acting like a child, then I’ll treat her like one,” he growled. “It’s high time someone threw her across their knee.”
Kyle gasped, “Elder!”
Zohn grinned slightly, “While I tend to agree… now is not the time.”
Chevalier turned angrily and blurred to his office.
“Kyle, go make sure she’s not… I don’t know… just go,” Quinn said.
Kyle shrugged, and followed Emily’s scent out to the overseer’s room in the stables. He knocked lightly and entered when no one answered. Emily was curled up under numerous blankets, shivering.
He sat down on the side of the bed, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Do you want to tell me what Yisolatara is?”
“Not really, no… I’m not in the habit of doing things that will get me banished.”
Emily peeked over the blankets, “Telling me what it is will get you banished?”
“Saying the word will get me banished.”
“It’s a word.”
“It’s… dangerous.”
“Chevalier bit me,” she told him accusingly.
“I know. He did that so Sotomar could get a lock on you.”
She shivered under the covers, “Everyone was yelling and screaming, and all I did was ask a question.”
“It was shocking, to say the least, to hear that word come out of your mouth,” Kyle told her, and added another blanket onto the pile.
“Then Chev drew me a bath like you would a toddler and slammed the bathroom door.”
“He’s most upset by how stubborn you are… you would freeze to death out there before coming in here to face us.”
“Everyone was yelling!”
“I’m sorry.”
“You all keep telling me how violent and hostile the heku are. Yet when you all blow up at me and scream, you think I should stand there and take it.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I’m out in the woods, no car, no coat, nothing… I don’t even have shoes on, and the closest place to go is filled with these volatile beings that I’m supposed to be afraid of… and to be honest, I am.”
Kyle nodded, “We just didn’t think of it like that. All we saw was you freezing to death in a dead log.”
“I’m not going back in there, just to be treated like some child… Next thing you know, I’ll be getting a spanking.”
Kyle stifled a chuckle, “He wouldn’t do that. Now come inside and get warm. No one’s going to yell at you, I swear.”
“Can I use your shower?”
Kyle stood up and put his hand out, “Yes.”
Emily crawled out of the blankets and pulled the Valle’s cape close around her as they walked back to the palace. She bypassed the front doors and went around to the side.
“I can get you a green cape,” he said, frowning at her in the enemy colors.
“As soon as I get warm I’ll take it off,” she said. “Plus, I don’t want to run around in my nightgown.”
As soon as they went up the back stairs to Kyle’s room, he sat down in a chair by the fire and she disappeared into his bathroom.
“Come in,” Kyle said when he heard a knock.
Quinn and Zohn came in, “She came in here?”
“Yes, she wants to take a shower, and if I know Em, she’ll sleep in here tonight,” Kyle explained.
Zohn nodded and sat down, “Did she say anything?”
“No, other than making sense of hiding in a log. I think we forget how terrifying we can be at times, and she had the entire Council screaming at her.”
“That is true,” Zohn said, and looked at Quinn.
Kyle glanced at the door and then whispered, “Did Chevalier find out where she learned the word?”
“He said she hears it in dreams, and then tonight someone said it in the council chambers.”
“Tonight?” he asked, shocked.
“No one else heard it, but she said it under control, so she honestly believes that.”
“If it’s in her dreams, then she must have heard it at some point in her life.”
“She started to tell Sotomar something about three… but she broke the gaze, so we don’t know if it was 3 days ago, 3 weeks ago, or what.”
Kyle nodded, “And the ceremonial room with the painted ceiling?”
“She’s seen it both in dreams and maybe for real,” Quinn told him. They all turned when Emily came out of the bathroom.
Zohn smiled, “Feel better?”
“Warmer,” she said, and walked over to crawl into Kyle’s bed, still freezing.
“In the morning, can we talk?” Zohn asked, moving to stand by the bed.
“Depends, are you going to yell?”
“No,” he said, and grinned slightly.
“Accuse?”
“No”
“Raise your voice even a little?”
Zohn chuckled, “No, just talk… Quinn and I.”
“Ok”
“Are you going to stay here tonight then?”
“I don’t know.”
He nodded, “Ok, well, get warm…we’ll have some dinner brought up.”
Quinn and Zohn quietly left and shut the door behind them.
Kyle grinned, “It makes them nervous that you might stay in here.”
“Why?” she asked, pulling up another blanket.
“They are afraid of what Chevalier will think.”
“He knows us better than that.”
“I know,” Kyle said, and stoked the fire.
“If I were heku, would they have killed me tonight?” She looked over at him.
“Yes”
“What if I didn’t know what it means?”
“They still would have.”
“Is it in a book?”
“Not that I know of.”
“How do you know about the word then, if no one’s allowed to talk about it?”
Kyle grinned, “I’m not telling you that.”
He got up and answered the door, then took the tray from the servant and put it in bed next to Emily. She sat up and pulled the dome off and grabbed the plate of spaghetti.
“Looks disgusting,” Kyle said, remembering the taste.
She took a bite and then thought, “How long have you known what Yisolatara means?”
“Damnit, stop saying it,” Kyle said, frowning.
“Sorry, how long?” she asked, and took another bite.
“A long time.”
“Is it a bad ritual?”
“Em…”
“Fine,” she sighed, and finished eating in silence. She put the tray on the bedside table and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
“Do you think you’ll ever stop running at confrontation?” Kyle asked after a few minutes of silence.
Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. When I’m cornered, I just feel like I need to leave.”
“Do you know how much easier life would be if you wouldn’t?”
“No, I don’t actually.”
He grinned
, “It would, trust me.”
“Where’s the irate Elder?”
“In his office.”
She yawned into her hand and watched the fire.
“Get some sleep,” Kyle said, and started for the door.
“Where are you going though?”
“To my office, I have paperwork to do.”
“Kyle?”
“Yeah?” he turned to face her.
“Thank you.”
He smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Emily nestled down in the warm blankets and soon fell asleep. She woke up late in the morning and looked around the room. She was alone, and the fire was still going, so she slipped out of bed and looked out the window at the thin blanket of snow. She hated this weather, just the day before she’d been in a summer dress because of the heat, and one cold front later, it was snowing.
Emily had a plan on finding out what the word meant. She needed to start in her office, one of the only places in the entire palace with an Internet connection. Still in her nightgown, she quickly ran to her office and shut the door.
She turned and looked at her office, with its soft beige walls, and maroon trim. There were books lining one wall and three computers sitting under the desk with six monitors attached to them. She had a phone, fax, and copier, anything she needed to do whatever she might find useful.
She turned when there was a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” she called out.
“Breakfast, Ma’am,” a timid voice replied.
Emily opened her door just enough for the servant to hand her a tray, and then shut it quickly, latching all of the locks.
She flipped on her computers and grabbed an English muffin while she waited. Soon, she had all 6 screens up with different search engines on each of them. She typed in the word ‘Yisolatara’ and let them go to work.
She frowned when they all came back with no search records, not even a close hit. She narrowed it down to Yiso and found that to be a popular search engine in China. Expanding to Yisol only came back with a lot more names.
Emily grabbed a cup of coffee and thought before typing ‘aratalosiy’ into a search engine. She growled slightly when it came back with no hits either. Aside from more Japanese names and a sushi restaurant, there was nothing helpful.
Deciding to try a Latin to English site, she entered the entire word, the word backwards, and parts of the word, with no luck. After a few hours of trying everything she could think of, she decided to get dressed and head out to the stables. Four members of the Cavalry were now at her door, but looked away from her when she stepped out, and she thought they looked nervous and on edge.
Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series Page 43
