Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  She nodded, “So I’ve heard, though I hope to be taller.”

  Chevalier chuckled, “There is a chance you will be.”

  “And stronger… she’s not nearly as strong as she thinks she is.”

  “Enough, Alex,” Chevalier said, and turned away to hide a grin.

  “So is the alliance agreed on?” Frederick asked them.

  “I tend to say that that would be up to Emily, when she’s feeling better.”

  “Will she not abide by it if you form it?”

  “I’m not saying that, but she has emotions to deal with, and she’s highly upset at the Valle right now, and very protective of the Encala.”

  Frederick grinned, “Interesting.”

  “No, it’s not interesting. She had nothing to do with that attack,” Sotomar said, irritated.

  “We know that,” Quinn told him. “Again… she’s dealing with human emotions.”

  “Very well, we’ll ask her when she’s better,” William told them.

  “Before we leave, might we see the heku child again?” Sotomar asked, and smiled nervously.

  “Why?” Alexis asked him.

  “He’s fascinating, and we wish to see him.”

  “Alexis is pretty protective of her little brother,” Zohn explained. “We’ll bring him here, but I warn you to watch it around him.”

  “We won’t hurt him. I promise,” Sotomar said.

  “I’ll go get him then,” she said, and walked out of the room.

  “Charming girl,” William said. “She seems more quiet and reserved than her mother.”

  “She is,” Chevalier told him.

  “We count ourselves lucky,” Dustin said, and then sat back in his chair when Kyle glared at him.

  Alexis came back a few minutes later holding Dain’s hand. He put his hands up for Chevalier and his Dad picked him up.

  “Who they?” he asked, pointing at the trial area.

  “Those are… just some heku that want to meet you,” Chevalier told him.

  “Can you smile for us, Child?” William asked, and moved a step closer.

  Dain frowned, “I don’t bite Mommy.”

  “That is good.”

  “Mommy has owie.”

  “Yes, we know.”

  “Fascinating,” Sotomar said, watching Dain closely.

  “I has an owie too,” Dain said, and lifted his pant leg slightly to show them his ankle.

  “I’m sure you did,” William told him when there was no sign of an injury.

  “Is all gone.”

  “Is his growing accelerated?”

  “No, at least, not yet,” Chevalier said.

  “How often does he feed?”

  “Enough about my son,” Chevalier said. “It is time to adjourn. I’d like to go check on Emily.”

  “Might we pay her a visit?” Sotomar asked.

  “No”

  “We will be quiet,” William told him.

  “No… the guards will see you out.”

  ***

  “Are you sure that’s what the instructions say?” Emily asked, looking up from a knotted string of yarn.

  “Yes,” Mark told her, and turned the book over.

  “Let me look,” Silas said, and took the book. He glanced at it and turned the page, “I’m sure that’s how it’s done.”

  Emily looked up at the yarn and crochet hook, “It doesn’t look like it should.”

  “Here, let me try,” Jaron said, and took the hook from her. He looked at the instructions carefully and went to work.

  Emily grinned, “I appreciate you trying to find me something new to do, but I’ve never really been good at stuff like that.”

  “We’re pretty limited with you bedridden,” Mark said. “We can try something else though.”

  “Did you ask Chevalier?”

  “Yes, but he wants to check with Dr. Cook first.”

  “It’s only a week early, and I’m dying to get in the pool.”

  Mark nodded, “I know, but I’m sure Dr. Cook will have something to say about it.”

  Chevalier stepped in and everyone looked up at him except for Jaron, who was completely absorbed in trying to figure out how to crochet. The Elder grinned and crossed his arms as he saw one of the top ranking guards doing yarn work.

  Mark cleared his throat and Jaron looked up.

  “Oh! Sorry, Elder,” he said, and put it down.

  “I thought you were supposed to teach Emily how to knit, not the Cavalry,” Chevalier said, amused.

  “We’re having… issues… figuring it out,” Silas chuckled.

  “What did he say?” Emily asked.

  “He said… be careful.”

  “I can go!?”

  “Yes, but there are to be three guards in the water with you. He doesn’t want you swimming, just floating.”

  “That’s great! Can I go now?”

  Mark shrugged, “We’ll go get changed.”

  “How do I get down there?” she asked Chevalier.

  “Dr. Cook suggested in a chair.”

  Emily frowned, “That’s too heavy with me in it.”

  “No it’s not. I can stay if you’d like, go into the water with you.”

  “It’s ok, I know you have to go punish the innocent,” she said, and grinned.

  “We don’t… never mind… just be careful and if it hurts, get her back up here,” Chevalier told Mark.

  “Yes, Elder… our replacements are here. We’ll be right back,” Silas told her, and the three of them disappeared.

  “Heard you got sprung,” Kralen said when he walked in with three other members of the Cavalry.

  “Sort of… at least I get to get out of this room,” Emily told him.

  “Scram for a sec, I’ll get her ready,” Chevalier told them, and they disappeared and shut the door behind them.

  “How am I going to get back into a nightgown?” she asked as he gently slipped it off and dug through her drawers for her swim suit.

  “I’ve been thinking about that, and Mark knows to bring in Rhonda.”

  “I hate Rhonda. She treats me like a toddler,” Emily said, and then gasped slightly when the movement of putting on her swim suit jerked her back.

  “Still, it’s her or Kyle,” he said, and grinned.

  “Nice… ok, Rhonda it is.”

  As gently as he could, he slipped his hands around to her upper back and tied off her bikini top. She took the opportunity to kiss him softly and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed his lips to hers and then pulled away and grinned.

  “Your back…”

  “What I had in mind didn’t include my back,” she said, and kissed him again.

  “Have fun swimming,” he told her, and stood up. “Ready to stand for a second?”

  “That’s the plan eh? Sure…” she said, and took his hands. She cried out when she first sat up and her back spasmed. The room suddenly filled with palace guards along with Mark, Silas, and Jaron in long cut-offs they were using as swim suits.

  “Just us moving,” Chevalier said, and helped her to her feet. Mark quickly slipped an arm around her waist when her knees started to give out, and Silas pushed a plastic chair up behind them so Chevalier could sit her down.

  Emily breathed through the pain and then opened her eyes when her back calmed down, “What is this chair?”

  “That was Mark’s idea,” Silas said. “With a plastic chair, we can put it all the way into the pool to get you in and out.”

  “Nice,” Chevalier said, raising his eyebrows.

  Mark reached down and easily picked her up, still in the chair.

  “Mark, no!” she screamed, and he put her down gently.

  “Did that hurt?” Chevalier asked, kneeling beside her.

  “No, he’ll hurt himself doing that,” Emily said, and frowned.

  Mark rolled his eyes, “I’m apparently stronger than I look.”

  Chevalier chuckled, “He won’t hurt himself.”

  Mark pick
ed her up again, and all six heku guards followed him down. Emily heard Equites 1 take off as they walked into the out-building. Four guards stopped outside the doors to the pool, while Mark, Silas, and Jaron went into the warm steamy room.

  Silas jumped down into the pool and took Emily from Mark. He sat her down in the water, and she relaxed and leaned back.

  “Oh my God that feels good,” Emily told them as she floated on the water.

  “I bet,” Jaron said, and quickly glanced around the room.

  “Are you all better now?” she asked him.

  Jaron smiled, “Yes.”

  “And Ryder?”

  “He is too. He took a little longer because of the burns, but he’s back at his post.”

  “How does that feel on your back?” Dr. Cook asked from the side of the pool.

  Emily looked over at him. She hadn’t noticed he was there, “Feels great.”

  “If you have the energy, the hot tub might help too.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Just if you want. I’ll be in the training room if you need me.”

  Mark nodded at him and he blurred from the room.

  Emily jerked when a loud crash sounded from outside of the building. She groaned when the movement caused her back to spasm again. Silas and Jaron were at her in an instant, making sure she didn’t go under the water. They supported her with their hands as her back relaxed enough she could talk.

  “What was that?”

  “I don’t know. Mark went to see and hasn’t been back,” Silas told her.

  “Can we go back?” she asked, obviously in pain.

  They walked her over to the chair and she slowly bent to sit into it. Silas grabbed her and handed her up to Jaron once he climbed out. Jaron put her down on the cement, so she could settle down in the chair.

  “We need to wait a minute,” Silas said, and went to stand by the door.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, gripping the plastic chair tightly.

  Silas glanced at Jaron and then sighed, “Ferus attack.”

  “Outside the pool house?” Emily gasped.

  “Calm down… just relax,” Jaron said softly when her body tensed and the pain got worse.

  She cried out when the pain kept going as her back tightened into knots.

  “Enough of that,” Silas growled, and knelt down beside her. “Look at me.”

  Emily glanced over at him, and in an instant, he was able to lock her gaze, which shocked both he and Jaron. It took Silas a moment to regain control, and then he spoke softly and her body began to relax.

  “You’re going to stay relaxed when I carry you,” Silas’ voice was calm and flowing.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Now relax, shut your eyes,” he told her, and she went limp in the chair.

  “Open the doors, I’m going to run her past it,” Silas told Jaron.

  Jaron nodded and within seconds, Silas was laying Emily back in bed. She moaned slightly when he laid her down, but soon relaxed and fell asleep.

  “How did you control her?” Jaron whispered.

  “I’m not sure… pain maybe?”

  “I want to fight.”

  “Go, I’ll bring the Council up here.”

  Jaron nodded and blurred from the room. Dustin, the Chief Interrogator, and the Chief of Staff came into the room with Silas and Emily.

  “How was the fight going?” Dustin asked, and looked out the window.

  “I think the Cavalry is playing with them. The Ferus were on even numbers, so not sure what’s taking so long,” Silas told them as he covered Emily up with a blanket.

  The Chief of Staff picked up Emily’s hand and smelled her wrist, “She’s not medicated, why is she asleep?”

  “I controlled her,” Silas told them, and grinned slightly when they all looked at him, shocked.

  “You did?”

  “Yes, she was in a great deal of pain. I’m guessing that’s why.

  A stout, older woman with long, gray hair and thick broad shoulders walked in, “Out, all of you… she can’t lay there in wet clothes.”

  Silas grinned at how Rhonda treated the Council like children about to be chastised.

  “Respect, Rhonda… We’ve told you that and it’s getting old,” Dustin said as he walked out.

  “Elder’s orders that she’s to be put into dry clothes immediately. Take it up with him,” she said, and shut the door after them.

  Mark, Kralen, and Jaron came up the stairs toward the Council. They were laughing about something, and Mark and Jaron had changed back into their uniforms.

  “My turn,” Silas said, and blurred down the stairs.

  “So?” Dustin asked when they arrived at the fifth-floor.

  “Nothing much,” Mark told him. “The Ferus somehow managed to get to the out-building, though, and I’ll find out how when I’m done here.”

  “How many?” the Chief of Staff asked angrily.

  “Twenty of them, they came to get Emily,” Kralen told him.

  He growled and blurred down the stairs.

  Rhonda came out of the room and glared at them all, “Whoever controlled that child should be ashamed of themselves. She’s still asleep!”

  “Who controlled her?” Mark asked the others.

  “Silas did,” Dustin told him. “Now that her guards are back, I have a meeting.”

  Rhonda grumbled as she walked down the stairs.

  “Why did Silas control her?” Mark asked when they walked into her room.

  “She was in pain, and he wanted her to relax, so he could quickly get her up here,” Jaron explained.

  “How hard was that?” Kralen chuckled.

  “It wasn’t at all, first shot.”

  “Really?” Mark asked, shocked.

  “She had to have allowed it then,” Kralen told them. “I’ve suspected she has some control over that.”

  Mark looked over at him, “So she can be controlled if she wants to be?”

  “Just a theory. If she was hurting badly enough, and knew Silas was helping… maybe. She trusts him.”

  “And you’ve been suspecting this for how long?”

  Kralen shrugged, “A few years, never had enough proof to say anything.”

  “Well now I want to know. That could really help things if she’d not fight it at times,” Mark said, and sat down.

  “Stoke that fire,” Jaron called out when he saw the orange embers of what was left of the fire. Two servants appeared and began to warm up the room.

  Kralen grinned, “That fight was great.”

  “Just what we needed,” Mark chuckled. “We should invite them over more often.”

  “But how long before they get their hands on her?” Jaron asked seriously.

  “Hopefully never.”

  “They seem to be more organized and stronger. I wonder if they’ve found a suitable leader now.”

  “No,” Emily whispered in her sleep, and her hands clutched into fists.

  The heku looked over at her.

  She jerked slightly, “No… don’t do it…”

  Mark went over and touched her shoulder lightly, “Shhhh.”

  “Why Yisolatara?” she whispered, and then calmed down.

  Mark frowned and looked over at Silas.

  “What the hell is going on with that?” Silas whispered, frustrated.

  “I don’t know,” Mark said, and let go of her shoulder.

  “We’ll need to tell the Elder she’s dreaming of it again.”

  “That’ll be your job,” Mark said, and grinned slightly.

  “Oh no, that sounds like a job for the General.”

  “Nope, I’m not telling. I order you to.”

  “Tell me what?” Chevalier asked, and stepped into the room.

  “Better yet… touch her,” Mark said, and moved away from Emily.

  Chevalier walked over and gently laid his hand on her arm.

  “Don’t do this…” Emily screamed, and fought against the restraints
. She was shackled to the floor of a ceremonial room, one with the runes painted red across the ceiling.

  “It’s all that’s befitting of a Winchester,” a strange heku in black said to her.

  “I don’t understand what Yisolatara is,” Emily told him.

  “You don’t have to understand for it to work… let’s begin,” he said, and knelt down by her.

  Emily screamed, “I can’t turn you to ash!”

  “Of course not, silly girl. This is a dream… When it is time to do it for real, then we’ll protect ourselves against it,” he said.

  “Yisolatara,” another heku in blue said. He stepped forward and began etching runes into the ground around Emily with a long stick.

  “Stop it!” she screamed at him.

  “Let us begin,” he whispered, and stepped back.

  “No!” she screamed, and fought against the restraints. The twelve heku in blue started for her and knelt around her. They slowly brought their teeth down against her flesh.

  “Emily… wake up,” Chevalier whispered, and shook her lightly.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she screamed, “No!”

  “Shhh, it’s ok, it was a dream.”

  She looked over at him, panting, and shut her eyes tightly.

  “It’s not going to happen,” he said to her softly.

  She opened her tear filled eyes and looked at him, “Someone’s going to try it.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “No one will. It’s not only banned… but only a few of us even know how to do it.”

  “You do?”

  Chevalier glanced briefly at Mark and then back to Emily, “Yes.”

  “Tell me what it is… what are they trying to do?”

  He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter, no one knows how.”

  Chapter 18 - Yisolatara

  Dr. Anderson looked over Emily’s chart as she sat on the examination table, “Things are really looking good. Keep the brace on for another 6 weeks, and take it easy. That means no horseback riding, and no sitting or standing for long periods of time.”

  She nodded and glanced at Mark.

  “I’ll want you back in 6 weeks. Keep going into the water as much as you can, and sit in the hot tub afterwards.”

  “Ok,” she said, and shifted slightly when her back started to ache.

  Dr. Anderson looked up, “Like now, if your back aches, move… lying flat is the best.”