Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Oh, ok,” she said, and hesitated before returning to the Council stand. She glanced briefly at William before sitting down.

  “Sorry for the interruption,” Zohn told them.

  “Are they all awake now?” Sotomar asked.

  “No, we still have one… sleeping, for lack of another word.”

  “I think that until we deem the Encala’s methods safe, they should refrain from taking out any more Ferus covens.”

  “No, you don’t have the authority to order us to stop,” William told him angrily.

  “As worried as I am about how they are achieving this, we cannot ask them to stop and expect them to comply,” Chevalier said.

  “We can if we threaten to wipe them out,” Valle Elder Randall suggested.

  “I won’t allow that,” Emily said, and glared at him.

  Randall’s eyes grew wide and he took a step back.

  “Calm down,” Chevalier said calmly. “They are doing better than we are at eliminating the rogue covens and I see no reason why they should stop.”

  “I concur,” Zohn said, and looked at Quinn.

  Quinn nodded, “Let them wipe them out. It’s for the greater good of the species.”

  William smiled, “And Emily’s safety.”

  “So because the Equites say it’s ok, then it is?” Sotomar yelled. “Just because you have the last remaining Winchester, doesn’t make you the supreme ruling body of this species!”

  “I didn’t say it did. However, to eliminate the Encala entirely, you would need the Equites assistance and we will not give that,” Chevalier told him. “As for Emily, she would take it personally if you did harm the Encala again, and we do not control her or her actions.”

  Sotomar’s eyes narrowed, “This feels like the Equites and the Encala have already joined.”

  “We have not,” Quinn assured him.

  “In your attacks, have you yet found out who is leading the Ferus?” Chevalier asked.

  “We know it was Exavior for certain. Right now we know his second in command has stepped up, but we don’t yet know who he is or where he is located,” Frederick explained.

  Sotomar shifted nervously at the mention that a Valle Elder was doubling as the leader of the Ferus.

  “So now what?” Ryan asked. “We stand by and let them continue?”

  “I see no reason why not,” Chevalier said. “Destroying the Ferus is for the benefit of us all.”

  William smiled and risked a glance at Emily.

  “This isn’t the end of this!” Sotomar said, and stormed out, followed by the other two Valle Elders.

  When they slammed the door, William looked at the Council, “Will that be all?”

  “Now that the Valle are gone, will you tell us how you are doing it?” Zohn asked.

  “No, we will not.”

  Zohn sighed, “Very well, that is all.”

  Derrick appeared at the door to escort the Encala Elders out. When they were gone, Emily stood up and started to leave.

  “Em?” Chevalier asked.

  She turned around and saw the Council looking at her, “What’d I do now?”

  “The Council is curious about what you do at night alone.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “None of their business.”

  “It’s just odd,” Quinn said softly, “And disconcerting, how you sneak out every couple of weeks and even hordes of Equites can’t find you… then you return and sleep for days.”

  She shrugged, “I get tired.”

  “By doing what?” Zohn asked.

  “I wasn’t aware that my nightly activities were of any concern of the Council.”

  “I wouldn’t say it’s of council concern exactly.”

  “If it’s a marital concern… then I will remind you all again that I did not marry this Council… it was forced on me later, and I do not report to you,” she said, and left angrily.

  Emily ran down the stairs and headed out to the stables, hoping to find Silas. She smiled when she saw Mark, Silas, and Jaron talking.

  She ran up and threw her arms around him again, “I’m so sorry.”

  Silas chuckled, “It’s ok, I feel fine. Just worried.”

  Emily pulled away from him and frowned, “About what?”

  “You, sneaking out all night.”

  She grinned, “It’s nothing dangerous and I won’t stop.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I can’t say,” she told him, and leaned up against one of the stall doors.

  “How’s your back?”

  “It’s ok, I just can’t lift a lot is all.”

  “And the other… cuts and such?”

  “Almost gone,” she told him.

  “Em?” Chevalier said from the door.

  “Come on in,” she said, but didn’t move.

  “Actually, I need to talk to you in private.”

  Emily watched as Mark, Silas, and Jaron disappeared, “Ok, we’re alone.”

  Chevalier walked in and sat on a bale of hay by her, “Not for the Council then… but for me. Why are you sneaking out?”

  “I need to do something alone.”

  “What?”

  She walked over and sat down beside him, “I can’t say… but it’s not dangerous. It’s just something I need to do.”

  “You aren’t working again are you?”

  “No”

  “I don’t like secrets.”

  “Neither do I, so you know this has to be important.”

  Chevalier nodded, “Important enough to keep from me.”

  “I don’t like when you say it that way.”

  “That’s the way it is.”

  “It’s not bad though. I’m not having an affair. I’m not killing small children… I just need to be alone sometimes and it would be easier if the guards would let me go… I have to get more creative to slip them,” she told him.

  Chevalier grinned, “We could just put Mark, Silas, and Jaron on your tail.”

  “I’d still get away.”

  “Is this a game to you?”

  “No, it’s very serious.”

  His eyes narrowed, “Now I’m nervous.”

  Emily smiled, “Don’t be.”

  He reached over and kissed her softly, “Promise me it’s not dangerous.”

  “It’s not.”

  Chevalier stood up, “I’ll be upstairs in a bit. I have one more trial for today to sit through.”

  “Ok, will see you later.”

  Emily watched as he left the stables and grinned when she realized she was alone. Tonight would be the easiest night yet to get away. She quickly threw a bridle on her horse and slid onto his back, then checked the lawn, and kicked him into a gallop out of the city. The way to the Durango at night was becoming familiar and she saw the Encala waiting for her.

  “We half expected you to not be able to get away tonight,” William told her as he tied her horse to the bumper.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t sure I could. Chev threatened to put Mark, Jaron, and Silas as my guards… if he does, it’ll be a lot harder to get away.”

  “How do you elude heku?” Frederick asked.

  Emily grinned, “I can’t tell you that. I may need it against you someday.”

  William grinned and picked Emily up, “Let’s get going. It’s a two-hour ride tonight.”

  The heku quickly blurred into the city where their helicopter was waiting. Once inside, Emily changed in a separate room into all black and came back out while she tied her hair up. She sat down next to Frederick, and William started the briefing.

  “This coven’s larger than the others. Emily, can you handle 400 of them?”

  Emily nodded, “Yes, is that enough?”

  “I don’t want to risk more,” William told her. “We have two covens helping today, as there’s probably 2,000 in this one coven. If we get lucky, it’ll be their main one and we can stop these.”

  “I don’t know, they’re kind of fun,” one of the guards said, and there was a loud round o
f agreement.

  “Speak for yourself. If the Equites find out, I’ll be locked up,” Emily said with a slight grin.

  “Then come live with us. We have to be more fun than those stuffy heku.”

  “They’re just… a tad… overprotective.”

  “As I said, then join the Encala.”

  Emily just grinned and turned back to William, “Where is this one?”

  “Northern Illinois,” he said, and then paused when the pilot gave the 10 minute warning. “We’re dropping into the middle. I’ll take Emily, the rest drop in first.”

  She sighed, “Seriously, I hate that.”

  William grinned, “You just really hate when you can’t do something on your own, don’t you?”

  She ignored him and readied for the mission. When the pilot gave the signal, the Encala began jumping from the helicopter and by the time she climbed onto William’s back, the sounds of fighting could be heard. She shut her eyes tightly and couldn’t help but scream when he jumped the thirty feet down to the ground.

  William chuckled when he landed, “Em, let go.”

  Emily opened her eyes and grinned slightly before crawling off. The fighting stopped immediately when the Ferus caught sight of her.

  “This is new,” Frederick said, looking around at the Ferus as they fell back slowly.

  She frowned, “What do I do now? They aren’t fighting.”

  William shrugged, “Well… we still need to get rid of them.”

  “Please, Lady Emily,” one of them said, and stepped forward. “We need you to help us.”

  “Do not talk to her,” one of the Encala guards yelled.

  Emily took a step back.

  “Go, Emily, we can’t let them go,” Frederick told her.

  She nodded and then fell to her knees after 400 of the Ferus turned to ash, and the fighting resumed. William gently picked her up and stepped out of the way of the fighting. As soon as he was sure things were going well, he blurred back to the staging location and met up with the helicopter assigned to return her. He laid her down across the seats and she immediately fell asleep. Just before arriving outside of Council City, William quickly cleaned the blood from her face.

  “Emily,” he whispered, and locked her gaze once she finally got her eyes open. “You need to ride your horse back to the palace, then go inside and lie down. Tell no one what happened. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  He blurred her back to the Durango and helped her up onto the horse, then followed her into Council City, but stayed at the tree line. When she disappeared into the stables, he quickly disappeared.

  “Out all night again,” Mark commented, irritated.

  “Yes,” she said, struggling to put her horse away. She just wanted to sleep.

  “We’ve had guards out looking for you.”

  “I figured.”

  “Where were you?” Chevalier growled from the stable doors.

  “I was just out riding,” she told him, and leaned against the stall door when she felt like she might fall.

  “I suppose you’ll go sleep now?”

  “I am tired.”

  He watched her closely, noticing she was slightly pale and shaky, “Out riding?”

  “Yes,” she told him, and then shut the stall door. She fought to steady her walk and started for the palace, followed by Chevalier and four members of the Cavalry.

  “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “It’s dangerous or you’d tell me, and to be honest, I’m starting to get angry about it.”

  She looked over at him when they reached the bedroom door, “Please don’t. It’s not dangerous.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “I can’t.”

  Chevalier glared at her and then stormed off. She winced when she heard his office door slam from two floors away and then disappeared into their room to sleep.

  Chapter 20 - Behaving

  Emily could feel the tension in the palace and knew she was the cause. Chevalier was no longer speaking to her, and her guards were curt and almost rude. She decided to behave as much as possible until her next mission, in hopes that everyone would calm down. Even watching a movie with Dain seemed to make the Council angry, and she wondered how close the long nights with the Encala were to being done.

  In her room late at night, Emily snuck into her closet and called the Encala.

  “Kind of late at night, isn’t in?” William asked, and she could tell he was smiling.

  Emily whispered back, “We need to not go out this week. Things are getting pretty tense.”

  “Are you ok?”

  “Yes, but everyone’s really mad and no one’ll talk to me. They know I’m doing something, and if we can just wait until things calm down a little.”

  “We have the Ferus’ main city,” William explained. “We wanted to go as soon as you’re ready, so they don’t have time to move their leader.”

  She sighed, “When?”

  “Friday, will you be recovered in 4 days?”

  “Yes”

  “After that, we’ll take a month off, ok?”

  “Things are really bad.”

  “We can’t risk him leaving. They move him around a lot,” Frederick told her. “We need you, this compound has over 3,000.”

  She sighed, “Ok, Friday it is.”

  “We’re sorry. After Friday though, we’ll take a break.”

  Emily shut her phone and went to bed, but stayed awake for hours, tossing and turning. She knew that Chevalier would be furious when she disappeared for another night, and she wasn’t sure the Council would be any happier.

  “Can’t sleep?” Chevalier asked, walking into the room.

  She rolled onto her side and propped up on an elbow, “No.”

  “That means you’re about to disappear again,” he said, irritated, and sat down on a chair by the fire.

  She returned to her back and stared up at the ceiling. She could feel the anger emanating from him, but didn’t know how to calm things down.

  “I need you to trust me on this,” Emily said softly.

  “I need you to trust me enough to tell me what you’re doing.”

  “Fair enough, but I can’t, not right now.”

  He got up silently and left the room, slamming the door behind him on the way out. She sighed and began to think about how to get out of the killing spree the Encala initiated. If she could do just one more, then things would probably calm down and her nightly visits would be forgotten. She hopped Chevalier would trust her, and her guards would talk to her again.

  As soon as dawn broke, she got out of bed, having not slept at all that night. She spent the day quietly with Dain. They watched a movie and then played with the dogs. Dain loved to throw the ball to Encala, the Labrador, and she was amazed at the strength the almost two-year-old had, though the guards didn’t seem surprised at all.

  She wasn’t surprised when the change of the guards brought Mark, Silas, and Jaron. She figured if Kralen was awake, he would be there too. They knew it was about time for her to slip out for the night, and were prepared to use their high-ranking guards to keep her in the palace. Tension grew and Emily began to wonder if she would even be able to get out of the palace for this important mission.

  After dark on Friday night, Emily rode up to the Durango.

  “You made it,” William said, and smiled.

  Emily nodded. She didn’t like what she had to do to get free, and knew that she was going to pay for it later.

  William put a hand on her arm, “They’ll forgive you.”

  “Let’s get this over with,” she said, and slid off of her stallion, tying him to her fender.

  “If it gets too bad, we can come help.”

  “That would make it worse.”

  William nodded and picked her up, quickly blurring through the woods. She didn’t say a word as she climbed into the helicopter and changed into black.

  Frederi
ck glanced at William before beginning, “There are over 3,000, and we suspect this is their main city. If we can find the leader and dispose of him, we could end this a lot sooner than expected.”

  William took over, “The Equites and Valle have all but extinguished the Ferus in the northern U.S. and Equites’ Thukil took care of the bigger covens in Texas. Same plan, we’re going to drop in, let Emily take out as many as she can…”

  “I’ll do 700,” she said, watching her hands.

  William frowned, “That’s too many. We agreed on 400.”

  “Doesn’t matter, am going to do 700.”

  “The Elder said 400,” one of the guards told her.

  “He’s not my Elder,” Emily reminded him, still watching her hands.

  “Em, you can’t do 700 and get back into the palace to sleep,” Frederick said.

  Emily shrugged. She wanted this over with and hoped ashing the 700 instead of 400 would make it faster.

  “Stick with the plan. We take out 2600 and Emily will take care of the other 400,” William said. The rest of the way was in silence. Emily was normally happy and chatty, but tonight there was a dark shroud over her and only William knew how much pressure she was under because of the Equites suspicions.

  “5 minutes, Elder,” the pilot called back.

  “I’m staying in for this one. Frederick is leading,” William told her. Emily nodded, and when it was time, she crawled onto Frederick’s back and wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut and then dropped to the ground when she felt Frederick land.

  “Ouch!” Emily yelled, and Frederick turned to her, his eyes wide. She reached over and pulled a small dart out of her arm, then heard Frederick calling a retreat as darkness engulfed her.

  ***

  Emily felt the fog of sedation lift slowly and she realized she was sitting on a hard surface with her hands restrained behind her back. She was finally able to open her eyes and looked up at the cement cell.

  “Are you ok?” Frederick asked from behind her.

  She pulled at her restraints and felt Frederick at her back. They were restrained together, back-to-back.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “What happened?”

  “They saw us coming, reinforced. You were sedated almost immediately, which left us gravely outnumbered.”

  Emily sighed, “He’s going to kill me for this.”