Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Quiet, timid, and very compliant,” Kyle reported.

  “You have nine days,” Zohn said to Chevalier.

  “No, I don’t… I have no desire whatsoever to forgive her.”

  “For now, you’re even calmer than you were a few days ago. You must surely see that what she did wasn’t as bad as we originally thought,” Quinn told him.

  Chevalier glared at him, “No, I don’t see that.”

  “I agree, what she did undermined everything this Council has done for her,” Zohn said.

  Quinn stood up, obviously irritated, “We’re done for the night, and I’m going back to my coven for a few days while the tempers die down.”

  The rest of the Council left until only Zohn, Kyle, and Chevalier remained.

  “We can’t keep her locked up forever,” Zohn said, turning to the other two.

  “Pack her things and send her away,” Chevalier suggested.

  “I disagree,” Kyle said. “With all due respect, Elder, you are mad now, but you still love her and you’ll regret it if she leaves.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I think I do. I’ve been around you two longer than any other heku.”

  “Still, things have changed. I’m not going to spend any more energy trying to make her happy, trying to keep her safe or worrying about her,” Chevalier said, and blurred out of the room.

  “If she leaves, he’ll regret it and we’ll all pay,” Kyle said, turning to Zohn.

  “I know.”

  Chevalier stood in the dark corner in Emily’s room and watched her sleep. Aided by the medication, she was quieter than usual and her scent was off. He studied her closely, the bruise on her cheek was fading and even in her sleep, an arm guarded her broken ribs. His heart ached. He wanted nothing more than to forget her and to walk away, never looking back.

  ***

  Emily looked up from her breakfast when the door opened.

  Mark walked in, still mad at her, “The Elders have granted you the ability to roam the grounds, with the condition you don’t slip your guards.”

  She nodded and sat her fork down.

  “Here’s a change of clothes,” he said, and tossed a pink summer dress onto the bed. They brought her clothing each day, and let her shower, but other than that she was forced to sit in the bedroom with nothing more than a book. She refused to complain, but looked forward to getting out into the sunshine.

  Changing quickly, Emily sat back down in the chair to wait for them. She heard a light knock on the bedroom door.

  “I’m ready,” she said softly.

  Mark opened the door and she saw four of the Cavalry waiting for her, “They will be your guards.”

  She nodded and followed them out. The servants all looked at her briefly and then turned back to their jobs. No one stopped to talk to her, or even acknowledge she walked past them. She merely followed the four members of the Cavalry outside and into the stables.

  “We’re to wait at the door,” the Commander told her.

  Emily inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of fresh hay. She immediately went to the stall with her stallion and ran her hand along the lock.

  “They don’t want to risk you taking off,” Silas told her.

  She didn’t turn toward him, but nodded and reached down to pet the dogs at her feet.

  “How are you?” Kralen asked her.

  She finally turned toward them, “I’m fine.”

  “The two of us,” Silas said, “May be the only two heku in the city who aren’t still mad at you.”

  She nodded as tears filled her eyes, “Help me then.”

  “Do what?”

  “Get forgiveness.”

  Kralen leaned up against the wall, “You’re doing the only thing I could suggest… keeping a low profile and doing as you’re told.”

  “Chev…”

  Silas sighed, “He’s going to take more time. You betrayed the Equites… but you lost the trust of your husband.”

  “I can’t live without him,” she whispered, and turned back to pet her horse over the door.

  “The same goes for him, he’s just forgotten,” Kralen told her.

  Emily sunk down on the wall, “I don’t know what to do… how to make this right.”

  “Why did you do it? Why not tell the Equites what you were doing?” Silas asked.

  “They would have told me no.”

  “Right, and then you would have done it anyway… I think they’re madder that you didn’t tell them, than they would have been if you’d have told them, and then did it anyway.”

  “You tell me this now?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “Let’s take the Cavalry out for a ride,” Kralen said, and then called for them to mount up.

  Emily moved back, “I’ll go back to my room.”

  “You’re allowed to come… you can tandem with me,” Silas told her, and slipped a bridle on his horse. He mounted and then put a hand out for her.

  “The Council’s ok with it?”

  “Yes, they are,” Mark said from behind her.

  She sighed and then let Silas pull her up onto his horse. She sat against his back and held onto his sides. Mark led the Cavalry slowly out the front gates and toward the north hills. She watched as the Cavalry ran through a few drills, just enjoying being out in the fresh air and the feel of the hot sun against her face.

  Something caught Emily’s attention and she turned toward the road. Chevalier’s McLaren, Kyle’s Ferrari, and Quinn’s Zonda were all headed for the Interstate, followed by four black Suburbans. She wondered where they were going, but knew she had no right to ask.

  After a few hours of drills, Mark finally called for them all to head back in. She gripped Silas’ sides again as he took off at a gallop for the city. She slid off just outside of the stables and patiently waited for her guards. Kralen and Silas both blurred from the stables and stopped when they saw her.

  Emily glanced over at the out-building when she heard a loud cheer erupt.

  “Want to go see?” Kralen asked.

  “What are they doing?”

  “Come see, it’ll be entertaining,” he said, and started for the building. Emily followed as Silas and Jaron fell in behind her. The cheering got louder as they approached, and once inside, she could tell it was coming from one of the sparring rooms. When Kralen opened the door, she stepped in and her eyes grew wide.

  There were heku guards lining the walls while two stood in the middle. Their hands were clasped behind their backs and their heads were low. Emily gasped when the two heku rammed their heads into each other and stumbled backwards, and then fell forward to do it again. They continued to pummel each other with their heads as blood coated the mat and the cheering grew even louder.

  Emily watched, somewhat fascinated, and somewhat terrified of what she was seeing. The stupidity and sheer brutality of it was amazing, yet they didn’t seem to mind the pain or the blood. From what she could gather, the first heku to fall, lost, and was soon replaced with another.

  “Why?” Emily asked, not taking her eyes away from the challenge.

  “Why not? It’s just for fun,” Silas told her, and leaned back against the wall.

  She stood, speechless, while the guards slammed their heads into each other until one of them stumbled to their knees and lost the fight. Few of them even acknowledged she was in the room, but they often came to talk to the Cavalry.

  When it was over, Emily followed her guards out and couldn’t help but smile. The simple absurdity of the challenge was fascinating to her, and she found it humorous how rowdy the guards were, and how brutal the challenge.

  “Good to see you smile again,” Silas said, and grinned.

  She shrugged and fell serious again, “I’m ready for bed.”

  “Let’s grab dinner first,” Mark told her, and headed inside.

  Though not hungry, she nodded and followed him in. There was a large pizza sitting on the table for her and sippy c
ups for Dain, who was waiting for her.

  “Mommy!” he yelled, and smiled when she walked in.

  Emily kissed the top of his head and sat down to eat. She only managed a piece, but it satisfied the guards and she picked Dain up before heading up toward their room.

  “Commander?” one of the Cavalry said, running up to them.

  Emily turned toward him.

  “My mare, I think she’s having the colt.”

  Emily smiled slightly. She was extremely tired, but knew she would have a long night ahead, “Ok, let’s go see.”

  Silas took Dain as she followed the others out into the stalls. The panting mare was leaning up against the stall wall and had over thirty heku watching her.

  Emily slipped off her long sleeved shirt, leaving only a t-shirt, and stepped in, then ran her hand along the mare and smiled at the nervous guard, “It’s ok. She’s doing well.”

  The guard was wringing his hands nervously, “She looks bad.”

  “She’s ok, trust me,” Emily said, and moved out of the way just as the mare laid down. She whinnied loudly and nipped at one of the heku, “There may be too many in here though.”

  “Clear out,” Mark ordered, and all of the heku left, including the guard that owned the mare.

  Emily sat down beside the mare and rubbed her large belly.

  “Em, we’re getting called in by the Council,” Mark told her. “There are four city guards posted outside of the stables.”

  She nodded, “I’m fine here.”

  Emily was somewhat relieved when the stables cleared out. She was able to concentrate on the mare without worrying about keeping up the perfect pretenses.

  “Pretty horse,” a strange heku said as he leaned up against the stall door.

  Emily glanced up at him, “Yes, she is.”

  “Pretty girl, too,” he said, and grinned.

  “Are you my guard?”

  “Nope”

  “Then you aren’t to be in here,” she reminded him, still rubbing the mare’s belly.

  “From what I heard, they wouldn’t care if you donated a little nourishment… plus, I don’t see no ring on your finger.”

  Emily sighed, “Thousands of years old and you have the grammar of a turnip.”

  He frowned, “Pretty sassy for a useless, helpless, human.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  Emily gasped when she was suddenly pushed down against the hay in the stall. The heku pinned her body with his, “I like the sound of that… whatever I say.”

  “Get off me,” Emily mumbled, and tried to roll out from under him. He quickly pinned her hands above her head.

  “That smell,” he whispered, and ran his nose along her neck.

  “You’re hurting me,” she gasped as the weight of his body pressed against her broken ribs.

  “Pain is good,” he told her, and lightly ran his tongue up her neck.

  “Mark!” Emily screamed as his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her neck. She began to relax as he fed and only briefly had time to wonder why her guards didn’t come when she called.

  “General?” Derrick said, stepping into the council chambers. “The guards reported that Lady Emily yelled for you.”

  Mark frowned, “Did they see what she wanted?”

  “No, Sir, they just called for you.”

  “That was stupid, go see what she needs,” Mark told him. Derrick nodded and blurred away. He stepped into the stables, past the four guards, and immediately smelled fresh blood.

  “Damnit,” he growled, and blurred through the stables until he found her. Emily was in front of a mirror. She had a towel pressed to her neck and turned when she saw him in the mirror.

  “Don’t tell him,” she pleaded. “Please, Derrick, don’t say anything.”

  “Who did it?”

  “I don’t know him,” she said, then turned back to the mirror, and checked under the towel, the bleeding had finally stopped.

  “I have to tell the Council.”

  Emily turned and put a hand on his arm, “I’m begging you, don’t tell them.”

  “Why didn’t you turn them to ash?”

  “I did what I was told, and let the heku deal with it… but no one came,” she whispered, and turned back to the mirror.

  Derrick sighed, “I have to tell them.”

  “No, you don’t,” she fought back the tears. “I can’t handle them knowing. I don’t want to go to the council chambers and face them, I can’t see… him.”

  He stepped forward and put his hand on her arm, “He doesn’t hate you, and the Council needs to know you were attacked.”

  “I’m going to go to bed. I’ll wear turtle necks until this heals, they don’t need to know,” she told him, and turned her collar up before heading into the palace. Derrick sighed and looked around the stables. When he saw no sign of any heku, he returned to the council chambers and stood outside at his post.

  Quinn frowned when they heard Derrick return, “Derrick, come in.”

  Derrick sighed and stepped into the council chambers. He walked up to stand by Mark.

  “What did she need?” Mark asked.

  Derrick looked at Chevalier nervously, “She… she asked that I not say.”

  “But she called for Mark,” Quinn reminded him.

  “Yes, she did.”

  “Now she doesn’t want Mark to know?”

  “She didn’t mention Mark, but asked that I not tell the Council.”

  “Do you feel the Council should know?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Derrick told him. He knew he would soon be ordered to tell them, but understood why Emily requested that he not.

  Mark frowned, “Well I want to know.”

  “As do I,” Zohn told him. “So now it’s an order.”

  Derrick sighed, “She was attacked in the stables.”

  “Attacked?”

  “Yes, fed from.”

  Chevalier’s eyes narrowed.

  “What!?” Mark yelled. “By who?”

  “She doesn’t know who it was,” Derrick explained.

  “Then send Kyle out to find who it is,” Quinn yelled.

  Kyle stood up, but Derrick motioned for him to stop, “She didn’t turn the heku to ash.”

  “Why not?” Zohn asked, irritated.

  Derrick sighed, “She’s trying to do nothing more than follow instructions right now, so she did as she’s been told, and let the heku handle it. The problem is, she yelled for help and no one came.”

  A low growl erupted from Chevalier.

  Mark hissed and blurred from the room. Derrick turned to leave, but Zohn called him back.

  “Where is she?”

  “She went to bed,” Derrick told them.

  “Is she ok?” Kyle asked, frowning.

  “Yes, he didn’t overfeed. She’s just shaken and… well… confused.”

  “Understood,” Quinn said, and turned to Kyle. “Go talk to her.”

  Kyle nodded and stood up.

  “No, I’ll go,” Chevalier told him, and stood also.

  Kyle sighed, “Are you sure? She doesn’t need yelled at right now.”

  Chevalier glared at him, “I don’t plan on yelling.”

  Kyle nodded, and sat back down while Chevalier went to Emily’s room. There were four members of the Cavalry outside of her door.

  “Were you guarding her in the stables?”

  “No, Sir,” Jaron told him. “It was four city guards.”

  Chevalier nodded and knocked. He opened the door when she told him to come in. She looked up as she sat on the bed reading, then saw it was him and sat her book down. She’d already changed into a turtle neck to cover her neck.

  “Yes?” she asked timidly.

  Chevalier shut the door and sat down on a chair, “Are you injured?”

  “No”

  “You have no idea who it was?”

  “No”

  He sighed, “Why didn’t you ash him?”

  She looked down at the bedspread,
“I let the heku handle it, as instructed.”

  “But when no one came…”

  “Then he finished and left.”

  “You can’t let heku do that! You have to ash them if they attack you,” he told her, fighting to keep his voice calm.

  “Maybe I just don’t care if he fed.”

  Chevalier frowned, “You don’t care?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Is that how it’s going to be then? You either lie to me and defy the Council, or let the heku walk all over you?”

  Emily didn’t answer, and couldn’t even look at him.

  “Great, well next time I’m thirsty, I know where to find you!” he yelled, and then stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He almost instantly appeared in the council chambers and sat down.

  Zohn sighed, “So much for not yelling. We could hear you down here.”

  “Did you hear it all?” Chevalier asked angrily.

  “Yes… she didn’t mean it.”

  Quinn cleared his throat, “There’s one other thing… Alec is requesting a private audience with Emily.”

  “What about?” Chevalier asked.

  “He didn’t say… Zohn and I are ok with it. If you agree, we suggest the conference room, so we can hear what’s being said.”

  “Derrick, bring Alec to the conference room and Mark, get Emily,” Chevalier said.

  The Council listened carefully as Emily met with her uncle.

  She walked into the conference room and sat down, frowning slightly, “You called for me, Alec?”

  Alec smiled, “Yes, thanks for meeting me. Things have gotten out of control and I still worry about you.”

  “I’m fine,” she told him, but it was obvious she was lying.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing”

  Alec paused and then sighed, “Emi, it’s no secret that you are lost. You aren’t mortal, you aren’t immortal… The Equites no longer care about you, the Encala use you, and the Valle fear you.”

  The Council waited for her to argue, but she kept quiet.

  “Exavior built the Ferus for you, so you would have a place to finally belong, a place that you could go to be one of them. No guards, no getting yelled at, or chastised. The only reason he wanted to turn you was if you were heku, then you would truly belong in the world of the heku.”

  Emily nodded slightly, “I realize I’m a freak of nature, and have nowhere on this planet that I belong… but I can’t join the Ferus.”