Emily leaned forward on the treadmill and watched him. His sleek movements and effortless fighting style was intriguing and relaxing to watch.
“You said he’s quiet?” she asked, not turning away from Wen.
“Yes, I don’t personally like him. He is gruff and doesn’t take any crap though, so I guess that’s good for the city guards.”
“What is he doing?”
“He’s really heavy into mixed martial arts. Not sure why when heku fighting involves biting and scratching… pretty much tearing each other apart. His moves wouldn’t do him a lot of good other than to block incoming attacks, seems useless,” Kralen told her, and leaned up against the wall.
“He’s huge.”
Kralen grinned, “Yeah, he’s a big ol’ boy… not interested in the Cavalry at all. The Council made him an offer, but he decided to stick with the city.”
“Why?” she asked, looking over at the Captain.
Kralen shrugged, “Not sure really.”
“How tall is he?”
“Seven seven, somewhere about there.”
Emily stepped down off the treadmill and Kralen followed her out of the room. He put a hand on her arm when she went to enter the training room.
“He doesn’t like to be disturbed,” Kralen told her.
Emily looked at the door and then back to Kralen, “I’m a member of the Council, he’ll survive.”
Kralen shook his head and stood outside of the door, listening in case Wen got angry.
Emily stepped in, and the massive heku turned toward her. His eyes were enraged. He was panting and his enormous arms were tense at his side.
“What?” he growled.
She froze. His voice was deep and furious and he looked at her like he could rip her head off without a second thought.
“Can I talk to you? Just for a second?” she asked.
“You’re a member of the Council. You can do what you want,” he said. His English was very good, but shrouded by a heavy accent.
Emily could instantly see why Kralen didn’t like this heku, he wasn’t only gruff, he was rude and abrasive.
She cleared her throat, “I keep getting beaten up.”
His eyes narrowed, “Ok.”
She sighed, “Can you help me with that?”
“Getting beaten up?”
“More like avoiding it.”
His eyes narrowed, “Why?”
“Why am I asking you, why should you do it, or why do I get beaten up?”
He smiled slightly and shook his head, “Why do you keep getting beaten up?”
Emily saw a small spark of compassion and caring in him in that one moment, that disappeared when she spoke, “Seems to be the favorite past-time of the Encala and the Ferus… somewhat the Valle, but not as bad as the others.”
“You could kill me right now without even a warning, couldn’t you?”
“Yes”
“Do you mind pain?”
“No, or hard work.”
“Why would I help you? Unless you are giving me a direct order.”
“I’m not going to order you to… but think about it, not often do you get to abuse the Elder’s wife.”
“I can’t teach you. I can’t even touch you.”
“I can fix that.”
He looked over her, “Your guards won’t like it.”
“They’ll live.”
“Neither will your husband.”
“He’ll understand. So will you help me?”
He grinned an evil, malicious grin, “Will you cry?”
Emily set her jaw, “No.”
“Come here,” he said, and got into a fighting stance.
She suddenly felt fearful, but bottled it up and stepped toward him.
“Let me see what you can do.”
She nodded and slipped her right foot back and hung her arms loosely at her side, “Bring it.”
“Come on, hit me.”
Emily lunged at him but found herself instantly pinned against the floor by his strong hands, one around her neck, the other on her stomach. The room filled with guards and Wen was thrown back against the wall and restrained.
“Stop it!” Emily screamed, and the guards looked at her. “Get out this instant.”
“But…” Kralen started.
“No, get out.”
Kralen nodded to the others and they left, obviously unsure if they should.
“Sorry about that,” Emily said.
“Why do you need me, when you have guards?”
“They aren’t always around.”
“Why not?”
“Listen… I don’t need another guard… I need someone to help me avoid getting backhanded by a heku, and someone who won’t be afraid to hurt me or to knock me on my ass to show me how to defend myself… can you do that or not?”
He nodded, “I can… but first you have to get Elder approval. I could be banished for what I just did.”
Emily nodded, “I’ll get it… can you meet me here tomorrow at 1pm?”
“Yes,” he said, and walked past her and out the door.
“Are you ok?” Kralen asked her, stepping into the training room.
“I’m fine,” she said, and grinned. “This is going to be great!”
“You’re asking for trouble, more than you even understand.”
“I can handle a lot… I need this.”
Kralen nodded, “If you think so… let’s go talk to the Council.”
They fought the storm and finally got back into the warm palace. Derrick immediately let Emily into the council chambers.
“Good morning,” Zohn said, looking up and smiling when she came in.
“Good morning.”
“You need to talk to us?”
“Sort of… do you know Wen?”
“Yes”
“He’s going to teach me some self-defense, but won’t until I get your approval.”
Zohn’s eyes narrowed, “We can have the Cavalry train you.”
“I want Wen.”
“He comes very highly recommended because of his cruelty and callousness. I’m not sure I feel comfortable if you are with him.”
“Zohn, please, I need this.”
“He said no,” Dustin told her, and leaned back in his chair.
“No, I didn’t deny the request. I just need to think on this,” Zohn told him, and then turned back to Emily. “I guess if your guards…”
“No guards, just me and Wen.”
He sighed, “That’s too dangerous.”
“He won’t do it unless ordered anyway, he doesn’t like… well… anyone, especially mortals,” Dustin added.
“He already said yes,” Emily told him, and then turned back to Zohn. “Please, I’m tired of being knocked around. He can help me.”
“For now, I will say yes… however, I will be watching and can revoke that permission if I see it getting out of hand,” Zohn explained.
“Thank you!” Emily said, and turned for the door.
***
Emily walked into the training room and saw Wen was already there. He turned and looked at her and the fury in his eyes made her stop at the door and wonder if this was a good idea.
“Come,” he growled, and she took a breath and stepped forward.
She stood before him and looked up into his rough, dark face.
“I’m not going to hold back just because you’re mortal.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“You are going to get hurt.”
“I can handle it,” she told him.
He sighed, “The last bruise you had… what was it from?”
“A backhand.”
“From a heku?”
“Yes”
“Did you see him coming?”
She looked down at the ground, “No, I knew it was coming… but I didn’t see when he actually came in.”
“How did you know it was coming?”
“I provoked him.”
Wen grinned, �
�You are trouble, aren’t you?”
“I had to provoke him to get the door open.”
Emily gasped when Wen disappeared, and she spun and saw him behind her.
“Did you see me move?”
“No”
“I can’t teach you to defend yourself if you can’t see the attacker.”
“Sometimes I do though.”
She ducked when he instantly appeared in front of her with the back of his hand against her face, “Too slow.”
Her eyes narrowed, “Show me how to defend myself and I’ll worry about seeing the attack coming.”
Wen took a step back and looked her over, “You have to learn to work with what you have. From what I can see, you’re weak, slow, short, and frail… not a lot of power to work with.”
“I’m not weak or frail.”
He grinned, “Prove it.”
“Bring it,” she growled, and crouched slightly. He blurred to her back, and as he began to wrap his arms around to restrain her, she slammed her elbows into the crook of his arm, spun, and when she brought her palm up to smash his nose, he quickly grabbed her wrist and twisted. Before she could react, he had her pinned, face down on the mat with her wrist at her back.
“Damnit!” she yelled and stood up.
“Too slow,” he told her.
“I’ve broken a fair share of noses with that.”
“Just because they probably weren’t ready for a fight… if someone’s attacking you, they will be waiting for it.”
“So fix it… what do I do?”
“You never let them get close enough to hit you.”
“How?”
“Turn them to ash, easy.”
“That’s not always an option.”
“Kick me.”
Emily frowned, “Kick you?”
Wen nodded, “Yes, kick me.”
“Where?”
“You won’t hit me, so kick anywhere.”
Emily chose his knee, and tried to kick him as fast as she could, but he easily sidestepped, “See, too slow… must be aggravating to be that weak.”
Her eyes narrowed and she flew at him. Every punch and every kick he easily dodged, and the more he evaded, the more furious she became. After a few minutes, Wen pinned her up against a wall with her arm trapped behind her back. She was panting and covered in sweat.
He held her with her chest pressed against the soft matt on the wall and whispered into her ear, “I can’t help you. You’re too feeble.”
Emily quickly tried to slam her head back into his nose, but he easily avoided it and flung her around, pinning her onto the floor with his hand around her neck.
He looked down at her, “You can’t fight a heku…”
She screamed at him and tried to hit him, but he grinned.
“Your best bet, Princess, is to stay with your guards,” Wen said, and stood up. Emily quickly got to her feet and glared at him.
“You just decided to get me in here and call me names?”
“Pretty much,” he said, and leaned against the wall, grinning.
“I’m not weak.”
“Yes, you are, even by mortal standards, and don’t let anyone try to tell you differently.”
“You don’t know me…”
“Oh, we all know you. The entire faction watches as you keep the palace walking on eggshells around your temper and your moods. You constantly throw yourself into danger, putting the Cavalry into danger to either protect you or try to get you back.”
She froze, his words were brutal.
“Yes, you do have the ability to turn a heku to ash, that can come in handy, but I also know how many times you’ve turned the Council to ash, or the Cavalry, even your poor husband… yet they all tolerate you and your outbursts, your stupidity, your selfishness, all because you would be too dangerous in the hands of others.”
Emily gasped. She couldn’t believe this heku was talking to her like this.
Wen shrugged, “I’m sure there are parts of you I don’t know about, like how you have them all wrapped around your little finger, but trust me, Princess, someday they will stop rescuing you.”
“I’ve heard enough,” Kralen said, coming in through the front door. “You are way out of line.”
Wen stood at attention, “Sorry, Captain. I thought she might finally want the truth.”
“None of that was the truth and I should take you to the Council for what you said!”
“No, let’s go,” Emily whispered, and walked out of the room.
Kralen glared at Wen, “Go to your quarters until I tell you to come out.”
“Yes, Captain,” Wen said, and blurred from the room.
Kralen quickly caught up with Emily and the three other guards as she quietly went into the palace and headed up the stairs. At her bedroom door, Kralen put his hand on her arm.
“He wasn’t telling the truth.”
“Actually, he was,” she said, and shut the door behind her.
Kralen sighed and turned to the others, “I’m tempted to return him to China.”
“There was no reason for that,” one of the other guards said, irritated.
Kralen instinctively turned toward the stairs when the Council called for Emily. He knocked lightly and came in when she called out.
“The Council needs you immediately,” he told her.
Emily nodded and stood up from the couch, still carrying Dain. He grinned at Kralen when they passed, and the guards fell in behind her as she headed for the council chambers. She could hear the angry voices that quieted immediately when she opened the door and stepped in. She saw Sotomar, and he was angry and glaring at Zohn. Four Imperial Guards stood with him. She walked around him and sat in Chevalier’s chair.
“What’s up?” she asked, adjusting Dain on her lap.
“We need a peace keeper,” Zohn told her, though his eyes never left Sotomar.
Emily nodded and turned back to Sotomar.
“Do you have a penis?” Dain asked him.
Sotomar’s eyes grew wide and Emily covered Dain’s mouth with her hand, “Sorry… so what’s going on?”
“This is no concern of yours and I feel like you being here will only endanger your life,” Sotomar growled, his eyes never leaving Zohn’s.
“How so?”
“You’d be stupid to attack,” Zohn said, ignoring Emily’s question. “You know you’re not nearly as strong as we are.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re attacking in 2 hours.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Attacking who?”
Zohn looked over at her, “Council City.”
“Why?”
Sotomar hissed, “Thukil Coven bought property to extend their land, but it’s too close to one of our large covens and this Council won’t intervene.”
“Why should they? Seems to me that Thukil can buy whatever land they want.”
“Not when it comes near us!” Sotomar yelled.
“If I ash him, will they still attack?” Emily asked, turning to Zohn.
“Yes, they will.”
“In 2 hours,” Sotomar said, and then he turned and left, followed by the Imperial Guards.
“We’re safe right, not outnumbered?” Emily asked.
Dustin looked concerned, “No, we aren’t even a full Council and there’s no Cavalry left except the 8 that stayed to watch you. Two Elders and our Chief Enforcer, Interrogator, Investigator, Reporter and Records Keeper are gone… there are over 4,000 Valle out there.”
Emily glanced down at the six remaining members of the Council, “What are we going to do?”
“There’s no we, you are leaving,” Zohn told her.
“Why?”
“You know why… we can’t have you here if this goes bad. We’ve called in Powan, Samuel, Carlsons, and Scotts Covens, but that’s not enough… Thukil is on the way, but will be about 2 hours late.”
“Then don’t send me away, damnit! Don’t do this again, let me help.”
“We can’t and you
know it,” Dustin told her.
Emily turned to Zohn, “Let me even up the numbers, at least take out Sotomar and their Generals or something. I can’t sit around while you all fight again, I need this…”
“No,” Zohn told her and took her hand. “We can’t let you fight this, this is going to be nasty.”
“Then let me call in William. He can get the Encala here in two hours.”
“We can’t bring in the Encala, that would automatically align us.”
“I need to be useful,” she whispered, and looked down at her hands. “Wen was right, everything he said was right, and I need this. Let me help.”
“He was not right!” Kralen growled.
“Zohn, let me help, please don’t send me away.”
“Sir,” Derrick said, stepping in. “We need to get the Council out of here, the Valle are moving into position.”
Zohn nodded, “Everyone out.”
The Council stood up and looked over at Emily, “Don’t do this.”
“I’m staying,” Zohn told them. “There are still two Elders safe.”
“I want to stay, to fight with Powan,” Dustin told them.
“Zohn…”
Zohn looked over at Kralen, “The Cavalry…” he sighed. “The Cavalry will protect the palace. If we can’t stop them, then it will be the Cavalry’s responsibility to stop them from seizing the palace.”
“Yes, Elder,” Kralen said, and grinned.
“Zohn…” Emily said, looking at him.
Zohn looked over at Dustin and then nodded, “You too, Emily, keep them out of the palace.”
Emily gasped, surprised, “Thank you.”
“Council out, take Alexis and Dain with you… Dustin… let’s go to the front lines.”
Emily ran out of the room and helped Dain and Alexis quickly pack essentials and then she watched as they left with the Council in Equites 2.
“Get in uniform and meet us on the third-floor balcony,” Kralen told her, visibly angry that she wasn’t leaving.
“Kralen,” she whispered, and touched his arm. “It’s ok. I can stop them from taking the palace.”
“You are letting what Wen said drive you to danger.”
“No, I’m not, he was right. All I do is get into trouble and fight the Council… it’s time I did something useful.”
“It’s too dangerous. There are only 8 of the Cavalry here in the palace with you. If the Valle storm it, we can’t protect you.”
“Then let me protect you, for once.”
Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series Page 65
