Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Lt. Andrew helped Ovidius up and soon the Encala were out of Council City. Chevalier slowly made it to his feet, but stumbled and Mark caught him.

  Quinn shook his head and returned to the council chambers while Zohn stayed behind with Chevalier.

  “You’re going to let Emily see you like that?” Zohn asked when Mark helped the Elder out of the stables.

  “Damnit, no,” Chevalier said. “Take me to the barracks.”

  Mark nodded and disappeared with Chevalier.

  “Don’t you have something to do?” Zohn asked the Cavalry that was still in the stables. They disappeared and Zohn returned to the council chambers.

  Chapter 8

  “Are we sure we want to do this?” Quinn asked after Derrick left to get Emily.

  Chevalier nodded, “We need to find out what’s going through that head of hers.”

  “My guess is hormones,” Kyle said. “Remember, she always gets moody.”

  “This is beyond moody though.”

  He shrugged, “I think it’s normal.”

  “She also had time alone with the Encala again,” the Chief of Defense said. “That’s not safe, nor is it allowed.”

  “I just think that this may be a matter that Chevalier needs to deal with and not this Council,” Quinn explained.

  “She won’t talk to me though,” Chevalier reminded him.

  “Kyle then.”

  “She won’t talk to me about the Elder. She thinks I’ll tell him,” Kyle said.

  Quinn smiled, “She knows us too well.”

  “Do we get to know what Ovidius did to deserve being beaten to a pulp?” the Chief Interrogator asked.

  Chevalier shook his head, “No, you don’t.”

  “Old Ones never have liked each other,” the Chief of Finance said.

  “This seemed to go way past that,” Zohn said.

  Chevalier chuckled, “Oh it does.”

  Emily finally came in, though it was obvious that she didn’t want to. The Council was shocked at how big the baby had grown over the last couple of weeks. She seemed off center and extremely grouchy.

  “What?” she asked, crossing her arms.

  “Em, we want to know what’s going on,” Chevalier said.

  She ignored him and watched Quinn.

  Quinn smiled, “We’re just worried.”

  “About?”

  “You seem particularly upset with… well… everything lately.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “Yeah and this little meeting is helping.”

  “Are you mad at the Council?”

  “No”

  “Just the Elder then?” Kyle asked.

  Emily glared at Chevalier, “Equitis knows damned well why I’m mad.”

  “Stop calling me that!” Chevalier said angrily.

  “Once a heku abandons a name for a new one, it’s not proper to use the former name,” the Records Keeper said.

  “Good, then I’m abandoning Emily,” she said, watching him.

  He grabbed a ledger and began to write, “Ok, so what’s your new name?”

  “Em…” Chevalier sighed.

  “My new name is KissMyAss… that’s one word,” she told him.

  The Records Keeper just smiled and put the ledger down, “I’ll just hold off on that one.”

  “We’re also concerned that you were in the presence of three high-ranking Encala for almost an hour by yourself,” the Chief of Defense said.

  “Oh?” Emily glared at him.

  “We’ll… no we’re not doing that now,” Zohn said. “We just want to know what happened to make you so angry with us all.”

  “Let’s just say that I learned quite a bit from your little Ancient that’s hidden away in the vault.”

  “Such as?”

  She smiled, “Such as the words to some of your rituals.”

  The Chief Investigator gasped, “What kind?”

  “Obviously the retiree revival,” Kyle said.

  “I’m apparently able to do them too. According to the Encala, the little earthquake was my doing,” she said, pleased with herself.

  “We don’t know to what extent though,” Quinn said. “We aren’t even sure if that would have entirely worked.

  “One way to find out.”

  He smiled, “That would make for a lot of very angry heku.”

  “Besides, that doesn’t explain why you are so mad,” Zohn said.

  “Ask Equitis,” she said smugly

  “Stop it!” Chevalier growled.

  “What else did you learn?” Kyle asked, trying to get their attention off of each other.

  “I learned the Renovare…” Before the word was even out of her mouth, Chevalier and Emily disappeared from the room.

  Quinn sighed, “Where did they go?”

  Zohn shrugged, “I don’t know. He must be angry though, I didn’t even see him move.”

  “What’s Renovare?”

  “Never heard of it.”

  “Course, there were a lot of rituals around before I was turned. Ones that only the Old Ones know about now.”

  “Old ones and Emily, apparently,” the Chief Interrogator said. “She purposely said it in front of Chevalier to catch a response.”

  “She got one,” Kyle said, frowning. “I wonder where he took her.”

  ***

  Emily felt like she was in a tunnel, a vacuum that pressed against her skin and made her unable to talk. When she stopped moving, she was in a small stone room with no windows and only a heavy door. Chevalier let go of her and stepped back.

  She looked up at him with wide eyes and took a step away from him. He was more furious that she’d seen him and it was obviously directed at her.

  She was barely able to whisper, “Chevalier…”

  He stepped angrily toward her, “How dare you even say that ritual.”

  “I didn’t…”

  “You’re messing with something you can’t handle.”

  Emily backed up again, but found the cold wall at her back, “Calm down.”

  “No! You’ve overstepped and code says I have to kill you.”

  She gasped, “What?”

  He growled low in his chest, “You’ve gone too far.”

  “I…” she barely managed to choke out.

  “Did you say that to Ovidius?”

  Emily shook her head.

  “This entire time with the heku has taught you nothing, has it?” he yelled. “You cannot overstep in this society or you have to pay the consequences.”

  “You’re going to kill me?” she asked, terrified.

  “No.” She got the strong suspicion that at that moment, he wanted to.

  “Chevalier… I didn’t mean…”

  “It doesn’t matter what you meant to do! You spoke a word that is reserved only for Old Ones and one that the others can’t even know about! By the code I should not only kill you, but every one of the Equites Council.”

  Emily was finding it hard to even breathe, the rage in his eyes was fierce and unnatural, “Please, Chevalier, I didn’t know.”

  His hands balled into fists and he instantly disappeared from the small stone room. After a few minutes, she tried the door but it was either locked from the outside, or too heavy for her to move.

  As she looked around the cold room, she began to panic. There was nothing in the room, just the cold stone walls and the heavy, unmovable door. She slowly slid down the wall to sit on the freezing cold floor, too numb to feel the dampness of the air.

  For the first time, Emily felt that her drive to know more than she should took a terrible turn. Not only was her life in danger, but she’d endangered the lives of the entire Council. One word had completely changed her life and she wasn’t sure how to get out of it.

  After a few hours, Chevalier returned, but moved too quickly for Emily to see anything more than blurry movements. He quickly stocked the room with a bed, dresser, couch, clothes, and linens. Without a word, the blurs stopped and she found herself alone again.
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  Knowing she didn’t have a choice, Emily began making the bed. She was now freezing and she hoped the blankets were warm enough that she could get comfortable.

  ***

  “Where is she?” Quinn asked. “It’s been a week.”

  Chevalier looked over at him angrily, “She’s safe.”

  “We’re just worried,” Zohn said. They were alone in the Elder’s conference room because tensions between Chevalier and the Council were high.

  He turned his menacing eyes toward the other Elders, “She’s safer where she is.”

  “I’m sure she’s scared. You tore out of here without a word. She has to be terrified,” Quinn said, choosing his words carefully.

  “I haven’t hurt her.”

  “You don’t have to hurt her to scare her. You took her out of her home and away from everyone.”

  Zohn sighed, “We understand that she said a word forbidden by anyone but Old Ones. We also understand that because of her father, she may be able to successfully perform those rituals. However, she didn’t know that the Ancient told her things she shouldn’t know.”

  “She’s fine,” Chevalier stressed.

  Quinn sighed, “Fine… but we’re also wondering why you’ve put the Cavalry into the council chambers and why no member of the Council is allowed out of the palace.”

  His eyes narrowed, “My orders have never been questioned before.”

  “You’re right… though we should have when your doppelganger was around and we’ve learned not to take your anger as a reason to let things slide.”

  “What you heard…”

  “Just tell us,” Quinn said when Chevalier hesitated.

  “It’s my responsibility as an Old One to…”

  “What?”

  “Kill you,” Chevalier said, and looked up.

  Zohn hissed, “For hearing the name of a ritual we know nothing about?”

  He nodded.

  “But…”

  “If the others come, I can’t protect you.”

  “Others?” Zohn asked.

  “The other Old Ones, if they heard it, felt it, then they’ll come to do what I couldn’t,” Chevalier explained.

  “How could they have heard?”

  “There are spies all over this city.”

  Quinn frowned, “Then we should evacuate.”

  “No, this will suffice,” Chevalier said. “I doubt anyone knows, but I’m taking precautions just in case.”

  “And Emily?”

  “I should have killed her too,” he said softly.

  Zohn leaned back and looked at the ceiling, “She didn’t know.”

  “I know.”

  “What happens to you if they find out you didn’t kill us?”

  “If the Old Ones find out, those that are staunch into the old ways of the Ancients… then I’ll be banished and scattered.”

  “What can we do?” Quinn asked.

  “Just stay protected until I figure out what to do.”

  “Do we even get to know what the ritual is?”

  “No”

  “Does Emily know?”

  Chevalier pinched his nose between his thumb and finger, “Yes.”

  Zohn’s voice broke slightly, “Did you kill her?”

  “No!” Chevalier growled. “She’s just out of view of anyone who might tell the Old Ones.”

  “Sotomar won’t kill Emily either,” Quinn said. “I would imagine he would stop the Valle.”

  “He can’t stop that many.”

  “Let’s think here… how many Old Ones are there not in retirement?” Quinn asked, deep in thought.

  “89,” Chevalier said.

  Zohn looked at him, “How do you know that?”

  Chevalier looked at him oddly, and Zohn just shook his head.

  “Ovidius knows,” Chevalier said sadly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes”

  “Why didn’t he kill her?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Quinn looked over at Chevalier, “Let’s tell William. He’ll kill Ovidius before Ovidius has a chance to get to Emily.”

  Chevalier smiled, “I already did.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “Not yet, but he’s being watched by Lt. Andrew.”

  Zohn nodded, “Now back to Emily. Can she get out of wherever you have her?”

  “No”

  “So if something happens to you, we may not be able to find her.”

  “No, you won’t… but nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  “Well you get to tell Kyle,” Quinn said, standing up. “He’s furious with you.”

  “He’ll survive,” Chevalier said as they left the private conference room.

  ***

  “Chev?” Emily whispered.

  “It’s me,” he said as he locked the door behind him. Emily ran at him and wrapped her arms around him, “It’s ok.”

  “I kept hearing noises,” she said, pulling tighter against him.

  “No one’s around here,” he said as he set her dinner down and wrapped his arms around her. “I promise, you’re safe here.”

  She nodded and stepped away from him.

  Chevalier led her over to the table and sat down when she sat and started to eat, “Did the electric blanket help?”

  “Yes, I like the generator. It’s too quiet down here,” she said, digging into the lasagna.

  “Kyle’s pretty mad at me.”

  She nodded, but continued to eat.

  “I think three weeks is enough,” Chevalier said. “I haven’t heard from a single heku about the ritual, so at the end of this week, you can go back to the palace.”

  Emily looked up at him and frowned, “You sure?”

  “No, but you can’t stay down here. It’s not healthy. If it was, you’d be down here permanently.”

  She nodded and then stood up from the table.

  “Is that all you’re going to eat?”

  “Yeah, I’m not feeling all that hot,” she said as she crawled back into bed and slid under the covers.

  He frowned, “That’s another reason we need to get you back to the palace. I like that Dr. Edwards can keep an eye on you and I still hope to get you back to Dr. Hayden.”

  “He retired.”

  “You called him?”

  “Yes”

  “So we’ll find another.”

  She shook her head, “I did… and I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “What about?”

  “I want to get fixed.”

  “Fixed?”

  “Yes, no more kids,” she said, watching for a reaction.

  He smiled, “It’s your call… I just don’t think you realize how long eternity is.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… yes you’re done having kids… 4 is enough, but what about in 300 years?”

  She frowned, “You still want me having babies in 300 years?”

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean don’t do anything drastic. You don’t know what’s going to happen in 300 years. You may want another by then.”

  “I doubt it,” she mumbled.

  Chevalier smiled, “You’d be amazed at how many new heku do things like tattoos and then regret it a few hundred years later.”

  “I can’t keep getting pregnant.”

  “Quinn thinks your birth control may not work against a heku.”

  “I have my own theory.”

  “Let’s hear it,” he said, leaning back in the chair.

  “I think my body heals… and then fixes what the birth control pill did to prevent it.”

  He nodded, “That sounds about right too.”

  “Then we go to raincoats.”

  “Do what?”

  She watched him until it sunk in, and then he shook his head, “No.”

  “So getting fixed is the only way.”

  Chevalier moved over to sit beside her on the bed, “I really don’t think during pregnancy is the time to decide this.�
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  “Why not?”

  “You’re hormonal.”

  She glared at him, “What?”

  Chevalier chuckled, “You can get mad at me all you want. You are hormonal and emotional. You always are when you’re pregnant. Now’s not the time to make life-changing decisions.”

  “The doctor said though, he can take the baby by c-section and do the hysterectomy at the same time. One surgery,” she explained.

  He lightly kissed the top of her head, “Just wait… for me.”

  She glared at him, “You do want more kids!”

  “No…”

  “Yes you do! Is that why you married me?”

  Chevalier sighed, “Are we back to that?”

  “Back to what?” she grumbled, and pulled away from him.

  “Back to calling me Equitis and being mad… I still want to know what I did to deserve that.”

  She shrugged, and stared at the bare rock wall.

  “Why won’t you tell me what the Ancient said about me?”

  “Because”

  “Oh, that’s helpful,” he said, getting frustrated.

  She looked over at him, “When you first met me… if you had known that my father was an Ancient, would you have killed me?”

  “No, I never did agree with that rule.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “You would have, then.”

  “I just said I wouldn’t.”

  Emily reached up and began to rub her belly and her breath caught slightly.

  “What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked, suddenly alarmed.

  “Go away.”

  “No, what’s wrong?”

  “Just little pains.”

  “That’s it, we’re going to the hospital,” Chevalier said, standing quickly.

  “No, we’re not,” she said as she laid back down on the bed.

  “If you’re in pain, we have to.”

  “No, we don’t! This isn’t my first baby. You keep forgetting that.”

  She saw him start to get angry, “How far along are you?”

  Emily just glared at him.

  “Damnit, Em! Why do you have to be so stubborn about this?”

  “Go away.”

  He crossed his arms, “Yeah, I’m going to leave while you’re in pain.”