Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Kyle bent down and gently kissed her bruised hand, and then looked up at her, “We’ll stop this, and this is how we’re going to start.”

  “What happened to my arms?”

  Dr. Edwards sat down beside Emily, “We think he used an old interrogator’s torture called the pendulum. It often resulted in dislocated shoulders.”

  “What information did he want?” Emily’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  “We don’t know.”

  “I want to be alone.”

  Dr. Edwards nodded and then left, but Kyle stayed beside her on the bed.

  “He’s gone,” Kyle told her.

  “You too.”

  “I can’t leave you alone right now.”

  Emily finally looked over at him, “Do you care about me?”

  “Of course I do. What kind of question is that?”

  “Will you do anything for me?”

  He gently wiped the hair away from her forehead, “Yes.”

  “Kill me.”

  He sighed, “I should rephrase that. Anything but that.”

  “I can’t do this.”

  “You’re stronger than you even know. Look what you’ve been through already and survived.”

  “Not this… I can’t do this.”

  Kyle looked over when Emily’s cell phone rang from across the room, “Do you want me to get that?”

  She nodded and watched as he answered her phone.

  “Kyle here.”

  He smiled, “Yes I know whose phone this is.”

  After a short pause, he shrugged, “Ok, hold on.”

  Kyle turned to her, “Andrew wants to talk to you.”

  Emily tried to reach out for the phone, but the pain in her shoulders sent sharp stabs down into her chest and she cried out softly.

  “I’ll hold it,” Kyle said, and put the phone on speaker before sitting down. “Andrew, you’re on speakerphone. Emily can’t hold the phone.”

  “Why not?” he asked skeptically.

  Emily sighed, “He broke my shoulders.”

  “Who did!?

  “Salazar”

  “He’s free?”

  “No”

  There was a pause, “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either, but he’s going to kill me,” she said, her voice cracking.

  “Then kill him!”

  “That’s what I mean. Chevalier is killing him and I’m going to pay for that.”

  “He can’t kill you if he’s dead,” Andrew said.

  Emily glared at the phone, “Yes he can, and he will! I told them not to kill him.”

  “I know you’re upset,” Andrew told her. “I realize this is bringing back a lot of what happened… but killing him has to stop it. If he’s the one hurting you, then he can’t do it from the grave.”

  “Yes he can!” she yelled. “Why won’t you heku listen to me!?”

  “Calm down, ok? I am listening. I just don’t understand how you can think he’s going to kill you when he’s dead.”

  “How is he beating me from prison?” she asked. Kyle could tell she was on the verge of breaking down again.

  “I don’t know how you’re certain it’s him and not some Equites,” Andrew growled.

  “It’s not us!” Kyle hissed.

  “Yeah right, she’s in your care. No one else is even around yet she seems to keep getting injured.”

  “Stop it,” Emily whispered, but both of the heku grew quiet. “Andrew, I need a favor.”

  “Em…” Kyle sighed.

  “Name it,” Andrew told her.

  “I need you to come and get me.”

  “What!?” Kyle hissed.

  “I’ll be right there,” Andrew said.

  “Wait!”

  “What?”

  “She just wants you to kill her,” Kyle said.

  “Em?” Andrew asked.

  She nodded, but could only manage a soft whisper, “Please…”

  “I’m not going to kill you.”

  “I can’t do this. Why won’t you all help me?”

  “We are helping you, Em. No one wants you dead,” Kyle said.

  “Fine! You’re both are about as loyal as the Valle,” she snapped, and then started to cry softly.

  Andrew sighed, “When you feel better and this is all over, you’ll see our side.”

  “Hang up,” Emily said, and then watched Kyle disconnect and put the phone back on the table.

  Kyle sat down, “By now, Salazar is dead.”

  “Unless Chev decided to torture him first.”

  “I don’t think he did. He was too mad.”

  Suddenly, Emily gasped and her eyes grew wide.

  “What?” Kyle asked, wondering what she’d thought of now.

  “Go away,” she whispered as her body tensed.

  “No, tell me what… what’s that smell?” he asked, frowning. “Are you bleeding?”

  “Go away!” she screamed.

  “I said no! Tell me what’s wrong!”

  Emily sent a quick flash of burning to him and he stood suddenly, grasping his shirt. Her eyes widened when his body tensed and he growled as his hands tightened into fists.

  “Silas!” Emily screamed when the rage crossed Kyle’s face.

  Silas appeared almost immediately, “What’s… Chief Enforcer, no!”

  Kyle lunged at Emily just as Silas dove for him, knocking him back into the table. It shattered as the two began to fight and the room suddenly filled with Cavalry and members of the Council.

  Richard was the first to turn to Emily, “What’s that scent?”

  She looked up at him and masked her emotions, “Get everyone out of here.”

  “It’s part blood,” he said, inhaling deeply.

  Richard looked down at her with predatory eyes and Emily tried to scramble out of bed, but her arms were no longer under her control. Zohn and Quinn appeared in the fray with more of the Cavalry. They began quickly putting menthol lined masks on those fighting.

  Silas and Kralen finally got control of Kyle and pulled him out of the room.

  Richard gasped when he regained control, “Oh my God, Em, I’m so sorry.”

  “Last warning… everyone get out!” she screamed.

  Zohn ordered everyone to leave, and the room quickly cleared out of heku, except for Quinn and Zohn.

  “You too,” Emily said to them.

  “No, what’s that scent? I caught it briefly,” Quinn asked.

  “My God, get out!” Before he could respond, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly and took a slow, deep breath.

  Zohn frowned and watched her. When she looked up at him, he sighed, “Are your shoulders hurting again?”

  “I swear, get out or I’ll ash you two.”

  “We promised Chevalier that you wouldn’t be alone.”

  Quinn smiled, “We also don’t think you’ll ash us… just tell us what’s going on. If your shoulders are hurting again we can call for the doctor.”

  “No!” Emily said frantically.

  “I’m sorry,” Kyle said, walking calmly into the room with his mask. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “We know,” Zohn said. “Did you catch that scent?”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Kyle, no!” Emily screamed. “Get out!”

  “No, and I’ve already called Dr. Alona.”

  “I hate you,” she hissed.

  Kyle smiled, “I know. I’ve also called Chevalier back and Alexis is on her way in.”

  “For what?” Zohn asked.

  “Her water broke. That’s why she’s trying to get everyone out of here.”

  “Isn’t it too early?” Zohn asked, frowning.

  Kyle was still watching Emily, “I’ve suspected for a while that the doctors had the date wrong and she knows it.”

  Emily huffed and watched the window as another pain started and shot through her back. She hated nothing more than being watched and had hoped to avoid a heku audience for this birth.

  “
What’s the problem?” Dr. Alona asked as he and Dr. Edwards casually stepped into the room. With their menthol lined masks, neither could catch any scents in the room.

  Kyle smiled as he watched Emily glare out the window, “Em’s water broke.”

  “Hm, it’s a bit early,” Dr. Alona said. Another pain hit Emily, but she didn’t react and just braced herself and watched out the window.

  “The baby could be underdeveloped,” Dr. Edwards told the Elders. “We can’t exactly take it to a hospital without explaining where the mother is.”

  “So we stop the labor somehow?” Zohn asked.

  Dr. Alona shook his head, “No, we can’t. Once the amniotic sack ruptures, we have to take the baby.”

  “How far away is Chevalier?” Quinn asked Kyle.

  “Only about 20 minutes.”

  “Mom?” Alexis asked, stepping into the room.

  Emily didn’t answer.

  “Do you all need to be in here? This isn’t a spectator sport,” Alexis said. She tensed briefly when it dawned on her that she’d spoken to the Elders like that.

  Quinn nodded, “She’s right, let’s go.”

  “You too,” Zohn said to Kyle as he passed.

  “What? Why? I’ve been there for all of them.”

  “If Chevalier decides you can be in here then you may return,” Quinn told him and disappeared from the room.

  “Oh, don’t give a damn what Emily wants… if Chevalier wants it…,” Emily grumbled.

  Kyle sighed and followed Zohn out of the room.

  Alexis sat down, “How bad is it?”

  “It’s not, yet,” Emily told her, and then turned and glared at the two doctors. “Get out, Alexis can call when we need you.”

  “It’s customary for the doctor to stay in during labor though,” Dr. Alona told her.

  “It’s also customary for me to ash your asses if you don’t get out!”

  Dr. Edwards thought and then stepped out of the room.

  “That’s a start,” Emily said. She started to say more, but another contraction hit.

  Alexis looked over at him, “Do you absolutely have to be in here for this part?”

  “Well… no… but if something goes wrong…”

  “You’re a heku. If something goes wrong I’ll call for you.”

  He sighed and then nodded, “Very well. I’ll clear out the palace.”

  Alexis smiled and turned back to Emily when it was just the two of them in the room, “There, no more audience. Would it help to sit up?”

  Emily sighed, “I can’t move my arms.”

  “Why not?”

  “Salazar dislocated my shoulders.”

  Alexis gasped, “When was that?”

  “In my sleep. He’s going to kill me.”

  “I thought Dad killed him.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Emily said, and her last word turned into a slight groan from pain.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  “Take the baby, Alex.”

  When another pain hit, Alexis got a cold wash cloth from the bathroom and laid it across Emily’s forehead, “Things will work out.”

  Both looked over when the door flew open and Chevalier blurred into the room. He shut the door while watching Emily, and then sat down on the bed opposite Alexis.

  “Did you do it?” Emily asked him.

  He nodded, “Yes. That should stop it.”

  “You’ve killed me then,” she whispered.

  “He can’t hurt you now that he’s dead.”

  ***

  “It’s a girl!” Dr. Alona said with a smile. He handed the screaming baby over to Kyle, who wrapped her in a warm blanket.

  Chevalier smiled and brushed the hair off of Emily’s sweat covered forehead, “It’s a girl, Em.”

  She turned her face away from him and shut her eyes.

  After a few minutes, Chevalier looked over at Dr. Alona, “So?”

  He smiled, “She’s doing well, not a lot of bleeding this time. Enough she’ll be tired though. I’m happy with the 8 hour labor, that’s better.”

  Chevalier took Emily’s hand and kissed it softly, “How are you feeling?”

  She didn’t answer, but kept looking away from the heku in the room.

  Alexis took the baby from Kyle and smiled, “Mom, she’s beautiful. She has red hair and green eyes, just like you.”

  Dr. Alona finally lowered the sheet and stood up, “Why don’t you try to feed her.”

  “Get it a bottle,” Emily said, and rolled onto her side away from them. Her arms screamed in that position, but she didn’t want to face any of them and was just hoping they would leave.

  Chevalier frowned, “You hate bottles.”

  When she didn’t answer, Alexis took the baby out of the room and ordered supplies to feed her.

  Dr. Alona, too softly for Emily to hear, explained to both Chevalier and Kyle about post-partum depression.

  “Em?” Chevalier asked softly, and touched her arm.

  “Go away.”

  “I know you don’t want the baby now… but you will very soon and I think if she’s bottle trained you’ll regret it.”

  “If you want it nursed so badly, you do it. Let it make your nipples bleed and wake you up in the middle of the night,” Emily mumbled.

  “Well at least she’s being rational,” Kyle whispered, and then smiled slightly.

  Dr. Alona chuckled, “Let me give you a pain medication and then you can get some sleep.”

  She shocked everyone in the room by nodding. Still surprised, he gave her a shot hesitantly, fully expecting her to change her mind and turn him to ash in an instant. Slowly, her breathing slowed down and she relaxed.

  “I can’t believe she agreed to that,” Kyle whispered.

  Dr. Edwards came in with the baby and a bottle in his hand, “She won’t take it.”

  “Let me try,” Kyle said, and took the baby from the doctor. He expertly rocked the newborn, but she began to scream when her lips hit the hard rubber nipple, “Well…”

  Chevalier looked over at Emily, “She’s knocked out… just… do it.”

  Dr. Alona gasped, “We can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll get her to feed,” Kyle said, and left the room before the baby woke Emily up. The infant’s screams soon filled the palace.

  Zohn came into the bedroom, “Another screamer?”

  “She’s just hungry,” Chevalier assured him.

  “So feed her.”

  “We’re trying! Emily doesn’t… well… we have a bottle, but she won’t take it.”

  Dr. Alona sat down beside sleeping Emily and listened to her heart and lungs, “Think she’d go for an IV?”

  “No,” Chevalier said bluntly. “Why?”

  “She didn’t lose a lot of blood, but she did lose enough that I don’t like her color.”

  “Then do it while she’s knocked out.”

  Dr. Edwards disappeared and returned with supplies. He watched Emily sleep while Dr. Alona put in an IV and started a fresh supply of blood.

  “At least she’s resting,” Dr. Edwards said. He then smiled, “Getting rid of the attacker must have helped.”

  “I don’t trust it,” Chevalier said, watching her closely. He reached out and pulled the covers down to the foot of the bed, “I just want to know if she’s being attacked again.”

  “Touch her,” Zohn suggested.

  Chevalier reached out slowly and wrapped his hand around her ankle.

  “Get out!” the voice screamed at him.

  Chevalier fought the instinct to jerk his hand away, and looked quickly around the room. It was unfamiliar to him, but the gray banner above the door said enough.

  “I said get out!” Salazar screamed at him. He was holding a leather strap in his hand. Emily was hanging from high shackles, facing the wall as blood trailed down fresh marks on her back. He could tell from her breathing that she was in a great deal of pain.

  Chevalier couldn’t m
ove in the dream, his entire body was frozen and he watched in horror as Salazar brought Emily down from the shackles, looked at Chevalier, and then sent Emily flying with a strong backhand.

  Chevalier opened his eyes when he felt Emily’s ankle leave his grasp. He spun away from the empty bed and the entire room was a blur. In an instant, Emily flew across the room and landed hard up against the rock wall. Her head smash against the stone, but as she fell, Kyle appeared and caught her before she could hit the floor.

  He gently laid her down on the floor as the doctors blurred around her, checking for injuries. Chevalier watched, in shock, as a bruise formed on her cheek and quickly spread into her eye, swelling it shut. A small trickle of blood appeared from the corner of her mouth.

  Once the doctors were sure that Emily didn’t have a head or neck injury, Dr. Edwards picked her up carefully and gently laid her in bed. He then stepped back and looked over at the Elder, “What did you see?”

  Chevalier found it hard to even speak, and when he did, his voice was malicious, “It is Salazar. He’s beating her in her sleep.”

  “You killed him!” Kyle gasped.

  “He’s still doing it somehow.”

  “We have a problem,” Dr. Alona said. The other heku looked over at him. They hadn’t noticed he was examining Emily.

  “What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked, taking a step closer.

  Dr. Alona looked up at Dr. Edwards, “She’s bleeding internally.”

  “Get more B positive!” Dr. Edwards yelled before pushing on the IV bag to make it faster.

  Zohn frowned slightly, “You said she wasn’t bleeding badly.”

  “She wasn’t until she was thrown up against a wall,” Dr. Alona snapped. He shut his eyes and then looked over, “She’s dropping fast. Her heart rate is too fast.”

  As Chevalier focused in on Emily, he heard her heart racing and her breathing was too fast. She’d broken out in a sweat and was losing her color.

  While Dr. Edwards pushed against the bag of blood, he explained, “Labor and delivery is traumatic. That’s why the long recovery. Everything inside of a woman is pushed up during pregnancy and then is assaulted and slowly moved back into place after delivery. By slamming her into a wall, he further damaged already irritated organs and tissue.”

  “Her hands are mottled,” Dr. Alona said, and then looked up at Dr. Edwards. “We need to get her to a hospital before she bleeds out.”

  “Can’t you do that here?”