Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Chevalier nodded and blurred down to the make-shift nursery on the second-floor. Alexis was frantically rocking the screaming baby.

  Chevalier took the infant from his daughter, and she nuzzled against his neck and almost immediately calmed down.

  Alexis smiled, “Ahh, a Daddy’s girl.”

  “Yes, well… Daddy can’t feed her.”

  “She’ll come around.”

  “I hope so.”

  Chevalier stayed with the baby until Emily woke up almost 12 hours later. Silas called the Elder when she was just starting to stir. Chevalier handed the baby over to Alexis, and she started to turn red as he walked out of the room. Before he got to the fifth-floor, her screams rang through the palace.

  “Anything?” Chevalier asked from the doorway.

  “No, Elder,” Silas reported. “We don’t see any sign of injuries.”

  “Out then.”

  When Chevalier was alone with Emily, he ordered breakfast and then sat down, “Em?”

  She yawned into her hand and then rolled onto her back and looked at him.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Ok,” she said, and then sat up with help. Her shoulders felt better every day, but weren’t yet strong enough to lift herself.

  Chevalier took her wrists and pulled out her arms so he could see the damage to her forearms. She tried to pull them away from him, but couldn’t manage.

  “Let go,” she whispered.

  He sighed and did as she asked, “I wish you’d tell me what that is from.”

  Emily shifted, “Where’s the baby?”

  “Screaming down with Alexis.”

  “Bring her up here.”

  He smiled, “You want to hold her?”

  “No, but if she doesn’t eat I might just explode.”

  “Oh, right,” he said, and called for the infant. He was hoping Emily would finally attach to her, but obviously it hadn’t happened yet.

  Chevalier watched the way Emily fed the baby without showing any attachment or interest. As the baby didn’t seem to care and ate hungrily, he hoped there was no lasting rift between them.

  Chapter 12

  “No sign of it still?” Zohn asked.

  Kyle shook his head, “No, since Mitch hypnotized her she’s slept through the night with no injuries. As it’s been 2 weeks, I suspect it’s over.”

  Quinn smiled, “Wonderful news. I just kept waiting for it to start again.”

  “She still won’t say what that torture is though,” Kyle said. “It’s driving the Elder crazy.”

  “I’m curious too,” Richard, the Chief Interrogator said. “Maybe if we knew, we might adopt it also.”

  “Chevalier tried explaining that to her… She stuck with her thoughts that no one, not matter how bad, should have that done to them.”

  Richard smiled, “Which only makes me want it the more.”

  Zohn glanced at the door, “Is she really dead set on doing this? It’s so soon and her arms aren’t even fully healed.”

  “Yes, she is,” Kyle said. “Chevalier is up there right now trying to talk her out of it.”

  The Chief of Defense shrugged, “Maybe she needs it. She’s always felt better out on horseback.”

  “Is she taking the baby?” Quinn asked.

  Kyle sighed, “No…well… McIntock is taking her per the Elder’s orders.”

  “How is he doing with his assignment?”

  “Really well. He’s the only member of the Cavalry that had children, so he knows what he’s doing.”

  “Was Silas mad?”

  “I think he was at first. He was the personal guard for Alexis and Dain… but we explained we thought a Newlywed had more things to think about than a tiny charge,” Kyle explained.

  Zohn nodded, “There they are.”

  Chevalier came in through the trial area and shrugged after shutting the door, “They’re just going out for a casual ride.”

  “With 6 guards at least?” Quinn asked.

  “Mark’s taking out three teams.”

  “I wonder if the Old Ones are still even after Emily.”

  Chevalier sat down at his chair and turned it toward the others, “Yes, they are.”

  Emily glanced at McIntock as he settled the baby against his shoulder, and then the group slowly headed their horses out to the hills. It was still cold out and the horse’s breath shown in the cold morning air.

  “Are we training, Sir?” Kralen asked as he rode up to meet them.

  Mark glanced at him, “Nope, just a casual ride.”

  Kralen nodded and fell in beside Emily, “How are the arms?”

  “Ok, I guess.”

  He looked forward and they rode in silence for a few minutes before Emily sighed, “What?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Kralen told her.

  “That’s the problem… let me have it.”

  “Let you have what?”

  “The same thing everyone else has been asking for the past few weeks.”

  He smiled, “I have no idea what you’re even talking about.”

  “Sure you don’t.”

  Mark looked over at McIntock when the baby started to fuss. Even though she was wrapped up in blankets, he suspected she was still getting too cold.

  McIntock pulled her closer and wrapped the blanket around her, then shrugged at Mark.

  “Em?” Mark asked.

  She looked over at him.

  “We don’t put out the body heat you do and the baby’s getting cold.”

  “Then take her back inside. I told Chev she shouldn’t be out here.”

  “She likes it when you hold her.”

  “Drop it!” Emily snapped.

  Mark ordered McIntock to return to the warmth of the palace, and then kicked his horse when Emily took off across the field. Soon, they were all heading into the trees and had already lost Emily. The sound of hooves was all that rang through the dense forest as the Cavalry fought to be the first to catch up to Emily on the racing horse.

  Mark frowned when he saw Emily pull her horse to a sudden stop and it reared angrily, but she managed to hold on.

  “What’s wrong?” Kralen asked when he pulled up alongside her. Her eyes were fixed deep into the trees and her breathing was fast.

  When she didn’t answer, Mark surveyed the trees, “Did you see something?”

  Emily couldn’t breathe as she slightly nodded.

  “What?” Mark asked.

  “Go,” Kralen whispered to the Cavalry off to his left. They took off toward where Emily was looking.

  “Em, breathe,” Mark told her. He studied her closely and saw that her body was tense and she was gripping the reins so hard her knuckles where white.

  “Him,” she managed to whisper.

  Kralen watched the Cavalry disappear in the dark trees, “Who?”

  Without another word, Emily pulled her horse hard and banked him in a hard right causing him to whinny angrily. As soon as she faced the palace, she kicked him hard and he jerked forward and flew back toward the city.

  Mark cursed and took off after her, knowing that his horse couldn’t catch up to her. He could hear her saying something, but she was too far away to make out anything more than it was frantic and not very clear.

  Kralen turned when he saw Mark take off after Emily, and then led the rest of the Cavalry out into the trees. He stopped when he saw a lone figure talking to four of Emily’s guards.

  Kralen got off of his horse and walked forward to the heku, “What’s going on?”

  “Sir!” the heku said, panicked. “I need moss… I swear, that’s all.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Magnus, Sir.”

  “I’ve seen you in the city,” Kralen said, walking around him. “Did you see Lady Emily?”

  “Yes, Sir. She looked afraid, so I left. I don’t want to scare her.”

  He nodded, “Damnit, you look a lot like Salazar.”

  “Sir?”

  “Never
mind, carry on.”

  The heku nodded and walked away, still not sure he wasn’t going to be brought in to the Council for this encounter.

  “Mount up,” Kralen said. “Let’s go.”

  Kralen kicked his horse to speed up when he saw Mark and Emily’s horses at the palace gates, untethered.

  “Where did they go?” Kralen asked the Gate Guards.

  One of them pointed down the road. Kralen followed them after telling the Cavalry to get their horses back to the stables and notify the Elder. Only a quarter of a mile away, Kralen slid off his horse when he saw that Mark had Emily pinned to the snow covered ground.

  He walked up quietly when he realized Mark had Emily’s gaze locked and was whispering gently to her.

  Kralen looked over when Chevalier blurred up, “What happened?”

  “We were racing and Emily came across a heku from the city that looks alarmingly like Salazar,” Kralen explained.

  Chevalier sighed and focused in on the comforting words Mark was whispering to Emily as he looked deep into her eyes.

  “She took off and Mark went after her. That’s all I know.”

  Chevalier nodded and waited for Mark to finish. Finally, Mark told Emily to sleep and gently picked her up off of the frozen ground. He turned to face the others.

  “She was in a blind panic,” Mark explained. “I don’t think she knew where she was going, she was just running away.”

  Chevalier nodded, “Get her inside. I still need to talk to her about going away for the weekend.”

  Mark nodded and started inside, followed by Kralen and Chevalier.

  “Elder… are you sure I can’t go with her?” Kralen asked.

  Chevalier shook his head, “I don’t want to send her to the island either. We need the ranking Cavalry here though.”

  “I know, but she doesn’t know the Cavalry you’re sending with her.”

  “As soon as she gets to the island, she’ll be with friends… Allen and Dain are already there.”

  “Maybe we should send Alexis too.”

  “Can’t, she has plans.”

  Kralen thought for a moment, “So the baby will go?”

  “We have to send her away too. We don’t know if she’ll affect the turnings.”

  Mark was just laying Emily in bed when they walked in. A servant was stoking the fires and a warm lunch was on the table.

  “Out,” Chevalier whispered. When the room was clear, he sat down and took Emily’s hand, “Em? Wake up.”

  She stirred slightly and then tensed and sat up, looking around.

  “It wasn’t Salazar,” he said, and pulled the blankets over her legs.

  Emily looked over at him, “It… it looked like him.”

  “Yes, he does resemble Salazar. You have to trust us that he’s dead.”

  She pulled her knees up against her chest and looked into the fire, “Didn’t seem to stop him.”

  “I think we have that under control.”

  Emily nodded.

  “We have an important ceremony this weekend where we turn a group of mortals.”

  She frowned, “How many?”

  “This weekend is 12.”

  “Why so many?”

  “It doesn’t happen often, but we’re turning a squadron of US Marines. When they know each other and have worked together, we try to turn them at the same time.”

  “So I’m getting sent off to a hotel?” Emily asked, and looked over at him.

  “Allen and Dain want you to come to the island.”

  She shrugged, “Fine.”

  “I don’t want to send you away though, but I don’t see as though we have a choice.”

  “No problem, I’m used to getting kicked out.”

  He studied her, “Are you taking your pills?”

  “No”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “We’ve explained that you’re still depressed though.”

  “Then back off!” she snapped, and then stood up to pack.

  “I wish you’d see that I care about you and I’m only trying to make you feel better.”

  “I wish you’d see that I’m fine.”

  “Will you take them for me?”

  Emily turned toward him with tear filled eyes, “I don’t like those.”

  “Please,” he said softly, and then moved so he could hold her. She buried her face in his chest, “Just try them.”

  She nodded and took one of the anti-depressants. Within the hour, she was in Winchester 1 with the baby and four members of the Cavalry. The ride was in silence because she didn’t know them and the baby was asleep. She didn’t want to wake her or she’d be hungry again.

  A sudden jerk made Emily cry out and the engine in the helicopter began to whine.

  She looked over just as a black helicopter appeared beside them.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, starting to panic. Memories of being in a helicopter wreck flashed back to her.

  “They’re trying to down us,” one of the Cavalry growled. He unbuckled, grabbed the baby, and handed it to Emily. She cradled the baby and looked out as another black helicopter appeared at their other side.

  “We’re going down!” the pilot yelled back.

  One heku opened the door and Emily saw the tops of trees appearing. She screamed when one of the guards grabbed her and jumped out of the helicopter just as it hit the trees. They landed moments after a loud crash sounded and an explosion rang through the dense forest.

  They looked up when a plume of fire rose above the evergreens.

  Emily finally took a breath and looked around the small, snow covered clearing.

  “Are you ok?” the heku asked her. She nodded and then her eyes grew wide when she saw a circle of heku surrounding them.

  The member of the Cavalry with her crouched toward one of them, “Stay back!”

  “Or what?” one of the intruding heku asked. “You alone are going to take on over 100 Old Ones?”

  Emily gasped and held tighter to the baby. Three of the Old Ones came forward with the other 3 members of the Cavalry in their grasp.

  After a very brief fight, the last of the Cavalry was restrained, and Emily found herself surrounded by hundreds of angry looking heku.

  “Get back,” she whispered. As much as she wanted to sound angry, terror had taken over.

  One of the heku smiled, “Or what? You’ll turn all 100 of us to ash? Fall unconscious and then be destroyed? You, my Dear, forced us to awaken more Old Ones just to deal with you.”

  “Which faction are you?”

  “When something threatens the way of the heku… factions don’t matter.”

  “What do you want, then?” she asked. The others had stopped walking toward her and she was aware that there was no escape. She was angry enough that ashing them wouldn’t be a problem, but she wondered if it took more energy to ash a mass of Old Ones. If so, she risked falling unconscious and freezing to death. A sudden feeling of protectiveness swept over Emily and she clutched the baby tighter.

  “You are an abomination. The second Chevalier found out you are the product of an Ancient and a mortal union, you should have been killed.”

  Emily frowned, “That’s not my fault.”

  “It doesn’t matter… You’re the first known offspring of an Ancient and you shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

  She took a step back, “So you’re here to kill me?”

  “Yes, we are. We’ve watched you closely, to see if you were going to push the limits of what a mortal should know. By simply speaking the name of a ritual banned from anyone but the Old Ones, we decided you’ve overstepped and have to be destroyed.”

  “I’m not going to stand here and let you kill me.”

  He smiled and looked at the baby, “Your children will have to be killed also. They have too much Ancient blood to live.”

  “No!” Emily screamed, “You stay away from my kids.”

  “You have to see that you are bad
for the heku as a whole,” he said, smiling evilly. “We won’t stand by and see our species destroyed all because one Ancient did what he was banned from doing.”

  “I won’t use the stuff I know! I swear to it.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It was pushing our limits when we discovered that you negatively affect the turning process… but when you spoke the name of a forbidden ritual, and then attempted to perform another, it became clear that it’s time for your existence to end.”

  “Chevalier won’t stand for this.”

  “I’m sure he’ll attempt to destroy us. However, he’s one of the eldest Old Ones and deep in his heart he knows you should have been destroyed at birth and not allowed to walk the earth.”

  “We will make it painless, Child,” another Old One said. He stepped forward and his hands were tensed into tight fists.

  Emily shook her head and pulled out her cell phone. Even though Chevalier had the files erased, she had the foresight to make copies beforehand for emergencies.

  “You’re going to call for help?” he asked, laughing.

  “No, I’m not,” Emily whispered. She quickly pulled up the ritual the vault Ancient let her read, and took a deep breath before speaking, “Please work…”

  “What?” he asked, stepping back some.

  Emily smiled suddenly, and then shut her eyes and started to chant, “Ego voco cruor…”

  “What are you doing?” one of them gasped.

  “Ego ordo vos dimitto somnium,” she said, and the ground again began to shake.

  “Stop her!” the closest heku roared.

  “Aboleo heku ex vestri somnium.”

  Four Old Ones began to move toward her, but were thrown back onto the ground of the forest, writhing in pain, along with the heku in the trees.

  “Ego voco aboleo,” she whispered, watching as they screamed in pain.

  ***

  Zohn turned suddenly when Chevalier’s chair fell back and smashed against the ground. His back was arched and the veins in his neck stood out as he groaned.

  “What’s going on?” Kyle asked, kneeling beside the Elder.

  “I don’t know,” Quinn whispered.

  Chevalier’s body was wracked with intense pain and every muscle bulged and he began to convulse.