Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Oh, that’s right. Take Winchester 1, will you? It’ll be faster than driving.”

  Not sure why, her stomach lurched at the thought of flying, “I’d rather drive.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged, “I just would. We’ll be back in a few days.”

  He nodded, “Very well… take guards though.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “No”

  “Then sure,” she mumbled. Sotomar looked around the room once before heading down to trials. Emily packed a quick bag, and then started down for the garage.

  “We aren’t flying?” one of the Imperial Guards said as he fell in behind her.

  “No, Hillock, I’d rather drive.”

  “You just want out of the palace.”

  She nodded, “Don’t you?”

  “No”

  “Did you get the equipment gathered?” she asked as she slid into the seat of the black Tahoe.

  “Sure did. Let’s get going,” Hillock said when he slid into the driver’s seat. He turned and looked over at Emily, “Are you ok?”

  “Yeah, why?” she asked, though that wasn’t entirely true. She felt strange, as if things we covered by a façade or she wasn’t in touch with the things around her. It seemed that if she were to reach out and touch something, it might not be solid beneath her fingers.

  “You’re just quiet.”

  “I’m just running through what we need to do. I want to get this over with and get back.”

  He pulled out of the Valle’s city and started along the interstate.

  “We aren’t going near the Equites, are we?” she asked, looking back at the guards with them.

  “Nope, far from it.”

  “We can protect you from them, though,” one of the Imperial Guards said.

  Emily looked at him, unbelieving, “The five of you are going to protect me from the largest faction?”

  “Well… not the entire faction.”

  “I just don’t want to go near them… tired of getting kidnapped.”

  Hillock smiled, “We’ll be ok.”

  “The Equites might back off if you’d publicly swear your allegiance to the Valle,” one of the Imperial Guards said after a few minutes of silence.

  “I told you… that doesn’t feel right to me.”

  “But why?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m mortal.”

  “You’re more heku than mortal.”

  She shrugged and watched out the window. If they were going to keep bugging her about it, this would be a long trip. She hated when they brought it up, nothing to her felt right about swearing her allegiance to the Valle.

  Sotomar was the one pushing for that the most, and it irritated her at times. She hated how she remained bonded to him, even though there was no love between them, well, love from her to him. She often suspected that Sotomar was in love with her, but she’d never felt that way about him.

  Late that night they arrived at SDR Coven, one of the largest and most technologically advanced in the Valle. They were greeted at the gates by six guards in gray capes, and they inspected each in the Tahoe before waving them into the compound.

  “Cheery bunch,” Emily said when they passed through the thick cement walls.

  Hillock smiled, “They have every right to be cautious.”

  “Still, I’m on the Council for hell’s sake… they could at least be nice,” she grumbled.

  He chuckled and pulled up to the main house, located in the center of the compound. Guards rushed out and opened the door for those from the main city.

  “Are we ready?” Hillock asked the closest one.

  “Yes, Sir,” the heku replied, and then showed them into the house.

  “Lady Emily!” the Coven Lord said. “It’s such an honor to have you here in my home.”

  She decided to dispense with any pleasantries, “Where will we be setting up the cameras?”

  “In our main conference room. Let me show you,” he said, and then gently took her arm. Emily had the fleeting image of someone grabbing the Coven Lord and tearing him apart for touching her, but the thought was unwarranted. Sotomar didn’t care who touched her, as long as it was appropriate and gentle.

  The conference room was massive, with a large table in the center made of ancient oak. The chairs were all large enough to comfortably accommodate any heku, so when Emily sat down, she was instantly uncomfortable.

  “We’re going to check on the routers we put up,” Hillock said. “Why don’t you start setting up the camera and laptop?”

  She nodded, “Fine.”

  Emily looked again around the conference room, and then opened the laptop and started setting up its internal camera. She nodded when she saw the wireless kick on, and then loaded up the program that they would use to contact the Valle Council.

  The prompt came up for the IP address of the one to call, and she frowned slightly when a number popped into her head. Shrugging, she typed the IP into the box, and then pressed connect.

  “… Connecting to Andrew Jones” flashed onto the screen. She gasped and quickly disconnected the line, then checked to make sure no one knew. She wondered how it was she knew the IP address to contact the Encala’s Chief Interrogator, but knew how mad Sotomar would be if he found out.

  Emily dug through the registry, erasing any evidence of the IP address before she put in the one for the Valle Council.

  “… Connecting Valle Council” appeared and she waited for them to answer.

  “Oh, that was fast,” Elder Ryan said. Emily watched as the three Valle Elders came into view, “How does it look?”

  “Looks clear from here. How is it there?”

  “Beautiful,” Sotomar said, amused. Emily tensed and then adjusted the audio settings, “How was the trip?”

  “Boring, actually,” she said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Why don’t you turn over to the cam with the full Council?”

  Ryan nodded and then reached out and pushed a button. Emily looked up and this time saw a far-away view of the entire Council, “I don’t like that one.”

  “Why not?” Valle Elder Randall asked.

  “I can’t make any of you out. You’re too tiny.”

  “You’re one to talk,” he said, laughing.

  She changed some settings on the laptop. “I wouldn’t use that one unless you have to.”

  “How’s it going?” Hillock asked, stepping in.

  “Fine,” Emily said. “I don’t like the signal strength though. It’s going to make them choppy to the Council.”

  “It does seem slow,” Sotomar said.

  Hillock spun suddenly toward the door, “Wait…”

  Emily looked over, “What’s wrong?”

  He growled, “We’re under attack.”

  “What!? Who?” she gasped, and stood up.

  “Equites…”

  “Get her out of there!” Sotomar yelled.

  “No,” Emily said, frowning. “I’m not running from the Equites.”

  “Hillock…” Ryan hissed.

  She reached over and shut the laptop, cutting off the connection to the Valle Council.

  “Let’s go,” Hillock said, taking her arm. “There’s a safe passage out of the compound from in the castle.”

  “No,” she told him, pulling her arm out of his grasp. “I’m going to have a chat with them.”

  “The Council said…”

  She cut him off with a glare and then walked out of the castle. There was a siren going off, but the rest of the city was eerily quiet. She heard shouting as she neared the front of the compound, and then saw heku gathered, ready to defend their city.

  “We won’t stand by and take it,” a familiar voice yelled.

  Emily pushed through to the front and came face-to-face with General Skinner from the Equites’ Powan Coven.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” she asked, crossing her arms.

  General Skinner gasped, “Lady Emily!”


  “Yeah… I’m here… so I suggest you get your asses out of here before I turn all your puppies to ash.”

  His eyes narrowed, “Let her go.”

  She glared at him, “Let me go? No one’s holding me here.”

  “But… are you ok?”

  “Like you care! Leave this coven alone or face me.”

  “I… I don’t understand,” he said, and took a step back.

  “What don’t you understand? I’m not going to let the Equites bully us around just because you’re bigger,” she told him.

  He frowned slightly and then called a retreat before turning back to her, “We’ll protect you if you want to come with us.”

  Emily started to laugh, “Why would I leave with you?”

  “We can take you back to Council City.”

  “Ohhh, I get it,” Emily said sarcastically. “You don’t wanna bother kidnapping me this time, so instead you’ll ask me to come nicely?”

  “Wh… what?” Skinner asked, confused.

  “Ashing your canines in three…”

  Skinner backed up slowly, still watching her.

  “Two…”

  Suddenly, the entire area disappeared of Powans.

  Emily smiled and turned to Hillock, “There…”

  “Sotomar didn’t want you to confront them. He wanted you to leave,” Hillock reminded her.

  “I don’t run from a fight,” she said, and started back for the city.

  ***

  “She what?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

  General Skinner nodded, “We offered to help her, and she just threatened us to leave.”

  “She could be protecting the Powans,” Kyle said.

  “At least now we know for certain the Valle have her,” Zohn said, turning to Chevalier.

  “Anything else?” Chevalier asked the Powan Coven Lord.

  “No, Sir. She looked to be in good health and well taken care of.”

  “Very well, you may go.”

  General Skinner disappeared.

  Kyle turned to Chevalier, “We going then?”

  “Yes, I want to find out from the Valle what the hell they are thinking,” Chevalier said.

  “Wait a few days,” Zohn suggested. “Maybe Emily will return to the palace.”

  “Damnit, protecting the Powans may have gotten her punished.”

  “You can’t tell?” Quinn asked.

  “No, actually. For some reason I’m not getting anything from her right now.”

  “That’s weird. The bond is still there?”

  “Yes, though it’s weakening.”

  “Wait a few days… then we’ll go talk to them.”

  Chevalier hissed, “It’s been 3 weeks…”

  “A few more days and maybe she will have returned to the palace,” Quinn said.

  ***

  “If it’s hurt badly, the Council will kill us,” one of the Valle Palace Guards said, grimacing.

  Emily looked down at her thumb, “Honestly… I just tore a nail on the bowling ball.”

  “Still… there’s blood.”

  “They can’t blame you for that! I’m accident prone.”

  “Let me look,” one of the Imperial Guards said, and then gently took her hand.

  Emily looked over when she heard shouting, “Who’s the Council fighting with?”

  “The Equites are here,” he said, and then flipped her hand over to study the other side.

  “Would you stop?” Emily sighed. “It’s a tiny cut.”

  When the shouting got louder, she headed toward the Door Guard posted outside of the council chambers.

  “They’re nasty today, Lady Emily,” he told her. “Elder Sotomar requested that you not go in.”

  She crossed her arms and faced him, “He’s not my Elder.”

  The Door Guard chuckled and watched her walk in.

  “Behave!” she shouted.

  Chevalier, Kyle, Mark, and Kralen turned suddenly toward her. They watched, confused, as she skirted around them and made her way up to the council stand, where she sat down beside Sotomar. They were shocked to see her in all black with her hair hanging down against her back. Her features seemed darker and somehow malevolent.

  “I suggest you keep a civil tongue or I’ll ash you,” Emily said, glaring at the Equites.

  “Em?” Chevalier asked, frowning. “Are you ok?”

  “I’m none of your concern.”

  “But…”

  “Leave her alone,” Sotomar said. “We can carry on this conversation civilly now.”

  “Return her to us!” Kyle yelled.

  Ryan smiled, “Why would we turn her over to you?”

  “She’s my wife,” Chevalier growled.

  Emily stood up and leaned forward, “Wife!? You tortured me into marrying you! I’ve divorced you already, so drop the wife shit and leave me alone.”

  “I’ve never tortured you.”

  “Oh… so my time in your Alaska mansion was what? A figment of my imagination?”

  “My Alaska mansion?”

  “I thought heku had perfect memory… how’s about the two years you kept me from the Valle and locked me in a cage… that torture ring a bell?” she asked angrily.

  Sotomar sat back and smiled where Emily couldn’t see him.

  “That wasn’t him,” Kyle said to her. “Do… do you believe that?”

  “Of course it was him!” she yelled.

  “What did you do?” Chevalier growled at the Council.

  “We aren’t sure what you mean,” Randall said calmly.

  Emily met Chevalier’s eye, “Try to remember when the Equites kidnapped me so my Ancient father could try to force me to marry you… I wiped out the entire Equites palace and half of the city… and now I’m tempted to do it again.”

  “That wasn’t us,” Kralen said, shocked. “That was the Encala…”

  “Shut up!”

  “But…”

  “No more lies. Stop blaming the Encala too… it’s pathetic. You’re the largest faction, yet you can’t even take responsibility for your own stupidity,” Emily yelled, and then sat down.

  Kyle studied her for a second before speaking, “What about your children?”

  She shook her head and smiled slightly, “I can’t have children… I thought that was well known.”

  “You have to believe us, Em,” Chevalier said softly. “It’s got to be in there somewhere… the truth…”

  She glared at him, “Finish your business and get out of my city.”

  “We’ll behave if we can talk to the Valle Council alone.”

  “No”

  “I actually think we’re done,” Sotomar said.

  “We’ll be in touch,” Mark said as Kyle forced Chevalier out of the room.

  Once the Equites were back on the Interstate headed for Council City, Chevalier spoke, “What happened?”

  “Brainwashed by the Valle again,” Mark suggested.

  “How much though?”

  Kyle shrugged, “Leave it to the Valle to figure out how to embed themselves into her psyche.”

  “It’s disturbing to see how she glares at us like she does when the Valle visit,” Kralen said as he watched out the window.

  “So what now?” Kyle asked. “They’ve somehow placed Chevalier in a lot of really bad incidents in her life.”

  “We kidnap her and see if we can erase what they’ve done,” Chevalier said.

  “How hard can it be?” Mark asked. “They kidnap her all the time.”

  “We just need to keep Kyle away from any interaction with her,” Chevalier said.

  “What? Why?” Kyle asked.

  “She’s never hesitated ashing a Chief Enforcer before. I’d rather not have to call the Encala back yet again.”

  “Speaking of Encala,” Mark said. “I wonder if they know.”

  “I don’t know. They may not care as long as the Valle let her stay friends with them.”

  “Once we have her, what do we do?” Kralen asked. />
  “We find out how they did what they did and try to reverse it.”

  “If we can…”

  “Let’s just get back and see what we can find,” Chevalier said. “If we can, we’ll call in some of our spies from the Valle palace.”

  “She looks different though,” Mark mentioned.

  Chevalier just nodded and drove toward Council City.

  ***

  “How frustrating!” Emily yelled as she paced across her bedroom.

  “It’s ok,” Sotomar told her. “Just calm down.”

  “I don’t want to calm down! How dare he walk in here and act like he’s never done anything wrong to me. They keep coming here to visit and just deny they’ve done anything!”

  “The Equites are playing at something is all. Probably another misguided attempt to kidnap you.”

  “Yeah well they may not have to wait long…”

  “What are you planning?” Sotomar asked, his body tensing.

  “I’m going to go to their precious city and wipe them out.”

  “I know that sounds like a good idea to you… but… please, just wait this out.”

  “How can I? They won’t leave me alone… they’ll never leave me alone.”

  Sotomar felt the first pangs of guilt, but bottled them up inside, “They will, I promise. Someday this will all be over and you’ll be able to comfortably live with the knowledge that no one will ever take you away from the Valle.”

  She shook her head, “It’ll never happen. I’m not a real being to the factions. I’m a soulless lump that’s passed around and used to serve the whim of the heku.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Yes, it is,” she said, tearing up. “It’s like when the Equites kidnapped me and used me to wipe out Valle and Encala Covens.” When she couldn’t fight the tears any longer, she ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

  Sotomar watched her and silently hoped that soon she’d feel safe with the Valle. He wasn’t sure how many centuries it would take for Chevalier’s hold on her to fully release, but he figured within the next fifty years, she may be somewhat free from his grasp, and he hers.

  Emily sat in the bathroom and had a good cry. She couldn’t explain the hole she felt in her heart, but wrongly assumed it was because of the visit by the Equites. She looked around the bathroom, trying to figure out again why nothing seemed real, why nothing seemed like it belonged.