“Nooo!” she screamed as the terror peaked, and then all grew quiet. Kyle looked at her, his eyes wide. The other male heku spun to face her and she noticed the large gash down the side of his body. She couldn’t see the other four enemy heku.
The look of shock on Kyle’s face lessened as he realized who she was. He’d heard the stories, knew of the rumors, but now he knew it was true. He’d been protecting one of the Winchesters.
Emily’s body began to shake as she realized how close she’d come to being taken by the enemy heku. Kyle and the other man looked tired and haggard, she understood by the looks in their eyes that they had been losing.
“Shut that door,” Kyle barked at the other man, who immediately sprang into action. They began to throw the remains of the first heku to die into a pile and she noticed how both of them carefully avoided going anywhere near the ash on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Kyle,” she said with tears welling into her eyes.
He looked at her differently. She was no longer the weak, delicate human to which he had grown close. She was now a deadly weapon, a heku killer, with the power to kill in less than a second. There was no defense against her, no way to avoid her. She noticed the change in his eyes, the way he stared at her from across the room as if afraid to come to her and she buried her face in her hands.
Kyle frowned as she hid her face and he realized that, though a powerful weapon, she wasn’t an unfeeling killer. She was still his beautiful and fragile mortal. He walked slowly to her and sat at her side, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest, thankful for the touch.
The door opened noiselessly and Chevalier stepped through, his eyes enraged at the sight of Kyle with his arms wrapped around Emily. He was more infuriated when Kyle didn’t let go as he stared at them, and then he saw it. The ash on the floor of the protective cave, the unconscious member of his own coven, and the dismembered body of an enemy, and he growled.
Emily’s eyes were still hidden in Kyle’s chest, so she wasn’t aware of how quickly Chevalier killed the heku from his own coven and added the parts to the pile in the corner. He looked at Kyle and glared.
“I’m not going to tell anyone, Chevalier,” he said, trying to save his own life.
“Let go of her,” Chevalier demanded.
Kyle released his hold on Emily and she was in Chevalier’s arms in a second, cradled against his chiseled chest and her body shook cruelly, “I’m so sorry, Chev. I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s ok, Em, it’s ok.” He stroked her hair lightly, his eyes still glaring at Kyle.
“Chief Enforcer…” Kyle whispered.
“One word…” he hissed at Kyle.
“Never.” Kyle’s eyes met his straight on, he wasn’t lying, “I’ve promised my life to protect her.”
“Go help clean up, there are still a few Encala running around the city.”
Kyle nodded and disappeared up the steps.
Chevalier sat Emily down on the chair and knelt to face her, “You did very well, I’m proud of you. Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” He glanced over her, looking for any sign of an injury.
She shook her head and stared at the ashes, “I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s alright.” He kissed her forehead, “You know if they had gotten to you, they would have killed you… you defended yourself, nothing more.”
She nodded, “What is going on?”
Chevalier sat beside her on the long couch and sighed, he’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, this soon, “There are three main factions among the immortals. The three have been warring since long before your ancestors were figuring out how to make fire.”
She watched his eyes.
“The Encala, they are the most troublesome of the factions. They like to start war over insignificant things and also like to think they are much stronger than we are. They were the ones here today and found themselves gravely outnumbered and out strengthened.
He watched her for a moment, and then continued when she didn’t speak, “There’s also the Valle faction. They are more peaceful than both mine and the Encala, but won’t stand by for long if they feel threatened. My faction, the Equites, is the largest and strongest of the three. We’ve all lived peacefully for almost a hundred and fifty years, but lately, we’ve been receiving word that the Encala are getting restless. They tried to enlist the Valle to join forces and exterminate all of the Equites.”
Chevalier touched her hand softly, “The Valle were offended by this and sent word that a war was starting.”
“So you knew this was coming?” She looked at him shocked.
“I only knew it was a possibility.”
“You should have told me,” she said angrily.
“I know, I realize that now. I was hoping it wouldn’t come down to these petty attacks and we could avoid a war.” He reached down and brushed his lips softly to hers.
“But it’s over now…” she said, pulling away from him.
He shook his head.
“Can’t the Elders help? Put a stop to this?” she asked.
“No, the Elders… my Elders, are Equites. They are the ruling body for my faction only, and each faction has their own set.”
Emily pulled her knees up to her chest, “Why did they attack?”
“A coven of the Encala up in Greenland was attacked, and the entire coven was wiped out, all 130 of them.” His eyes grew sad, “They blamed us for the attacks.”
“Did you?”
“No, we don’t attack unprovoked.” The question irritated him a bit.
The room grew silent. All she could hear was the dripping of water against the wall. Finally, Chevalier stood up and reached out to take Emily’s hand, “Let’s go, the last of the Encala are gone.”
“What about them?” She glanced quickly at the ash and bodies.
“I’ll send someone for them, it’s ok, they won’t know you did it, I will take the blame.” He started up the dark stairs.
“Will you get into trouble?” She hesitated.
“No, I was defending the coven.” He led her back up the stairs. It seemed to take forever with her slow mortal feet, but eventually they came out into a hidden room in the castle. The wall moved easily for Chevalier and he pushed into the adjacent room, Emily was shocked to see it was her bedroom.
“I didn’t know that was there!” she said, stepping into the familiar room.
Chevalier grinned, “It wouldn’t be a secret room if we advertised it.”
Emily looked around, horrified. The furniture had been thrown around the room and the heavy curtains were torn to shreds. Her clothes were scattered and the walls had large, uneven gashes in them and scorch marks.
Chevalier stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “I owe Kyle a great debt… it was fast thinking to take you down as soon as he did. A few minutes later and…” He shuddered.
Her eyes were taking in the damage, “They were after me?”
Chevalier nodded, “Yes, any mortal involved enough in a coven to stay permanently is a prime target. They don’t know why you are here, they only know that you must have something the coven would protect.”
“Was it Ulrich?” she whispered, her eyes catching the shattered glass on the floor.
“No, Ulrich’s coven is in the Valle.” He pressed his lips against the back of her head.
“How many died today?” she asked, her words catching in her throat.
Chevalier sighed, “I don’t know yet. We were able to kill all of them, there were maybe only 600 of them. Do you know, had it not been for this war, you and I would have never met?”
She turned in his arms and looked up at his face, “How do you figure?”
He grinned, “Jerry’s coven was looking for more cattle. They received a tip in an e-mail that your Angus cows were the best. He followed that tip and found you and set up the meeting. When he met you, he knew immediately that something was different about you. Later, we found that the Encala were th
e ones that tipped him off. We suspect they were trying to set him up. Had he fed from you, I would have been forced to destroy him. He is a high ranking officer in of one of the largest Equites covens.”
“Did they know I’m a… what I can do?” She was studying his face.
“I don’t think so… I think they only knew that you have an amazing smell.” He ran his nose along her neck, inhaling.
Emily was too distracted to respond. Her mind was buzzing with everything that she had seen and heard, and she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she murdered, again.
Chevalier sensed the tension in her body, “It’s ok, no one’s coming to get you. I promise. Besides, I’m pretty sure no one would want to cross Kyle, he’s become quite enamored with you.”
“Stop, Chev.” Emily grinned, a blush rising to her cheeks, “He’s a friend.”
“Let’s get out of here and let them fix up this room shall we?” he asked, looking at the remnants of the once beautiful room.
Emily nodded and then remembered that she was in her nightgown, “After I get dressed.”
She walked over and pulled open the wardrobes, one at a time. Her things had been ripped and torn and scattered across the room. She wrinkled her nose and turned around to face Chevalier, he was grinning.
“Margaret?” he called, and the plump heku waddled into the room happily.
Margaret gasped as she saw the fragments of clothes thrown across the room.
“Margaret… we’d like to get out, can you whip something up for her please?” Chevalier was watching Emily.
Her face lit up and she shuffled quickly out the door. Emily felt exposed as she stood in the cold room wearing only the revealing pink satin nightgown. She walked over, brushed some bits of furniture off the bed, and wrapped the blanket around her before sitting down. It was only a short time before Margaret returned and handed some clothes to Emily, then disappeared.
She walked into the bathroom, cringing as she felt the soft fabric in her fingers. It was obvious that Margaret had taken liberties to improve Emily’s style away from jeans and t-shirts. She searched through the fabric for any sign of a bra, and then froze when she couldn’t find one. The blush crept back into her cheeks.
First she slipped on the dark blue top, it was a halter top and cropped short, exposing her midriff, the top button was inconveniently missing. Emily sighed, having no choice, she pulled on the pants which were just as bad. The dark blue pants were cut low across her hips and fell smoothly down to her ankles. She hesitated and then turned to look in the mirror, vowing to get Margaret fired for this nightmarish ensemble.
“Are you coming out?” Chevalier asked, amused.
“Yeah, when she brings me the rest of this outfit,” Emily called out to him and she heard him chuckle.
“It can’t be that bad, Margaret is very good at what she does.” He was toying with her now. She could tell his voice was closer.
When Emily stepped out from the French doors, Chevalier gasped, his keen vision instantly taking her in. His eyes fell to the muscles in her tight abdomen and the way the pants were perched low on her delicate hips, accentuating her small waist. He grinned as he noticed the missing top button. She blushed deeper than he’d seen her.
“Remind me to give Margaret a raise,” he said, moving closer to her. His hands ached to touch her soft skin.
“No, you are supposed to fire her for this,” Emily said, and her body shivered at his light touch.
“Mmhmmm” he mumbled as his lips pressed against hers. The feel of her bare skin against his arms felt amazing to him.
His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled her up closer to him, her feet dangling inches from the floor. His lips pried her mouth open and he began to explore her with his tongue. Emily’s fingers were wound through his hair, and she tightened her fists as her body began to warm and respond to his touch. The pain ignited Chevalier and he spun and dropped both of them down onto the bed.
A knock on the double doors infuriated him and he growled at the door, “Go away!”
Storm’s voice sounded, “Sir, the Elders are requesting an immediate report on the attack.”
He sighed and kissed the side of her neck, “Don’t move until I get back.”
Chevalier stood up angrily and took a few steps toward the door. He turned to glance at her quickly and groaned. She was lying on the bed on her back with her hands clasped together above her head, causing the curve of her supple breasts to peek out from under her shirt. She realized it and dropped her hands quickly, blushing.
“Not an inch…” he said, leaving quickly.
Storm glanced at him quickly as he shut the doors behind him, “Are you ok, Sir?”
She hadn’t seen him like this. He was furious and she actually feared wrongly for the girl.
“Where do they want to do this?” he hissed at her.
“There’s a conference call waiting, I can send them in to your office,” she said, hurriedly.
Chevalier opened his office door and slammed it hard against the frame. The phone on his desk was already ringing. He took a deep breath and answered it.
“Chevalier here.”
“Chevalier, we waited for you to give us a report, it’s been too long since the end of this skirmish,” Elder Selest hissed.
“I was…” He paused and couldn’t help but grin, “Occupied.”
“Very well, begin.” The voice was monotone and businesslike.
“It was the Encala, no surprise.” He glanced at some papers Storm had handed him, “There were 587 of them, all taken care of.”
“Good, they again overestimated their strength,” the female Elder said. “What were your casualties?”
He looked at the number on the sheet he held and added one, the one he killed to keep Emily’s secret, “My coven lost 138.”
There was a sharp intake of breath from the phone, “We’re sorry, Chevalier, for your losses. We are meeting with the Encala and Valle Elders tonight, this attack was uncalled for.”
“What of the girl?” a voice from the phone asked.
He frowned, “Her powers are very weak, no use to us probably. She knows too much now and one of my coven has grown attached to her, so she has decided to stay.”
He heard three simultaneous sighs from the phone, “Very well, it’s your coven. We will continue to search for more of the Winchester family, we’re starting to think the line died out.”
Chevalier grinned. It was exactly what he wanted them to think, “Good luck with that.”
He pressed the button to disconnect the call and hurried back up to Emily’s bedroom, then growled, irritated, when he stepped in and the room was full of members of his coven, repairing the damage from the Encala.
“Where is she?” he demanded of the closest heku.
The woman turned and bowed to him, “I believe she went to the kitchen, Sir.”
“Gah!” He stormed out of the room and headed into the kitchen. He took notice of the damages done to his home and began to count himself lucky that Emily hadn’t been killed. He still had to find out how the Encala found the secret passageway down to the protective cave room.
He heard Emily’s laugh from outside the doors to the kitchen and couldn’t help but smile. He stepped in and the two young chefs immediately bowed to him. Chevalier was disappointed to see that Emily had managed to find a sweater.
“I thought I told you not to move,” he said, sitting down beside her.
“It’s hard to stay still when your room is invaded by repairers,” she told him.
Chevalier glanced at the still bowing young heku, “As you were.”
They immediately began preparing a meal.
Emily slapped him lightly on the shoulder, “You should be nicer to them.”
He frowned, “Who?”
One of the young heku hurriedly shook his head at Emily.
“Oh… yes… well… good job,” he said to the chefs, who froze for a moment and then started work
ing again.
“Very smooth, Chev.” She hoped the sarcasm wasn’t wasted on him.
The two chefs looked at each other, unsure they actually heard someone call the Chief Enforcer, ‘Chev’.
“What’s the plan for today?” he asked her.
She shrugged, “Breakfast first, then I haven’t decided… I may see if Kyle wants to take the horses out.”
She didn’t see the pained expression that drifted briefly across his face, “I see… well Kyle may not be available today.”
“Why is that?” Emily said, thanking the heku who handed her a plate of hot pancakes.
“There’s still some security to go over. We also think there might be an informant among us, he’ll try to ascertain who that might be.” He was watching her eat.
She looked over at him, “What will you do to them if you find one?”
Chevalier smiled, “Let’s say you and I go riding today.”
She nodded, knowing he was avoiding her question.
After breakfast, they walked together out to the barn. The horses weren’t ready for the ride today, all hands were busy cleaning up from the small battle. Emily put a bridle on Patra and led her out into the barn as Chevalier fit a saddle to the buckskin mare.
She effortlessly slid onto Patra, bareback, and waited for Chevalier to mount up.
Emily clicked her tongue and Patra began to walk forward. It was warm out this afternoon, so she slipped off her sweater, aware that she was again being watched. She led the way to the tree-line and then followed the curve of trees out to the beach. They kept the pace slow today, she wasn’t sure she could handle a gallop as she was still recovering from the double pneumonia. Chevalier didn’t care how fast they moved, he spent most of his time watching her.
“You miss your ranch don’t you?” he asked as they set out along the beach.
She nodded.
“Would you like me to get you some livestock here?” He suddenly realized how easily that could be done.
Emily turned and looked at him, “Really?”
He nodded and smiled.
“With no servants… all mine?” she questioned.
“If that’s what you want, then yes.”
Excitement glowed in her eyes, “That would be wonderful! I can only wander the castle so many times before I’d go insane.”
Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series Page 18
