She tried to scream, to make them stop, but only a mere groan escaped her lips.
She heard the loud thud and felt someone sit beside her on the bed. She could feel her surroundings coming back, her senses turning back on as she dug her way out of unconsciousness.
“Emily?” Chevalier’s voice was suddenly soft.
“Don’t kill him,” she mumbled, her mouth still working sluggishly.
“I didn’t kill him, though he deserved it,” he spat the words out angrily.
She felt strong arms under her shoulders, lifting her up so she was sitting, then the cold glass was pressed against her lips, “Drink again,” he said.
She took a long drink, it felt amazingly good. Her eyes focused on the bedroom and she scanned it for Kyle, but he couldn’t be seen.
Chevalier laid her back down and smiled down at her, “Feeling better?”
She was able to manage an icy glare, “Why did you do that?” Her words were coming clearer.
He sighed, “I knew you wouldn’t drink it otherwise… it was easier.”
“I trusted you,” she said, her eyes accusing. He averted her gaze.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily turned her face away from him, “Go away.”
She felt him leave and heard the doors shut.
As her mind cleared, she suddenly had an abhorrent thought, what if… “Kyle?” she called out weakly, knowing he could still hear her from the other room, but he didn’t respond.
“Kyle?” she tried louder, but there was still no answer.
The door opened and a strange heku appeared, a tall, muscular heku who looked to be no older than 18 or 19 years old, “Did you need something, Lady Emily?”
She frowned, “I need Kyle.”
The boy stayed in the doorway, “Kyle is unavailable. Is there something I can get for you?”
“Where is he?” She tried to sit up, but only managed to prop herself onto her elbow.
“I wasn’t informed.” He was too polite, too young, and she instantly didn’t like him, “I asked for a tray to be brought up. The Chief Enforcer said you weren’t feeling well and I thought food might be appropriate.”
“Go away,” she grumbled at him.
It irritated her how he bowed before leaving. She got out of bed and held onto the headboard while she felt if her legs were steady. Chevalier was right about one thing, she was getting stronger quickly. Emily had her mind made up, she could no longer trust Chevalier and that hurt deeper than any of Keith’s beatings. She fought back the tears as she threw some clothes into a bag.
The annoying heku looked at her as she stepped out of the bedroom and he began to cross the ante-chamber to her. She held up a hand and he stopped, “You stay here.”
“M’Lady, I must insist…”
She turned on him, her glare made him wince and he returned to his place.
The hallways were empty as far as she could tell, so she made her way out of the castle and headed down the road to the pier. Some of the coven came out to greet her and shied away when she turned on them. They had never seen such an aggressive look on her face. She stepped onto the pier and Travis turned to smile at her, but like the others, he fell back when she turned on him.
The tone of his voice was professional, “The ferry leaves in 5 minutes, Lady Emily. May I summon a taxi for your arrival?”
She spun toward him and took a step in his direction, her piercing green eyes locked on his and he recoiled slightly, “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Then you could ask the taxi driver where he dropped me off… very nice.”
“I… I… I just thought you may... need a ride.” He was shocked, Emily always treated him kindly and this new part of her was chilling.
Emily stepped onto the ferry without responding and moved to the back, sitting on the planks to wait out the long trip to the mainland.
***
Chevalier followed her scent to the pier and growled at how it was faded, it had been a while since she’d been there. His decision to leave her alone for a few hours apparently backfired. He’d already punished the young heku in her ante-chamber for allowing her to leave alone. He understood she’d demanded him to stay, but his decision to choose to follow a mortal over his own had been detrimental. The four guards on the pier stiffened as he approached.
“How long ago did she leave?” He scowled at Travis.
“It’s been 4 hours since the ferry left, it arrived safely a few minutes ago.” He stood at attention.
The hiss from behind him made his heart skip a beat, “Where is she going?”
Travis swallowed hard, “She wouldn’t say, Sir.”
“Get that ferry back here… now,” he bellowed at them, and saw Travis nod.
It was a long four hours as the ferry came back to the island. The entire time, Chevalier’s mind went over possibilities of where she would go while his eyes glared at Travis’ back. He tried to find some breach of protocol, some way to punish him, but there had been none.
He stepped onto the ferry and the Captain immediately set off, seeing the look on Chevalier’s face, he didn’t wish to cross the Chief Enforcer today. Chevalier appeared behind the Captain and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
“Where did she go?” he hissed at the Captain.
“She got into a taxi, Sir.” He stared ahead, afraid to look at him.
“And?” He knew the old heku was more observant than that.
“It was a Chester Taxi, cab number 3811,” he continued.
Chevalier walked back to the end of the ferry and watched for the land to appear. As he regained control of his emotions, he caught Emily’s scent and that of another, one that sent anger back to the forefront of his mind. Kyle was with her.
The hours passed slowly, and the ferry’s Captain was relieved that Chevalier stayed out on the ferry, and when land became visible, he finally relaxed.
Chevalier waited for his cell phone to find a signal and then dialed information, they connected him quickly to the Chester Taxi dispatch, “I require a taxi to the Franklin Ferry Pier.”
“Right away, Sir. I have someone just around the corner.” Her voice was irritatingly sweet.
“I prefer cab 3811 and will pay extra for their service.” He fought to keep his voice calm.
“Yes, Sir, they are about 25 minutes away and they have been dispatched to your location. Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked.
He answered by shutting his cell phone. Chevalier paced the small cement block by the pier and waited for the cab, then slid into the taxi when it arrived.
“Where can I take you?” he asked.
“You gave a ride to a man and woman earlier, from this same spot… take me to their location.” His voice was hollow.
“Haven’t picked up a couple here since a few days ago,” he said, watching Chevalier from his rear-view mirror.
“Who was your last fair from here then?” He sounded confused.
“Just a lady, she was alone.” The Cabbie started to fidget.
“Then take me to her.”
The man turned in his seat, “Look Mister, she was awfully pretty, and alone, and I don’t want no trouble.”
Chevalier smiled, “No trouble at all, she’s my wife.”
“I don’t know.” The cab driver watched his passenger carefully.
Chevalier was getting irritated and he met the gaze of the cab driver, “Take me to her.”
The cab driver turned and sped off down the street, not saying another word. He pulled the taxi up to a large park and pulled over, then gasped when Chevalier threw a $100 bill over to him and stepped out. He’d never gotten a $70 tip before and he drove away, pleased with himself.
Chevalier inhaled deeply and again picked up the scent of Emily and Kyle. Emily’s trail wasn’t as fresh as Kyle’s and he realized that Kyle was tailing Emily, and she probably didn’t know it. As much as he hated it, he felt better that she wasn’t alone. He looked around the small fishing vil
lage and scanned for any sign of her. Walking past the large sign that read “Welcome to Jonesport America,” he turned north, following their path.
He began to run when he heard the sound of a struggle and Emily’s scream in the evening air. The smell of blood infuriated him as he searched for them. The entire area smelled like them and he’d lost the newest trail. The sounds suddenly stopped, and when he heard Emily scream Kyle’s name in a panic, he quickly headed for them.
As Chevalier rounded the corner, he stopped. Emily was on the ground cradling Kyle’s head and he wasn’t moving. She had blood dripping from her forehead and she was crying. As Chevalier approached them, Emily screamed briefly when she saw him, then stopped when she saw his face.
“Chevalier! Help him,” she yelled, looking back down to Kyle.
He knelt down by Kyle and winced as he saw the deep gashes on his skin, characteristic of heku bites. Chevalier glanced up and saw three heku torn into pieces that were strewn around the alleyway.
“What happened?” he whispered as he ascertained the extent of Kyle’s injuries.
Emily shook her head, her eyes full of terror, “I didn’t know he was behind me. They attacked out of nowhere and he just appeared. I couldn’t…” She paused, replaying the next few minutes in her mind, “I couldn’t ash them, I couldn’t and I tried. He fought them off, he was so mad. They were biting at him and trying to pull him apart.”
She shivered.
Chevalier picked Kyle up in a fireman’s hold, “He’ll be ok in a few days, we need to get him back to the island.”
He started walking back toward the park and turned when Emily didn’t follow him. She was still kneeling on the cement, staring at the bodies of the heku.
“Emily, come on,” he urged softly.
She shook her head.
“Let’s discuss this later, come back with me. You aren’t safe here.” He took one step towards her, knowing he couldn’t carry both of them.
“I can’t go back, Chevalier.” The resolve of her words stung him.
“Please…” He watched her.
She shook her head again, “I can’t trust you anymore.”
“It’s not safe for you here, not since…” he sighed, hesitating to bring it up. “Not while my blood is in your veins, it makes you a stronger target.”
She frowned, “I’d rather face them than know that you lied to me.” Her face showed the pain and anguish she felt.
“For Kyle then, Em, come back until he’s better.” He knew that was cold, but he had to get her back to the safety of the island.
She hesitated and looked over at the bodies of the heku, then slowly followed Chevalier to the park.
The taxi driver watched them oddly but didn’t question why the man and woman had an unconscious third with them. He wasn’t paid enough to ask questions, he thought.
The 4-hour ferry ride was painful for both of them. Chevalier laid Kyle down on a bed in the cabin and sat, watching him. It was twice now that Kyle had saved Emily and Chevalier owed him his life. As he sat patiently, the words Kyle yelled at him that morning made sense. He’d been too rash to get his way and he now realized what a grave error he made in lying to Emily. He was too used to getting his way, no one dared defy him, but Kyle had, he’d taken his duty to protect Emily to new levels.
Emily stayed up on the ferry in the cold night air, ignoring the way the cold wind bit painfully at her exposed skin.
***
She sat in the stark white bedroom, the hard bed abandoned in the corner, and watched out the window with her legs drawn tightly to her chest. There was no warmth in this room, no touch of life, and it’s exactly what she wanted.
Emily ignored the knock on the door, then sighed when it opened anyway.
“Emily?” Chevalier said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“How is he?”
“He’s going to be ok… that many bites take longer to recover from though.” His voice was soft and she picked up a hint of regret, “I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” She was fine, in fact, at least physically. She only had a small cut on her forehead.
“I wasn’t honest with you about the bonding ceremony, and I’m sorry. I was trying to make it easier on you.”
“Yeah, how’d that work for you?” she snapped.
He just shook his head, “What we didn’t know… myself included, is that when it was over, we were bonded more strongly than I ever imagined. I can feel your hatred toward me and pain at what happened with Kyle. You shouldn’t have to feel such things.”
“What do you mean you can feel it?” She was still watching out the window.
“I don’t know, exactly. I haven’t before heard of a mortal and an immortal going through the bonding together, maybe it’s normal. It’s like every part of me is in tune with every part of you. I can feel your emotions, I can more clearly smell the blood from the cut on your head. It’s amazing to be able to be that close to you.” His voice was soft.
“We’ll see how strongly that tie is when I’m in California,” she mumbled.
“California?”
“Yeah, the place in the U.S. that’s furthest from this island,” she said wryly.
“Please, Emily. I can feel how you aren’t joking.”
She spun on him and the anger in her eyes shocked him, “You don’t lie to people you love, you don’t deceive those you care about. You are so wound up in getting everything you want that you would step on anyone to get it. I can’t... no, I won’t, live with that.”
“It wasn’t like that,” he sighed as she turned back to the window. “I was honestly trying to make it easier for you. I knew you couldn’t drink blood, it’s not in your nature, so I made it easier for you.”
She huffed.
“How can I make this up to you? What can I do to get you to stay?” He was on his knees beside her.
“I don’t know if I can ever trust you again,” she said, her voice was starting to crack.
“I wish I could make you see how insignificant that one lie was… I know how repulsive that was to you, but in my world, it’s beautiful to share of each other. The feeling that I’m tied to you so deeply is incredible and I’m intoxicated by its power.”
Chapter 12 - Recovery
Chevalier sat in his study with his eyes closed. He was concentrating on Emily, and could feel how she went from alone and confused to almost exhilarated. He tried to concentrate, tried to focus to find the source of the change, but he wasn’t quite able to get it. He suspected, that over time, the bond would become stronger and he may be able to tell her thoughts or to see through her eyes. Now, though, he relished in the feeling of completeness and of belonging that engulfed her. It was too much, he had to know what she was doing that had filled her so completely with joy.
He wasn’t surprised to find the small guestroom to be empty, but he was able to track her out to the barn. He stood against the barn door and watched her work. He was surprised that that small body could work as she did and was fascinated by how doing so made her feel. Chevalier smiled as she took a pitchfork full of hay and tossed it onto the ground in front of some of the cattle. She slipped off the cowboy hat she wore and ran her sleeved arm along her brow. He didn’t like how the cowboy hat shaded her eyes, he preferred when he could see them.
Chevalier quietly slipped back into the shadows of the barn when Emily glanced in his direction. Her human senses weren’t too off, the feeling she was being watched was correct, but when she couldn’t see anyone, she turned back to work.
Emily was enjoying being out with her cattle again. She was able to release her mind and focus on them. She liked how her muscles strained beneath the heavy hay and looked forward to the soreness it would bring the next day. She was doing more than normal, somehow the pain caused her mind forget the deception. She groaned slightly under the weight of the hay on the pitchfork, but was still able to push herself to throw it.
With the cattle fed, she
headed into the barn and began mucking out Patra’s stall. She kept turning around, the feeling of being watched was stronger in here. She dripped with sweat as she cleaned the stall meticulously and then re-filled it with clean straw. Once there was clean water and fresh oats, she went out to the cow pasture to get Patra, who was munching lazily on hay.
Patra saw Emily coming and stepped away from her.
“Come on, Patra, it’s time to go back inside,” Emily said, walking casually up to the horse.
Patra reared slightly and took a step back.
Emily frowned, “What’s wrong girl?”
She reached a hand out to her, but again, Patra moved away.
“You ole pregnant fool, come back here,” she called, running after Patra when the horse took off.
Chevalier was glad he was a long ways off in the barn, he was laughing.
Emily got just a few feet from Patra and was able to grab the bridle finally. Patra nipped at the rim of her hat, “Stop that,” she told her, and started to walk.
She landed on her butt on the hard ground as Patra set her feet and wouldn’t move. Emily stood up and pulled harder at the reins, but Patra only looked down at her. She finally walked over to the horse, “What is your problem today?”
Emily pulled hard against the reins, and Patra took one step and then stopped and whinnied.
“Come on!”
She leaned back, her entire body pulling against the stubborn mare, “Fine… be that way.”
Emily left Patra out and headed back for the barn, “Stay out here all night, see if I care,” she called back, but the mare was already pulling at the grass.
When Emily got into the barn, she took off her hat and slammed it into the ground, growling. The tiniest noise escaped Chevalier as he laughed from his perch above her. She spun toward the back of the barn but didn’t see anyone. Giving up, she kicked her hat at the wall and stormed off to the house.
Emily opened Kyle’s door and peeked inside. She saw he was awake and he smiled at her from the bed.
“How are you?” she asked, stepping inside and shutting the door.
Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series Page 20
