Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Peanut crawled into her lap and began to purr as she pet him, “Look what we did… we made a colt.” She was smiling.

  It was only a few hours later that Emily was finally convinced the horses would be ok. The colt was up walking around on unsteady legs and Patra was standing up eating. She kissed the top of Peanut’s head and went inside to take a shower.

  She heard odd hisses as she walked past the heku servants and she looked down at her bloodstained shirt. She couldn’t blame them for being antsy.

  The shower felt incredible and she let it run longer than usual. When she was too tired to stand any longer, she pulled on her t-shirt and laid down on top of the covers of the bed, and fell fast asleep.

  Emily was only partially aware when Chevalier came in and moved her under the covers. The warmth was perfect and she snuggled deeper into the bed and fell back asleep as Chevalier joined her under the covers and wrapped his arms around her.

  Emily stirred and saw the sun was rising. She jumped up and hurried to put on her jeans.

  “Slow down… where are you going?” Chevalier asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “I need to go check on the colt,” she said, buttoning her pants and looking around for a clean shirt.

  “He’ll be ok, Em.” He smelled her neck and gently ran his tongue along the throbbing vein. Emily shivered, but pulled away from him.

  “Stop, Chev, I need to go check.” She found the shirt she was looking for and pulled off the nightshirt, but before she could replace it, Chevalier was holding her closely.

  He was kissing her neck again.

  She pulled away yet again and grinned.

  Emily put on the other shirt and headed out the door to check on the colt. The barn was awake and hungry as she entered and walked past the other horses and into Patra’s stall. She let the mare and her colt out into the corral and watched as the foal played in the grass, running and bucking. Leaning against the fence watching them was electric, this new life now able to think and feel and play. She smiled as she watched them and Peanut wound himself around her legs.

  When the colt began to nurse again, Emily let the buckskin mare and Chevalier’s crabby Arabian out into the corral too, where they grazed happily.

  Sighing, Emily went back into the barn and loaded a bale of hay onto the back of the ATV and set out. She wanted to get in a decent nap when she was done, she still felt tired from the previous night. The hay seemed heavier today and the nap looked better and better. She finished later than usual and headed back into the castle.

  Emily heard hisses in the hallway as she passed. By the third hiss, she spun in the direction of it, “Excuse me?” she snapped at the shadows.

  The noise stopped, but it still made her uncomfortable. Her bed was inviting as she stripped and pulled on a nightgown, then fell into the soft bed.

  She woke slowly and rolled over, looking at the clock. It was only 5pm but she was starving. Emily made her way down to the kitchen and again heard a hiss from the shadows. She ignored it and opened up the kitchen. Gordon looked up at her and smiled.

  “I wondered when you would eat today, Child. What would you like?” He started grabbing some pots and pans.

  “Do you have any pork chops?”

  His face lit up, “Of course, coming up.”

  Emily watched Gordon cook. She was astonished at the speed in which he prepared food and the joy he got from it. He was proud when he sat down a plate with pork chops and steaming au gratin potatoes.

  She smiled and dug in. The flavors were amazing and she finished it, which pleased Gordon immensely.

  “Can I ask you something privately?” she asked Gordon as he cleaned up the kitchen.

  “Sure, Child.” He didn’t even look at her.

  She thought carefully before asking, “Is there something weird going on around the castle today? I mean… some reason I would keep getting hissed at?”

  She smiled as he handed her a glass of cold milk, but then he turned and looked at her.

  “Hissing? Someone was hissing at you?” he asked, shocked.

  “It’s nothing big and remember, just between us... but yeah, I seem to be getting hissed at a lot today.” She sipped the cold milk.

  “No reason I can think of. You should tell the Chief Enforcer, he wouldn’t stand for that.” Gordon turned away from her and started cleaning again.

  “That’s exactly why I don’t tell him, Gordon.” She saw him tense up, “Oh no you don’t, you said this was private!”

  “I’m required to tell him,” Gordon said softly, still wiping down the already clean stove top.

  “Please, Gordon, I’m begging you.” Her voice was pleading.

  His hands shook on the counter as he cleaned, “It’s not that easy.”

  “He’ll find out you didn’t tell him won’t he?” She watched him.

  Gordon nodded, his hands still shaking as he wiped down the counter.

  “I guess it’s not so bad. I won’t tell him where I was when it happened and you don’t know, so there’s not a lot he can do about it.” She watched as he relaxed. When Gordon didn’t turn back around to visit, she left and headed out to let the horses back into the barn.

  Chevalier met her back up in her room, and she could see the anger in his eyes.

  “The colt is doing great, he’s going to look like a paint,” she said, slipping off her jacket.

  “Where were you, Emily?” She knew from his tone he wasn’t curious about her previous location, he wanted to know more about the hisses.

  She turned to look at him, “Around.”

  “Hissing is a sign of aggression with heku, a sign they are about to attack,” he snapped. “Where were you?”

  She sighed, “It was just a hiss, Chev, and once I yelled at them they stopped.” She added a mental mostly.

  Chevalier stood up and took her shoulders in his hands, “Tell me… now!”

  She tried to pull away but he held tightly, “No.”

  “I told you to stop messing with my affairs, and this is definitely my area,” he growled.

  “No, I’m not going to be a part of this.” She again tried to pull away but his grip tightened and her shoulders began to hurt, “Let go, you’re hurting me.”

  He shook her twice and pulled her off the ground, “Tell me, now!” he yelled at her again, his face inches from hers.

  “Chev, please, it hurts,” she whispered.

  Chevalier dropped her the few inches to the ground and stepped away from her, his eyes still angry, “I’ll find out my own way then.”

  His senses reached out to her and his heart fell, she truly feared him at that moment. He growled and disappeared from the room. Chevalier quickly headed to the mainland to feed, that would help calm his mind.

  Emily sat down on the bed. Her shoulders ached and she had a headache from when he shook her. She’d done it again, fell in love with someone who hurt her. She didn’t count them as exactly the same, though. Keith hit her for fun, Chevalier was truly angry, but Emily wasn’t sure that mattered.

  “Emily,” the voice was soft beside her.

  Emily looked up at Anna, she couldn’t even talk.

  “Are you hurt, Child?” Anna touched her arm lightly.

  Emily shook her head and moved over as Anna sat down beside her on the bed, “If you don’t mind, I want to talk to you.”

  Emily just watched the heku beside her, her head pounding.

  “I’m sure the Chief Enforcer would be mad, because this is none of my concern, but I feel someone needs to try to smooth things over.” Anna handed Emily a few aspirin.

  She chewed the aspirin, grimacing at the taste, and then leaned back against the headboard.

  “Let him protect you, Child.” Anna’s voice was sincere.

  Emily looked away from her, her eyes again filling with tears.

  “It’s in his nature to protect those he loves. He’s good at what he does, and when you fight against his natural instincts, it’s hard for
him.” Anna smiled softly at Emily, “He loves you, Child, we all know that, we can see it in his eyes. I’ve known Chevalier for almost 200 years and this is the first time I’ve seen him truly happy. Until tonight, that is.”

  When Emily didn’t respond, Anna continued, “He was right about the hissing from the shadows, and we, as a part of this coven, have taken care of it to stop the tension between you two.”

  Emily gasped, “What did you do?”

  “We handled it.” Anna smiled, “We also feel protective of you. We all care about you and have grown to love you in our own way. Our people… the heku… we don’t take kindly to one of our own being targeted.”

  Emily realized that Chevalier had been wrong. His staff knew she was bonded to him and not to Kyle.

  “Let him be himself around you, let him protect you, it’s what makes him happy.” Anna smiled again and touched Emily’s arm, “You can’t fight nature, and if you are to stay among the immortal, it’s time you realize we are natural fighters, born predators, and it’s not within us to watch our loved ones be hurt.”

  Anna stood up, “I’ll have Gordon bring something up for you.”

  Before Emily could respond, Anna was gone and she was alone again in the dark room. A few minutes later, Gordon appeared with a mug of warm milk. It tasted funny, but he encouraged her to finish it and left only after it was gone. Warmth spread through her and she was soon fast asleep.

  ***

  Chevalier growled when the knock on his door sounded so soon after returning from feeding, “Come!”

  Anna entered the office, her face warm and comforting to him, “I’m stepping out of line, I will warn you, Sir.”

  He glared at her, waiting.

  “I’ve spoken to Lady Emily about things, and I hope it will help.” She watched for a reaction.

  “You were just with her?” he asked.

  Anna nodded, “Yes… and she isn’t hurt, Sir, not physically.”

  Chevalier sighed.

  “Well we…” She paused, “We took care of Benjamin, Sir.”

  “Benjamin?”

  “Yes, he followed the Child through the hallways, hissing. He was ready to attack and we couldn’t have that.” She waited for her punishment.

  “You… you took care of him?” He was stunned.

  “A group of us, yes. I do hope it will help.” She looked into his eyes and relaxed when she didn’t see anger.

  He nodded toward her, unable to speak.

  “Don’t worry about Emily, Gordon brought her some… shall we call it, ‘special’ milk and she is already asleep.” Anna bowed and left the room.

  Chevalier reached out to Emily and found her peaceful and relaxed. His thoughts returned to the feeling of fear she held for him, and he hated himself for it. He’d never been adept at controlling his temper, but for thousands of years, he hadn’t needed to. Emily was fragile, unlike members of his coven, and he tried to wrap his mind around a way to keep her safe from his temper.

  He soon gave up and joined her in bed. She didn’t stir when he walked into the room and her blood smelled of medicine. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

  ***

  Emily flipped to her back and floated on the still water. Her muscles ached from more than an hour of laps, but it felt good to her. She steadied her breathing and just floated, hearing nothing but the sound of the filters running. She could feel her hair flowing gently around her and she sighed.

  “Happy Anniversary.” The voice came out of nowhere and she sunk quickly, gasping in a lungful of water. Swift hands pulled her to the surface and held her while she coughed.

  “Sorry, Em,” Chevalier said, amused.

  She slapped him on the shoulder, “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Oh I can think of much better ways of killing you,” he said as he gently ran his teeth along her neck and then laughed when she shivered.

  “Happy Anniversary to you, too,” Emily said as she brushed her lips softly against his.

  Chevalier chuckled, “Don’t even get me started. I came to take you away.” He carried her out of the water and set her down by the towels.

  She looked at him, “Where are we going?”

  “Absolutely nowhere.” He grinned and watched her dry her hair, “Hrm, I don’t like that swimsuit.”

  Emily looked down and laughed, “It took hours to convince her that a one-piece was the way to go.”

  He patiently watched her dry off.

  “So what does one pack for going nowhere?” she asked, wrapping the towel around her.

  “Silly mortal, you don’t pack to go nowhere.” He quickly re-dressed and then pulled out a black scarf and grinned, “Turn around.”

  Emily frowned, “What if I don’t trust you?”

  “Never trust a heku,” he told her, and then grinned.

  She smiled but turned around anyway.

  Chevalier tied the black scarf tightly over her eyes, “No peeking.”

  He picked her up, cradled her gently in his arms, and walked. She could feel a change in the atmosphere when they left the castle, and she shivered slightly as the cool air hit her wet swimsuit. She felt him chuckle.

  “Ready?” he asked at long last.

  “I’m guessing I don’t have a choice,” Emily said as he set her down and her toes dug into the sand.

  Chevalier removed the blindfold, and as Emily’s eyes adjusted to the bright sun, a glimmering boat came into view. The majestic ship was flawless as it bobbed with the waves. It was white with pink and magenta stripes, and emblazoned on the side in curly letters was the name of the ship, ‘Emily.’

  Emily turned to smile at him, “You bought a boat?”

  “No,” he said, and faked a frown. “I bought you a yacht.”

  She turned back to the ship and marveled at how sleek and shiny it was. She headed up the plank to board it, followed by Chevalier. The front deck was lined with cushioned deck chairs and a hot tub was set into the floor. Emily went room to room looking at the designs and decorations of her new boat. The engine room was set high above the rest of the rooms and she ran her hand along the shiny helm and slipped on the Captain’s hat, which was too big and fell down to cover her eyes.

  Chevalier pulled the hat off of her head, laughing, and placed it on his own head, “That’s mine.”

  “I thought the boat was mine.”

  “It is… but I’m your Captain, so I get the hat.” She tried to take it from him but he caught both of her wrists in one of his hands and turned on the engine.

  She turned to look at the sea as he pulled out of port, “Wait! We’re leaving now?”

  He nodded, “Did you have other plans?”

  “I haven’t packed anything.” She noticed he wasn’t slowing down.

  “Which way are we going, Em?” he asked her.

  She turned to him, “I don’t know, you’re driving.”

  “Point… we’ll go whichever way you point.” He slipped on some sunglasses.

  Emily turned and looked at the vast ocean and pointed randomly, watching as the boat turned in the direction and sped off.

  “So how many servants are on this thing?” she wondered, looking around.

  “It’s just us.”

  “Seriously? Just us two… not even one other heku?” She was surprised, Chevalier seemed to like his servants.

  He grinned, “Just us, unless you want me to go back and get some.”

  “No way, this is great!” She wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his back.

  “Go relax out on the deck. I’m going to get us far from land and then I’ll join you.” She watched as he adjusted some knobs and returned to the helm. Emily was impressed that he knew how to sail.

  The sun was even brighter out on the water. She could feel the warmth on her skin so she slipped off her towel and fell onto one of the deck chairs. It was soft and reclined and she found a table by it with a bowl full of fruit, a pair of sunglasses, and some sunsc
reen. Emily figured she might as well be good, slathered on the sunscreen, and then grabbed the sunglasses before lying back against the white cushions.

  Emily was asleep when she felt hands gently run across her stomach. She smiled and shivered as she broke out in goose bumps.

  “This is officially nowhere,” Chevalier said, and then smiled.

  She nodded and patted the chair by her, “Lie down, soak up some vitamin D.”

  Chevalier laughed, “I don’t think I’m able to do that… besides… the sun and I don’t get along very well.”

  She looked up at him and noticed he was in a jacket and between the Captain’s hat and sunglasses, his face was completely shaded.

  “Mmmmm, your loss, it really feels good.”

  “I… well I had other motives for being out here.” His voice was soft.

  She grinned, “I’m sure you have many motives for being out here.”

  “Mmhmmm, that too.” He gently ran his fingers along her inner thigh, “Later, though, come in out of the sun.”

  Emily sighed and sat up. She grabbed the bowl of fruit and left her sunglasses on the table, then followed Chevalier down the stairs to the living quarters. They were spacious, actually bigger than her entire ranch house, and decorated in dark reds and blacks. The kitchen was small, but had what she needed and the end of the living space held a large wooden framed bed. Chevalier sat on the couch and patted beside him.

  Emily ignored his hint and sat the bowl of fruit where he’d patted and then sat on his lap, curling up against his chest. She felt his arms wrap around her as he chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

  “I love you, Em,” he said softly.

  She looked up and kissed him gently, “I know.”

  “So it’s time to get it all out in the open. We’ve noticed in the last year that neither of us has been completely honest with the other, so I figured some time away might help.” She kissed along his neck and nodded.

  “It’ll be nice to get away from life on the island.” He groaned as she lightly bit his neck.

  “Eeeh… what the hell.” Was all she heard before she felt the soft bed at her back.

  ***

  “That wasn’t fair,” he said as she curled her naked body up against his.