Encala

by T. M. Nielsen

  “I’m looking for your mother,” he said, studying the teenage features of his son. It had been 12 years since he’d seen him. For twelve years he held his promise and stayed away from them.

  “She’s up in south pasture with Aaron.”

  “Who is Aaron?” Chevalier felt a pang of jealousy. He worried that she had found someone else and just hoped that he was good to her.

  “My little brother,” the boy said, looking over his shoulder. “Here comes Mom.”

  Chevalier looked at the horses coming closer and his heart pounded in his chest. Emily hadn’t changed at all. Her red hair spilled out from the cowboy hat and she was smiling at the boy next to her on the painted stallion. He was talking to her and smiling. Black hair peeked out from under his Stetson.

  Emily stopped her horse as soon as she saw Chevalier.

  “Get inside,” she told the boys.

  Aaron and Allen both slipped off of their horses and tied them to a post, and then went inside, keeping a close eye on the strange man.

  “What do you want?” she asked Chevalier, sliding off of her horse.

  “Is Aaron mine?” he asked. Her piercing green eyes bored deep into his soul.

  “Nothing on this ranch is yours,” she said.

  Both turned to the house as Allen came out with a shotgun. He handed it to Emily, and then stood by her with his arms crossed. Chevalier was amazed how much he looked like her, how he stood like her, and the way he held his jaw.

  “It’s nice to see you are taking care of your Mom,” Chevalier said, smiling.

  Allen’s eyes narrowed, “Want me to call the Sheriff?”

  “No, go back inside,” she said, and cocked the shotgun when Allen obeyed.

  “Are you going to shoot me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I don’t have to kill you. I just have to slow you down enough that I can get away,” she quoted something Kyle said to her long ago.

  Chevalier nodded, “I just wanted to see that you’re ok.”

  “We’re fine.”

  She slipped off her leather gloves and laid them down on the horse’s saddle. Chevalier caught a glimpse of the essence ring as she pushed her hands into her pockets. He knew Aaron had to be his. She hadn’t found anyone else.

  “Elder?” he heard someone calling him, and it broke him out of his trance. He frowned. He never slept or dreamed, but imagined that was what a dream would be like and wondered if the dream was Emily’s.

  “Yes?” he asked Mark.

  “The Encala Elder is requesting a conference with you.”

  “Very well, I’ll go to his cell,” Chevalier said, standing up. The dream had shaken him. He couldn’t imagine going twelve years without seeing Emily or Allen. He pulled himself out of the thought and squared his shoulders toward the Encala Elder.

  “You called for me?” he asked, leaning back against the wall.

  “This is torture! I demand you destroy that interrogation chamber immediately,” the Elder scowled at him.

  “No”

  “The Encala won’t stand for this.”

  “Emily keeps them at bay. They are afraid to come and get you,” he said, coldly.

  “They know she’s gone, I told you that. They will come.”

  “Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go.”

  “They have an ancient,” Chevalier heard from beside him. He turned to the cell by the Elder.

  “Shut up,” the Encala Elder hissed toward the cell.

  “An ancient did this?” Chevalier asked, stepping toward the cell.

  “Please, let me feed,” he begged.

  “Open the door,” Chevalier told the guard.

  “You are a traitor!” the Elder yelled to his now former faction member.

  The guards opened the door and Chevalier wrapped his hand around the back of the Encala’s neck, leading him upstairs. They stepped into the Council’s conference room, and he sat down as Chevalier sat by Damon, the only other one there.

  “He said the Encala have an ancient,” Chevalier told Damon.

  “A mind controlling ancient?” Damon asked.

  “Please, let me feed,” the Encala said.

  “When we are done, you’ll get your thirst quenched,” Damon told him.

  “Yes, the Ancient can control minds,” the Encala said, licking his lips.

  “How does he control us?” Chevalier asked.

  “I don’t think they’ve asked him.”

  “How do they know he’s not controlling him then?”

  “It takes a mortal. There are no mortals in the Encala palace,” he said, proudly.

  Chevalier frowned, “How does it take a mortal?”

  “I don’t know. I just know that it takes a mortal in the area before the Ancient can control a heku. So they sent Tim, knowing he’d be thrown in the palace prison,” he explained. He seemed proud that he knew all of the information.

  “Why not use Emily?”

  “We knew she would leave, and we still needed control.”

  “How is it you know all of this?” Chevalier asked him.

  “I’m on the Council… or was… now I’m thinking I’m a free heku,” he said, frowning slightly.

  Damon blurred to the Encala and tore his head off in one swift movement, “Do you think he was telling the truth?”

  “One way to find out… we’ll ask for an exchange, their Elder for the Ancient,” Chevalier said, stepping over the mess on the floor.

  Damon walked out with him, “That also means that it’s not safe for her to come back until we get that Ancient. They can use her to get to us.”

  “I’m not sure she will come back,” Chevalier said, walking toward the foyer.

  “We’ll find her, I’m sure of it. If you can just talk to her...” he suggested, and then fell silent.

  ***

  “You go and check it out. I’m not sure I can leave the house yet,” Emily said, making lunch.

  “I can’t leave you and Allen alone,” Sam said.

  “I’m pretty sure that was an order. Make sure the house is nice and the stables are in good order. Also, check their farm logs and make sure they’ve been putting out good crops,” she said.

  “I can’t believe he left us enough money for that large of a place.”

  “I know,” she said, staring out the window.

  “I’ll go in the morning then,” he told her, and disappeared.

  “Where’s he going?” Allen asked, as Emily spooned him some stew.

  “To Texas. He’s going to check on a new house for us.”

  “With Daddy?”

  “No, Baby, not with Daddy.” She sat down, but couldn’t eat. Her stomach was still turning circles, and her diet now consisted of 7up and crackers.

  Emily curled up with Allen to sleep. She hated to sleep alone and Allen started sleeping with her. She watched as he slept and she felt her heart ache. She ran her fingers through his black hair and lightly kissed his forehead. Emily woke up a bit when Sam left the house for Texas, and then fell right back asleep. This baby was making her more tired than Allen had.

  Emily sat up quickly when she heard a truck approaching. She pulled the covers over Allen and ran to the front door. She stepped out, still wearing one of Kyle’s old shirts, and waited for the truck to stop. The windows were tinted too darkly for her to see who it was. She gasped when Kyle stepped out. He stood by the truck and looked at her.

  “Hello,” he said, unsure of how she would react.

  “I would tell you to go away, but it’s your house,” she said, crossing her arms. It was cold outside with just the thin shirt.

  “I just want to talk to you,” he said, stepping up toward her.

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes”

  “But I suppose they know where you are.”

  “No, they don’t.” He stopped a few yards away from her.

  “You didn’t tell them?”

  “No,” he said, watching her eyes. “I didn’t want
to scare you away. I’ve had a feeling for a few weeks that you were here.”

  “I’m not going back, and if you’ll let me stay here for another week, I’ll be out of your hair,” she told him.

  “Please, let me talk to you.”

  “Start talking.” She was afraid of letting him too close to her. She wasn’t sure how strong the pregnancy scent was yet.

  “At least let’s go inside where it’s warmer.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Kyle sighed, “He’s miserable, Em. Actually, we all are. The three of us… myself, Maleth, and Chevalier are all devastated by what we did to you. It was a mind controlling ancient.”

  “That doesn’t change anything.”

  “It should, you’re safer with us.”

  “Oh? You know… since I’ve been in this house, I’ve not been attacked or bitten. Seems to me like I’m safer here.”

  “For now, but the Encala and the Valle are looking for you… and they will find you.” He took another step towards her.

  “I can take care of them myself,” she said.

  “Only small groups of them. They know that, and I’m sure they’ll send hundreds.” He took one step closer.

  “Stay back,” she said, taking a step back.

  “I hadn’t planned on going back without you,” he said.

  “That’s fine, as I said, in a week you can have the place to yourself.”

  “Just think about it. Let me spend that week with you,” he asked.

  “No, stay back,” she said again, and started to panic when he advanced on her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

  “We’ve missed you,” he told her, and then his body froze and he pulled back from her, his eyes wide.

  “Go away,” she said, and opened the door.

  “Emily, does he know?”

  She stopped and lowered her head, “No.”

  “He needs to know. This changes everything,” Kyle said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  She pulled away from him, “No it doesn’t. It makes things worse if I go back. I can do this alone, and that’s what I plan to do.”

  Kyle stepped into the house and winced slightly. He turned toward the door and smelled the fresh air. He hated the feeling her pregnant scent gave him, the primal urge to drink, “I’ll stay with you this week.”

  “See, the heku have a hard time doing as I wish,” she said, shutting the door behind them.

  “Give me one week. Just one week.”

  “You’ll leave if I tell you to?”

  “Yes, even though it’s my house.”

  “Kyle!” Allen yelled, running for him. Kyle scooped Allen up in his arms and hugged him.

  Emily fought it for as long as she could, but finally ran for the bathroom.

  “Mommy’s sick,” Allen told Kyle.

  “Yeah I see.” Kyle put Allen down and poured a glass of 7up. He went to the bathroom door and knocked.

  “Go away,” she said to him.

  “I have some 7up for you.”

  She thought for a moment, “Ok.”

  Kyle opened the door and handed the glass over to her. She was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall.

  “Do you need anything else?”

  She shut the door with her foot and heard a phone ring.

  Kyle answered, “Yes?”

  “I’m in Colorado.” Emily cringed and listened.

  “No sign yet. I checked at your house up by Buford, but no one’s been there.”

  “I guess maybe Nevada after I check out one more thing here.”

  “Yes, I will, as soon as I find anything.” He hung up the phone.

  “You lied to him,” Emily said from the doorway.

  “Right now, my main concern is you,” he told her, sliding the phone back into his pocket.

  “I’m ok, Kyle. I’ve made up my mind. Moving Allen and I back into the human world is what’s right for us,” she said, sitting down with a box of crackers.

  “He’ll go into stasis, you know that.”

  “I figured as much, but I have to look after Allen and… all of us,” she said, biting a cracker.

  “What will you do if the Encala or Valle find you?”

  “Fight back. I’ll do the best I can to take them out,” she said, starting to feel sick again.

  “It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.”

  “I know… but I have to take my chances.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  “Yes, being watched and babysat was humiliating, and I refuse to raise my son confined and trapped. Boys need to run, and play, and climb trees. They need to skin their knees and break bones,” she said to him.

  “We know that, and we’ve discussed how things can be different if you’ll come back.”

  “I can’t come back. I’ve been attacked more since I moved in with the heku than before,” she reminded him.

  He nodded, “We realize that. We also realize that the more we pushed you under our protective thumb, the more you put yourself in harm’s way to get away.”

  “I’m going to take a nap. Will you watch Allen?” she asked, standing up and wobbling slightly.

  “Emily, you don’t look well,” he said, steadying her with his hand.

  “I’m fine,” she told him, disappearing through the foyer and upstairs to the bedroom.

  “She’s stubborn,” Kyle said, and smiled at Allen.

  “Where’s Daddy?”

  “He’s at the palace.”

  “Call him!” Allen asked, handing Kyle Emily’s cell phone.

  “Let’s not, he’s busy at work.”

  Allen frowned and crawled down from the table to play with a toy fire truck. Kyle watched him and listened to Emily cry in her room. After twenty minutes, she finally fell asleep. Kyle put Allen down for a nap and then went into his office. He glanced a few times at his phone, and then let his mind fall into a trance. The sound of footsteps brought him out, but he hadn’t made any decisions yet.

  He walked toward the living room and saw Emily lying on the couch. He sat down next to her and looked at her pale face.

  “Emily, honestly, let’s take you to a doctor.”

  “No, I can’t leave the house,” she said, watching the TV.

  “You don’t look well.”

  “Funny, I don’t feel all that hot either, but I’m not leaving.” She flipped through channels.

  Kyle moved over and sat in his recliner and watched the TV as she flipped through the channels repeatedly. He looked over when Emily’s phone rang, then stood up and handed it to her.

  “Thanks,” she said, and flipped it open. “What?”

  “I’m so sorry I don’t sound well.” She rolled her eyes and Kyle smiled.

  “No, actually I don’t.”

  “No, I haven’t gone to a doctor, but wow, I’m hearing an echo in here.”

  Kyle chuckled and turned back to the TV.

  “Why did you call?”

  “I’m perfectly aware that the Valle and Encala are looking for me.”

  “Won’t matter, I’m moving soon,” she said, and hung up the phone.

  “How’s Chevalier?” Kyle asked, smiling.

  “Irritated, as usual,” she answered, and he saw her eyes fill up with tears, so he looked away.

  They were both quiet for a few minutes while they watched the news.

  “I’m going to take a nap,” she said, standing up slowly and grabbing her 7up.

  “You just woke up 30 minutes ago.”

  “Yeah and I’m still tired,” she snapped, and went back to bed.

  Kyle watched Allen, then fed him dinner, and put him to bed in a spare room. He snuck into Emily’s room and watched her all night as she slept. He still didn’t like her color, or the way she slept without moving. He’d seen her sleep enough to know she was naturally a restless sleeper, usually plagued by nightmares.

  He left her room when Allen woke up in the morning. He fed the toddler breakfast, and checke
d on Emily often. He grabbed her phone quickly when it rang, and looked at the ID. It was Sam.

  “Sam?” Kyle asked.

  The other end was quiet.

  “She’s ok, I’m here with her.”

  “Kyle, you better not lay a finger on her,” Sam said, angrily.

  “I won’t. I’m worried about her, she’s sleeping a lot.”

  Sam sighed, “Define a lot.”

  “Napped twice, but the last one was all night, so right about 16 hours,” Kyle said, concerned.

  “Did she sleep a lot when she was first pregnant with Allen?” Sam asked.

  “No one knows, the Valle had her,” Kyle said, irritated.

  “This deal fell through. I’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Sam said, and hung up the phone.

  Kyle decided it was time to wake Emily. He sat down beside her and touched her arm. She opened her eyes slightly.

  “What?” she mumbled.

  “Em, how far along are you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, and fell back to sleep.

  “Great,” Kyle whispered. He left a note for Emily, dressed Allen in a warm coat, and left the house, locking the door behind him.

  When they got back to the house, Allen was enjoying an ice cream cone and Kyle carried a bag full of supplies. They visited the library, and he had a chance to research human pregnancy. He discovered that Emily was sleeping too much, and all he could come up with was low blood sugar.

  Kyle dumped the groceries out on the counter and pulled a cookbook from his coat, “Ok Allen, let’s cook.”

  Allen stood on a chair beside Kyle and watched as he began to cut up vegetables.

  Emily peeked around the corner, “Are you cooking?”

  “Yes, we are,” Kyle replied, stirring something in a skillet.

  “Don’t hurt yourself,” she said, and refilled her glass of 7up.

  Kyle sat a plate down by her, and she cringed away from it, “I’m not hungry.”

  “You need to eat. I did some research, and I think your blood sugar is low,” he explained, sitting down by her.

  “That’s what you think is it?” she asked, and picked up a fork, stabbing a piece of chicken.

  “Yes”

  “Hrm, this is good,” she said, taking another bite.

  Kyle smiled and high-fived Allen, “We did it, Kiddo.”

  “Yeah,” Allen said, and grinned.

  “Oh, Sam called. He said he’ll be back in the morning… he said the deal fell through.”