“She is a Winchester, you idiot,” one of the Equites said, laughing.
Cody’s eyes narrowed, “Then she is more of a traitor than I thought.”
Alexis walked over to Allen, and they left the trial area.
Emily shrugged, “I’m sure Devin would agree with you. However, he was blind to the reality of the species. They are warm, and caring, and compassionate…”
“Then you are brainwashed,” Larry said sadly.
“I’m brainwashed?” she asked him.
“Yes, you are,” Larry told her.
“I blame Zohn.”
“How did I get dragged into this?” Zohn asked, somewhat amused.
“Because I don’t like you,” Emily reminded him.
“Of course,” Zohn said, and stood up. “Let’s get on with this… next.”
A female heku stepped forward. She was only a few inches shorter than the male heku, and had broad shoulders and a stocky build, “I’m Liv. I was in the Shiaoshang Coven with my husband when we were both taken.”
Emily could see the dread in her eyes, the fear of telling everyone in that room what experiment she had been through.
“Wait,” Emily said, and stood up. The room was so quiet that her bare feet padding across the floor was the only sound that could be heard. She took Liv’s hand, and the hand of one of the Encala, and led them out of the trial area.
“Where is she going?” Zohn asked Chevalier.
Chevalier shrugged, “Who knows.”
Emily led the two heku out into the stables where they could talk privately, and she turned to them.
“I didn’t tell them about your experiment,” Emily said.
Liv looked relieved, “They will force us to tell.”
“It was degrading, and shameful,” the Encala said. “I appreciate you not saying anything, but our superiors can force us to tell them what happened.”
“You shouldn’t have to tell them. It wasn’t pain, it was humiliation,” Emily said. “I’ll deal with it, ok?”
“I appreciate your help, but we will have to tell the Council,” Liv said.
“Just let me do the talking,” Emily said, and headed back inside, followed by the heku, who were unsure if her idea would work.
They walked into the trial area, and everyone turned to look at them. The heku each returned to their faction and Emily went up to the council area.
“Soo… what’s going on?” Quinn asked her.
“I need to meet with all of the Elders for a moment,” Emily said, and headed out the back door to the Council’s conference room.
Emily sat down in a chair and was soon joined by the three Equites Elders, Sotomar, and William.
Emily sighed, “Those two shouldn’t need to testify.”
“It’s required that all involved tell their story,” Sotomar explained.
“Their story, what happened to them, isn’t going to affect the outcome… it’s not like you’re going to set these men free any time soon, and therefore, I’m begging you to let these two keep their silence,” Emily said.
“Why is this so important to you?” William asked. “You don’t know them.”
“It doesn’t matter if I know them or not. No one should be forced to give details of their humiliation at the hands of monsters,” Emily said, her voice was tense and passionate.
“Tradition dictates we make them tell us,” Sotomar told her.
“What can I do to make it so they don’t have to?” Emily asked, and then looked at each of them.
“I don’t believe I have a say, neither of them is Valle,” Sotomar said. “I have no authority to force them to do anything.”
“There is nothing you can say that will force me not to elicit a story from the Encala,” William said, irritated.
Emily took William’s hand and looked into his eyes, “Please don’t do this. Don’t force them to tell you something that shouldn’t be shared with anyone.”
William glanced quickly at Chevalier and then back to Emily, “Tradition says…”
“Screw tradition this once… and please, for me, leave them alone,” she whispered, and the other Elders were shocked when William’s face softened.
“Agree to visit the Encala palace, and I will do as you ask,” William said, watching her.
“What? No,” Chevalier growled.
“Fine,” Emily told him. “I’ll agree to a visit.”
“You can’t let her fall into the hands of the Encala,” Sotomar said to Chevalier.
Emily frowned, “He’d be stupid to do anything. He knows I can wipe out the entire palace. I agree.”
Chevalier growled.
“We don’t need you to visit, and I want to hear everything these mortals did to our kind,” Zohn said.
“What’s it going to take, Zohn?” Emily asked, looking directly at him.
“She just spent 3 months away from her children to help this species. We shouldn’t ask for more than that,” Quinn said softly.
“Name it, Zohn,” Emily said.
“No fair,” Zohn told her. “If I cave, then I’m weak. If I don’t cave, then you’ll hate me worse.”
“Then name it, you’d rather be hated than weak.”
“Agree to guards again,” Zohn said, narrowing his eyes.
“And?”
“That’s it…”
“That can’t be all, that’s too easy.”
Zohn grinned, “Now you owe me one.”
Emily nodded, “I owe you one.”
“Then it’s settled, we skip the testimony of the two,” Quinn said.
Emily smiled and stood up to head back into the council chambers. The Equites went in the back door while William and Sotomar went to the front entrance.
Before sitting down, Emily addressed the heku, “The statement of those two will not be heard.”
Liv mouthed a thank you to Emily.
“That’s it for the experiments,” Zohn said. “The rest of the heku will be represented in the kidnapping trial, but won’t be included in the torture. As we’ve seen, most of them were not tortured in any way, only confined against their will.”
“Just kill us and get it over with,” Cody said.
“Emily.” Zohn turned to her and her eyes grew wide, “Are there any charges you need to add?”
Emily relaxed some, “No.”
“The verdict will come down from the Elders then,” Zohn said. “We will meet in the conference room and return with our decision.”
Emily watched as William, Sotomar, and the three Equites Elders left the room. She turned back to the heku and smiled slightly.
Cody dug in his coat pocket when his cell phone rang.
“I want it,” Emily said, and a Thukil guard blurred to Cody and then appeared in front of her with the phone. “Thanks.”
Emily opened the phone, “Hello?”
“It’s Madison,” Emily said. “Yes, his fiancé.”
“Help!” Cody yelled, but was suddenly restrained and his mouth was covered by an Encala.
“He’s busy, can I take a message?”
Emily grinned, “All of them? How can all of the computers be down?”
Cody fought against the Encala and Larry watched her, afraid to speak.
“I see. Well… no, I don’t think we’re coming back,” Emily told the man on the phone.
“Really? Every one of the American V.E.S. leaders will be there?” Emily grabbed the paper from Chevalier’s desk and started writing on it.
“Yeah, I’ll tell him as soon as he’s done,” she said, and smiled. “Sure, I’ll tell him… ok… bye.”
She hurried and copied the information down on three more pieces of paper, “Here we go… information for the American V.E.S. Conference.”
“Nice, Em,” Exavior said, laughing.
Emily took the stairs down to the trial area and handed a copy to Mark, one copy to an Encala General, and gave the other to Exavior, “There, now we can all get together and call it an open bar.
”
The heku were all looking at the papers Emily handed out, and missed the swift movement when Larry leapt from the floor and slammed into her, knocking her to the floor as he punched her. The Equites saw what happened first, and Larry found himself in the air as one of them tore him off of her and threw him into the middle of the rest of the Cavalry.
Exavior knelt down beside Emily, “Are you ok?”
Emily held her head in her hands and nodded slightly, “Just give me a sec.”
“Heku out!” Mark yelled, and the trial area emptied out suddenly, except for Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Exavior.
Emily tried to sit up, but Mark held her down, “Don’t move yet.”
“Can you be around her blood?” Kralen asked Exavior.
“I have control,” Exavior hissed at him.
“Don’t fight, I’m ok,” Emily said, and flexed her jaw.
“Where is it?” Mark asked, and felt along Emily’s head. He drew his fingers back, and they were covered in blood.
“I think it’s just the stitches,” Emily told him, and sat up slowly.
“Let me see,” Dr. Cook said from behind her.
“Hey, who called him?” Emily asked, and tried to get up, but four sets of hands held her down while the doctor pushed her hair aside.
“The stitches tore open. I’ll have to redo them,” Dr. Cook said. He brought out the syringe and Mark grabbed Emily into a tight bear hug.
“Let me go!” Emily growled, and then screamed when the doctor injected her with the anesthetic. She fought against Mark as the doctor re-did the stitches.
“Let her go,” Exavior growled, and crouched slightly.
“Back off, she’s fine,” Silas hissed, matching Exavior’s crouch.
Emily stopped fighting and leaned her forehead onto Mark’s shoulder. Her head was pounding, and it felt good to lay it down for a few minutes. The standoff continued behind her, but her head began to swim and she ignored the threats and growls from the heku.
The doctor finished and handed Mark a few pain pills before leaving. Mark held Emily as he watched Silas and Exavior closely.
“What’s going on?” Sotomar growled, stepping into the trial area.
“Silas, stand down,” Chevalier said, jumping over the Council’s desk and landing beside them in the trial area.
Exavior stood up, “You have no right to restrain her when she says to stop.”
“She’s none of your concern,” Silas growled, and stood up.
“What happened?” Chevalier asked, pushing the hair back away from Emily’s face. He hissed softly when he saw the bruise forming on her jaw.
Kralen filled the Elders in quickly as Mark led Emily to her chair and handed her the pills with some juice.
“I don’t want those,” Emily said, pushing the pills away.
“Take’em, Em,” Chevalier said from down by the others.
Emily didn’t feel like fighting, so she took the pills and downed them with the juice, then leaned her head back on the chair while the Elders were fully filled in on what happened in their absence, and the other heku moved back into the trial area.
Sotomar turned angrily to Exavior, “How does a mortal get to the Winchester before you can stop him?”
“We were looking at the paper,” Exavior said, frowning.
“That’s what I want to know! How one slow mortal has the chance to body slam Emily before heku can get to them?” Quinn growled.
“It was my fault. Leave them alone,” Emily said, and looked over at them.
“I’m not done with you,” Sotomar yelled, and walked back to the rest of the Valle.
Emily leaned her head back again and waited for the trial to resume. She heard snarls and hisses as Cody and Larry were brought back in. Larry was only partially conscious and was covered in dark black bruises. The blood caked on his shirt came from numerous cuts on his face, and one eye was swollen shut.
“Order…” Zohn yelled, and the room fell quiet. “The Elders have decided on a verdict. The recent assault on Emily will be considered later.”
“She deserved it,” Cody snapped.
“Shut up!” Zohn growled. “We found you guilty on all charges.”
Cody laughed, “Of course you did. This entire trial is biased.”
“Punishment will be as follows,” Chevalier said, standing up. “The Elders have decided to house the mortals here in Council City’s prison for the span of 10 years, at which time they will be handed over to the Valle for 10 years, followed by the rest of their lives with the Encala.”
“This is all insanity!” Cody yelled.
“They are to be fed, given water and any amenities that will further their lives, to ensure each faction gets their due,” Chevalier explained. “They will not be interrogated further, unless more charges come forward.”
“The Valle agrees to this verdict, and the stipulations for the punishment,” Sotomar said.
“As do we,” William said. “The Encala agree.”
Chevalier nodded and sat down.
“What about charges for the latest attack?” Exavior asked, still angry.
“The assault was carried out by Larry, how do you plead?” Quinn asked, looking down at the disoriented man.
Larry looked at Cody, confused as to what was going on.
“He can’t even talk. He should be tried later when he can defend himself,” Cody said.
“Is that ok with Lady Emily?” Quinn asked.
All eyes fell on Emily as she slept in her chair. Her breathing was slow and deep, and her blood had the scent of medication.
“What did he give her?” Quinn asked, frowning.
Mark shrugged, “I didn’t ask, I just gave them to her.”
Chevalier chuckled, “I think she’s ok with postponing the assault trial.”
“I call it postponed then, everyone is free to go,” Quinn said.
Chevalier stood and picked Emily up out of her chair, and cradled her gently in his arms. He pressed his lips softly to her forehead and left the council chambers, still chuckling softly.
Chapter 11 - Island Coven
“I love you, Maddie,” Cody said, and kissed her passionately, wrapping his arms around her.
Emily wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach as she pretended to love him.
She felt his hands slip under her shirt and start to unfasten her bra, so she pulled away from him.
“No,” she said, and pushed against his shoulders.
“Don’t tell me no,” Keith yelled as Cody turned into her ex-husband.
Emily pushed frantically at Chevalier’s arms. The fight surprised him, and he let go of her as she scrambled away from him and fell onto the floor.
Chevalier looked over the edge of the bed, “Are you ok?”
Emily nodded, but stayed on the floor and looked up at the ceiling.
He reached a hand down to help her up, but she just looked at him.
“I felt like I was cheating on you,” Emily told him.
“You weren’t,” he said, still watching over the side of the bed.
“He kept wanting more.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Emily turned back to the ceiling, deep in thought for a few minutes.
“He started to get mad when I said no.”
Chevalier nodded.
Emily grinned suddenly, “Mortal men are so easy to manipulate.”
He chuckled, “I don’t think it’s just mortals… now get off the floor.”
Emily got up off of the floor and slid back under the warm covers. She pulled close to Chevalier and laid her head on his arm.
“I don’t remember the end of the trial,” she told him.
“They were found guilty,” Chevalier told her.
Emily smiled slightly, “That much I figured.”
“We split up their sentence, 10 years here, 10 with the Valle, and they finish their lives with the Encala.”
Emily sighed, “
I can’t get the ring to stay on.”
“That’s because I have to put it on you to get it to stay… you’re the one that broke the bond, so I’m the forgiver,” he explained.
“What? I didn’t though,” Emily said, panicked.
Chevalier reached over and grabbed the ring off of the bedside table, and slipped it back onto her finger. She felt the familiar weight as it sealed back into place.
“Stop getting engaged and it won’t happen again.”
“But I…” Emily’s words were cut off by Chevalier’s lips.
Allen cleared his throat as he stepped out of Alexis’ room.
Emily turned toward him, “Good morning.”
“Carry on, just taking her down for breakfast,” he said, and ushered Alexis out of the room.
Emily looked at Chevalier, “That’s just wrong that he knows…”
“You have to stop looking at him like a 10-year-old,” Chevalier chuckled.
“Well… he is 10.”
“Not entirely,” he said, and then cocked his head to the side slightly.
“Seriously?” Emily asked. “We just spent an entire day in trials, and now they want you back?”
Chevalier grinned, “Never a dull moment.”
“I’m staying in bed today,” Emily said, and rolled over onto her side.
Chevalier kissed the top of her head and then left in a blur.
She burrowed deeper into the bed. It felt incredible after the hard bed with scratchy sheets she had on the compound. The palace was also a lot quieter than the constant noise of the compound, with the sirens and drill alerts.
“Emily?”
Emily sat bolt upright in bed and pulled the covers up. She looked, wide eyed at the familiar, “Sam?”
Sam smiled, “It’s not that easy to kill a familiar.”
“Where have you been?” Emily whispered, frowning.
“I gave you time to forgive me.”
“You’ve been gone for years… where were you?”
“Watching over you.”
“Mark!” Emily called out.
Mark and Kralen appeared in her room, “What’s up, Em?”
Emily turned around and looked where Sam had been, but he was gone.
Mark growled and crouched slightly when the scent caught him, “I killed him!”
“I thought so, too,” Emily said, and scrambled out of bed. She threw on a robe and then looked under the bed.
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 26
