“I know, but she has to see that that wasn’t me.”
“I’ll keep in touch. Let me have her alone for 24 hours before you come.”
“Very well,” Chevalier said, and hung up his phone. He then turned to the other heku. “She’s agreed to meet Allen in Denver in the morning.”
Kyle shook his head, “She’ll know we will be there. She’s too smart to let it be this easy.”
“Unless she’s desperate for contact,” Mark suggested. “It’s been 7 months.”
“I agreed to let Allen be alone with her for 24 hours before we come in,” Chevalier told them.
The helicopter fell silent and then landed outside of Denver at 4am. There was a Suburban waiting, and they crawled in and headed for the tall peaks of Denver International Airport. They spread out and had all entrances covered before 7am. They all reported in every 15 minutes, and when no one had seen Emily or Allen by 10am, they met back up in front of the airport.
“Something must have happened,” Kyle said, and called Allen’s cell. He sighed and held the phone up so they could hear.
“The number you dialed is no longer in service. If you think you’ve reached this…” Kyle hung up.
“Damnit, Em!” Chevalier growled. “Go control one of the workers… find out where he is.”
Silas nodded and disappeared into the airport. They waited for him to return and turned when he walked up, it was obvious he was frustrated.
“That woman, I swear…” Silas growled.
“What did you find?” Kyle asked.
“There were reservations for Allen Winchester to fly to Denver. Those reservations were changed this morning to a group fair,” Silas explained. “The family group included Mark Jones, Silas Jones, Kralen Jones, Allen Jones… and twelve others, I’m sure you get the picture. Each of those tickets had insane routes with no less than 5 layovers each.”
“Well, which checked in for a flight?”
Silas sighed, “All of them.”
Kyle growled, “So that means that Allen could be in any of 60 locations.”
“Right, and every State in the continental United States has at least one of the layovers or final destinations,” Silas explained.
Mark shrugged, “So we wait until he returns and then ask him where he was.”
“There’s no way Emily is going to make it that easy,” Chevalier said, and looked around the airport. “Let’s just get back. We’ll see what we can get from Allen when he returns.”
The heku returned to their helicopter and started again for Encala City. The entire ride was silent until the pilot announced they would be landing in 5 minutes. He set the helicopter down gently on the Encala’s palace and Chevalier returned to his spot in the council chambers.
“Sir?” Kralen said, and came into the trial area.
“What?”
“Sotomar is here with 4 Imperial Guards. He wishes to speak to you.”
“Sure, why not. Tell Kyle to come in also.”
Kralen nodded and left. Kyle came in a few seconds later and was just sitting down beside Chevalier when Sotomar came in.
“So what do we owe this visit?” Chevalier asked, outwardly irritated.
“How long are you going to occupy this palace?” Sotomar asked. His tone wasn’t accusing or angry. He held back for fear of bringing out Chevalier’s recent temper.
Chevalier shrugged, “I have 3 months left… I told them I was holding it for as long as they held me and my Council.”
“Is this really about that, or is it because of what happened to Emily?”
“Do not even speak her name,” Chevalier hissed, and a dark shadow crossed over his features.
Kyle spoke quickly, “This has nothing to do with Emily. Four of the Equites Council were held here without cause.”
“Understood,” Sotomar said. “We also wanted you to know that we’ve been trying to find… her… and as of yet, haven’t had any luck.”
“We appreciate the update,” Kyle said, and sat back.
Sotomar shifted nervously and glanced back at his Imperial Guards.
“What now?” Kyle asked.
“What are your plans with the Encala? Our last count showed their numbers to be only 19.4% of what they were 10 years ago. We’ve had 12 covens petition to join the Valle. They are in ruins… it’s never been done to this extent.”
“Why do we care?” Chevalier asked.
“Well… she… dropped their numbers with the first attack of hers on the Ancient. Our attack years later damaged them again… now though, they are completely wiped out. The Encala Council is held up in some remote location, trying to find what remains of their dying faction,” Sotomar said.
“Again, I don’t really care.”
“It’s just that we’ve always been at war, the three factions, yet never in our history has one come so close to being completely obliterated,” Sotomar said. “We ask that it stop… you can keep this palace for 3 more months but then, we beg you, leave them be so they can rebuild.”
“You’re so opposed to having only 2 active factions?” Kyle asked.
“Yes, we are… it’s never been done.”
Chevalier hissed, “There’s a first time for everything. Now get out of my sight before the Valle becomes my next target.”
Sotomar gasped and then sighed before walking out.
Chevalier sat back in his chair and an evil grin formed on his face, “Can you imagine a world with only Equites heku?”
Kyle shrugged, “Other than how boring it would be, yes.”
“That’s true… who do we fight if there are only Equites?”
“Each other I would imagine.”
“I guess we’ll have to let them rebuild or we won’t have any more toys.”
Kyle chuckled, “That is true. So when is Allen set to return?”
“Next Monday, unless that’s been changed also.”
“I gotta give her credit, she’s a smart one.”
“Too smart for her own good.” Chevalier’s voice softened slightly before speaking again, “She’s out there alone.”
“I know.”
“I can only imagine how badly she hates me.”
Kyle simply nodded.
“What if we never find her?”
“I honestly believe we will… now… what she does once we find her, that I don’t know.”
“The bond’s not broken.”
“I wondered about that.”
“She has to see that and know that that wasn’t me. If that were me, she would have been able to take the ring off when the doppelganger asked for it.”
“She may not see it that way.”
“It also tells me that she still loves me too, which, for some reason, is almost worse.”
Kyle nodded, “It’s worse because it means more pain for her.”
“I’m not satiated yet, let’s go feed again,” Chevalier said, and stood up.
“Sounds good to me,” Kyle told him, though he inwardly cringed. The vicious way that Chevalier attacked his mortal donors and the pain it caused, made it hard to go along with him.
***
“Where is he?” Chevalier growled.
“Kralen said they’re only 10 minutes out,” Kyle said, and sat down beside the Elder in the Encala’s council chambers.
It was a tense few minutes before Allen came into the trial area with a bag slung over his shoulder. He looked around at the sheer destruction in the room and then walked up to his Dad.
“Where were you?” he hissed.
Allen sighed, “Dad, calm down, ok? I have no idea where I was.”
“How can you not know?” Kyle asked.
“Because, I got off of a plane in Cincinnati, and was escorted by some cowboy onto a little plane with black windows,” Allen explained. “When we landed, I was blindfolded and driven for 8 hours to a horse ranch that Mom runs.”
“She didn’t buy it then?”
“No, the owner has her managing it, and she sai
d it’s nice because she’s able to put more into the bank.”
“How can you not know where you were!?” Chevalier yelled.
“How am I supposed to? Every license plate was covered, there was no mail, no phone books, nothing! I had no way to know where I was.”
Kyle nodded, “How is she?”
Allen glanced at his Dad, “Moody, pale, too thin, and she still has stomach pains.”
“I thought she had surgery for that.”
“She did and it stopped the bloody vomiting, but the pains are still there.”
“From what?”
“She said it’s ulcers, caused by stress.”
“Did you talk to her?” Chevalier asked.
“I talked, but I don’t think she listened.”
“And Dain?”
Allen shook his head, “I didn’t recognize him. I thought he was a field hand at first. That’s a big boy, and you have no idea how protective he is of Mom. I wasn’t even allowed to be alone with her for the first few days.”
“Is he violent?”
“Towards others, yes.”
“How is she feeding him?”
Allen shifted nervously, “She wouldn’t tell me… but I noticed that she’s taken to wearing thick leather bracelets.”
“She’s feeding him herself!?” Chevalier yelled, and stood up.
“I suspect so, yes… Where else is she to get blood though?”
“He’ll kill her. He has no control.”
“I know. I talked to her about that, but she denied letting him feed from her.”
Chevalier sat back down and slammed his fist into the desk, sending the last remaining unbroken part into splinters, “I need to know where she is.”
“There’s more.”
Kyle looked up, “What?”
“Dain had one of his… episodes, while I was there. Dad, it’s bad, and even I was afraid to get near him. Mom rushed to his side and jumped on the bed to hold him down.”
“She can restrain him?”
“No, that’s the problem. He threw her in a panicked rage into the wall… so she crawled to her feet and went back to him.”
Chevalier glared at his son, “Go on.”
“He bites, kicks, hits, and scratches. I could restrain him, but it took everything I have and I was pretty cut up when he calmed down. His pain is excruciating and then suddenly, he fell asleep. When he got up two days later, I swear he was a good 4 inches taller and had put on almost 25 pounds,” Allen explained.
“Does she look abused by him?”
“It’s hard to tell. She only wears long sleeves and those damned leather bracelets. All I can tell is that she’s pale and weak. She barely eats anything and is up from the crack of dawn until well after midnight. The field hands are too afraid to ask her to get rest. They’re terrified of her temper.”
“She said nothing when you told her that wasn’t me?” Chevalier asked, his voice softer.
“No, she just got up and started on the dishes.”
“What is she going to do about Dain then?”
“Nothing, I guess. She keeps Alexis away while he’s fighting, and then sits with him while he sleeps. She cries a lot, mainly in the shower, and then runs the ranch with a steel fist. She wears a holster at all times with a .45 on one side and a Taser in the other. She constantly scans the area looking for one of us,” Allen told him.
“If she has a Taser, that means she’s waiting for a heku attack,” Kyle said, looking at the Elder.
“I suspect… she’s had to use it,” Allen said.
“She’s been attacked by heku?” Chevalier asked.
“She won’t say, but when I asked, she acted differently.”
“You said she’s thin?”
“Too thin.”
“Pale?”
“Another reason I suspect Dain feeds from her.”
Chevalier sighed and sunk his head into his hands.
“She’s miserable and lonely. The field hand, Tucker, he really likes her, and tries often to get close to her, but she pretty much snubs him. He’s a good guy and realizes that Mom has problems with men, that they flock to her, and attack her.” Allen stopped when he heard Chevalier growl.
“What about the other field-hand, Pelton?” Kyle asked.
Allen shrugged, “I think he’s more interested in Tucker.”
“Tell us everything about the location, anything you can think of,” Kyle said, and grabbed a pen and paper.
“It’s southern. It was hot every day and very muggy. It was green with rolling hills and Tucker has a southern accent.”
Kyle wrote it down to pass to those looking for her, “Anything else?”
“Her ranch was covered in Cyprus trees. That’s about all that I have.”
“What kind of horses does she have?”
“She’s mainly raising Missouri Fox Trotters, but there are a few other breeds mixed in. She also takes in mustangs that are injured and nurses them back to health,” Allen explained. “She had a delivery from Wyoming come in with 4 injured mustangs.”
“Did you catch a business?”
“It was from the state of Wyoming. I tried to talk to the delivery guy, but he clammed up and drove off, wouldn’t say a word.”
“Kyle…”
“On it,” Kyle said, and blurred from the room.
“I need to get back. Miri’s waiting for me,” Allen told his Dad. “I slipped Alexis a cell phone that she can use in emergencies. Mom doesn’t know she has it.”
Chevalier nodded, “Good idea.”
“I’m off then.”
“Go, if you think of anything else, then let me know.”
Allen nodded and took a helicopter back to Island Coven.
The following week was quiet. The Valle were waiting to see if the Equites backed off, and the Encala were still too afraid to come back to their city. Chevalier stayed in the Encala Palace unless he was needed in Council City, and the Cavalry continued to follow coven leads about possible sightings of Emily.
Kyle returned from Wyoming after being gone for 6 days and sat down beside Chevalier.
“What did you find?”
“The state of Wyoming delivered 37 horses to ranches throughout the United States this month. I have a list of all of them, along with their contact names and numbers.”
“Let me see,” Chevalier said, and took the list. He quickly looked it over, “She’s not on here, nor is that Pelton or Tucker. Course, knowing Emily, she has an alias.”
“I know, so I want to bring in the Cavalry and send them out to each ranch. It will take longer, but I want to send half to each location.”
“Why so many?”
“In case she decides to ash them when she sees them. They’ll be easier to find in large groups and there’s more of a chance that some can get away.”
“Do it,” Chevalier said.
“I don’t want to use the covens for this. We’re so close to finding her, that I want only the Cavalry,” Kyle suggested. “I know that it’ll take months, but if we work too fast, or get too many different heku involved, we could miss something.”
Chevalier nodded, “Agreed.”
Kyle nodded and disappeared to contact the Cavalry.
***
“Is everyone out?” Chevalier asked, and looked back over his shoulder.
“Yes, Elder, all Equites are accounted for,” Kyle told him.
“Give them back their city,” the Elder said, and got into the helicopter. The 5-month mark hit and it was time to return the Encala to their city. He’d gotten his revenge for his 5-month confinement, and was ready to be far away from the ruins of what was left of their city.
Chevalier was now thought of as a tyrant, and was feared by even those that used to be close to him. Infractions were dealt with harshly, and the other two Elders stood by him and let him be the main punisher for the faction.
When Chevalier got back to Council City, he immediately returned to the Equites council chambers and
sat down to wait for news from the Encala. He’d only been back for a few days when Mark returned with an update.
“Let him in,” Zohn told Derrick when he was notified Mark was waiting.
Mark came into the council chambers and it was obvious he was nervous, “There… there was a… problem… with the list of mustang drop offs.”
“What kind of problem?” Chevalier growled.
“The list they gave Kyle, was for the previous month,” Mark said, and took a slight step back when Chevalier hissed.
“So we’ve been searching the wrong ranches for three months!?” Kyle yelled.
“Yes, Chief Enforcer,” Mark said, and turned his attention to Kyle. “I have the new list though, and we’re starting on it. There are 33 ranches here that had mustangs delivered, only two of those were repeats from the previous month.”
“I want the mortal that made that mistake,” Chevalier ordered.
Mark met his eyes, “Silas killed him, Sir, when he found out we were searching the wrong ranches.”
Kyle nodded, “Start over then…”
“Yes, Sir,” Mark said, and disappeared from the room.
Chevalier turned to Zohn, “I’m ready for Lon.”
“Bring in Lon,” the Court Reporter called out to Derrick. The gray and withered heku was brought before them and forced to his knees.
“Charges?” Zohn asked.
The Court Reporter thumbed through some documents, “Lon is 599 years old and he’s been in Equites the entire time. He was caught in the city paying for a hotel room for a displaced Encala. He’s been in our prison for 4 months.”
“That was smart, now wasn’t it?” Chevalier asked him.
“I knew him from before I was turned… he was a good friend,” Lon said softly.
“That gives you the right to betray your faction?”
“No, I didn’t betray the Equites. I put him up in a hotel so we could try to work out a deal with the Council so… he could join the Equites.”
“Where is the Encala?” Quinn asked.
“Deceased,” Zohn told him.
Chevalier grinned, “Oh that’s right, I killed him.”
The heku addressed Quinn, and avoided looking directly at Chevalier, “I was trying to help him join the Equites, I swear. He wanted out of the Encala.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 26
