He cringed slightly, “All we ask is that you listen to us.”
“How much of the Cavalry is out there?”
“What Cavalry?” Tucker asked as he walked into the hallway. He looked out the window and grinned, “I’d like to see the Cavalry, but you’re a long ways from any military bases around here.”
Emily sighed, “Tucker, I need you to go back out to your bunkhouse.”
“And leave you alone with these guys? No way,” Tucker said, and turned toward the heku. He crossed his arms and looked at them.
“We won’t hurt her,” Kralen said to him.
“Don’t matter. I’m not leaving.”
Emily sighed, “Alex, go find out why Dain hasn’t brought my truck.”
Alexis nodded and left, moving around Mark and Kralen carefully.
Mark grinned slightly when he heard Silas, “Shhhh, Lexi, it’s me.”
“Silas? Uncover my eyes. What are you doing?” Alexis whispered.
“I can’t uncover your eyes, just trust me,” Silas said, and Mark heard him move back into the trees with her.
“Tucker, I’m not kidding. Get your ass out of here!” Emily yelled at him.
Tucker faced her, “Are these guys the reason you are always checking over your shoulder? The reason you are afraid to answer the phone or the door?”
“No,” Emily said softly.
“Are they the reason you won’t date anyone? The reason you don’t trust a soul?”
“Go, Tucker,” she told him again.
“Damnit, Emily, stop it… I don’t care how big your gun is, or how mean your Taser looks. You’re barely 5-foot tall and weigh nuthin’. You can’t keep acting like you’re tough,” Tucker said, frustrated. “You don’t even have both arms right now.”
Mark watched Tucker carefully.
Emily glared at him, “Unless you want to find yourself out of a job, I suggest you get your ass out of my house!”
Tucker yelled and then threw his hands up in the air before leaving.
Emily looked at Mark and Kralen, “Don’t move a muscle.”
“We won’t,” Mark told her.
She moved to the large picture window and looked out before returning to them, “Where the hell are my kids?”
“They aren’t hurt. They’re out with the Cavalry so you’ll talk to us.”
Emily swallowed hard, “There’s nothing you can say that’s going to keep me here until… he… gets here.”
She spun when she heard footsteps behind her and saw Silas walk in the back door, “Stop it!”
He stopped and looked at her, “What?”
“You’re surrounding me and I don’t like it,” she said, and they heard her heart begin to race in her chest.
“Em, calm down,” Mark told her. “We called Silas in so we can all talk to you about what’s going on.”
“Nothing’s going on! I live here, I work here, my life is normal… I have no desire, whatsoever, to return to that place and be insulted and humiliated,” she said, and took a step up the stairs.
“Listen to us… give us 10 minutes to explain what happened,” Kralen asked.
“Is that how long it takes until the entire Council arrives?”
“No, Chevalier is on his way, but it’ll take him a few hours to get here,” Mark said. “I swear to you, I’m not lying.”
“We stood behind you,” Kralen told her, “Even up against the Elder… We ask now that you trust us.”
Emily looked over at Silas, “Where’s my baby?”
“Baby? You mean that massive 7-year-old?”
“Where is he?!” she screamed.
“He’s out with the Cavalry. He’s ok, Em,” Silas said, and stepped into the living room. “Let’s sit in here and talk.”
Kralen cleared his throat, “Is there… is there another, here in the house?”
Her eyes narrowed, “Another what?”
“Baby”
“No,” she said. She’d forgotten that when she left, she still thought she might be pregnant.
“Let’s sit,” Mark said, and joined Silas in the living room.
Kralen smiled at her and joined them.
Emily slowly walked into the living room and sat in an overstuffed recliner across from where the heku sat. She pulled a blanket over her legs and sighed, “You have 10 minutes and then I’m leaving.”
Mark smiled, “Thank you.”
“Make it good.”
“Have you ever heard of a doppelganger?” Kralen asked.
“Evil twin… yes.”
“That’s what it was… That wasn’t Chevalier, it was a look-alike. Doppelgangers were creatures that the heku disposed of thousands of years ago, but the Encala decided to keep a few, it seems.”
“Right,” she said, and rolled her eyes.
“The entire time, Chevalier, Kyle, Dustin, and Jerry were being held captive by the Encala.”
“Likely story.”
Mark smiled slightly, “I can get pictures… the Encala are in ruins. The Equites obliterated their city, and occupied their palace for 5 months… That’s when Chevalier considered his revenge for his abduction complete and let them have it back.”
“What can we say to get you to stay here long enough to talk to the Elder?” Silas asked.
Her voice cracked, “I can’t see him.”
Kralen sighed, “I shouldn’t say this, but… he’s changed since you left.”
“Changed?”
“Yes, he’s become an oppressor. He’s evil and malicious, and doesn’t care about a soul. He kills for nothing, and the people in the city are afraid of him.”
She shrugged, “What he does doesn’t concern me anymore.”
“I just wanted you to know how much he misses you, how insane he’s gone not knowing where you are, or how you’ve been.”
“He knows I’m alive,” Emily told him. “He can tell that I haven’t been able to get this damned ring off.”
Silas grinned, “That should be your first clue… If he were the one yelling insults at you, that ring would have come off.”
Mark frowned slightly when he smelled sweat and realized Emily was suddenly quiet. She stood up slowly, and though she tried not to stoop, she was bent over slightly.
“Em, what’s wrong?” Silas asked, and took her arm. He gasped and fell back to the couch when a flash of burning ran through his chest.
“Don’t touch me,” she whispered, and walked into the kitchen. The heku heard the sound of a pill bottle and Emily poured herself a glass of water from the tap to take them with. They listened to her stand in the kitchen for almost 20 minutes before she came back in and sat down. “You’re down to 5 minutes.”
“Are you ok?” Kralen asked.
“Let’s just get this clear. My health and well-being is of no concern to any heku… as for that, the heku species as a whole, is of no concern of mine. I don’t care that,” she paused and took a deep breath, “That Chevalier is on a rampage. I don’t care that the Encala are in ruins or that some mythical creature has returned.”
“You don’t mean that,” Mark whispered.
“I do… Now, I need to go get the kids. We are leaving,” she said, and stood up.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Silas asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” she said, and started for the door. She opened it and the Border collie ran in and wagged his tail at the heku.
“Damnit, Devia, get in the truck,” Emily yelled. The Border collie spun suddenly and ran out to an old Chevy pick-up parked in front of the barn.
The heku followed her out. It was now dark and she looked around the empty yard before yelling, “If my kids aren’t with me in 5 seconds, I’ll ash anyone in those trees.”
“Em,” Kyle said from behind her.
Her shoulders fell and she stayed facing the trees, “You said he was a few hours away.”
“I’m not with Chevalier. I was with Thukil when I heard they’d found you.”
Emily saw
Alexis and Dain walking towards her from the trees. Dain’s face grew furious and he blurred to her side and faced Kyle, “Did you touch her?”
“Who the hell are you?” Kyle growled, and crouched slightly.
“Stop it!” Emily screamed, and put her hand out to stop Dain. “Don’t touch my son, or so help me, I’ll scatter your ashes.”
Kyle’s eyes grew wide, “Dain?”
“Dain, Alex, get in the truck,” Emily said, and slowly backed away from Kyle.
“Em… listen to me, it’s important,” he said, and took a step forward.
“No, I’ve listened to these three for 10 minutes, the agreed on amount. Nothing changed my mind. Now, if I find you following me, you’ll regret it, that’s a promise.”
“Mom,” Dain said from behind her. His voice was cracked and it was obvious he was in pain.
Emily’s eyes grew wide and she ran to him, “Not now, Dain, please…”
He groaned and fell to the gravel, writhing in pain.
Emily knelt down beside him and took his hand, “I’m here, Baby.”
Kralen moved quickly to his side and started to slip his hands under the young heku, “Let’s get him inside.”
“Get away from him!” Emily screamed, and Kralen blurred back to Mark when he felt a burn begin in his chest. “Alex!”
“I’m here, Mom,” Alexis said. Between her and Emily, they managed to get Dain to his feet. He leaned on his Mom and she struggled to get him inside while the heku watched helplessly. When Alexis shut the door behind her Mom, she turned and faced the heku.
“Lexi, we can help her,” Silas said, and stepped forward.
“She can handle it, stay back,” Alexis growled.
“Allen told us what’s going on with Dain,” Mark explained. “We can keep him from hurting your Mom. We won’t hurt him, I swear.”
“Mom taught me how to ash without looking,” Alexis said, and shut her eyes. “Want me to show you?”
Mark sighed, “No, I don’t.”
Alexis looked over at Kyle, “Don’t move.”
“I won’t,” he whispered.
A crash sounded after a loud roar from Dain. The heku were tense, wanting to go help, but were at a standoff against the teenager.
“She needs our help,” Kyle said to Alexis. “Listen to that, he’s going to kill her.”
“Dain won’t hurt Mom.”
“Not on purpose. You’ve seen him. He’s huge compared to her, and when a heku is in pain, we just don’t think rationally. He’s going to hurt her.”
“Mom said you stay out here, and that’s what’s going to happen,” Alexis said, and crossed her arms.
The standoff continued into the night with Alexis standing her ground by the front door, while the heku waited in front of her. Silas tried once to move around back, so Alexis yelled for Emily. When the pain began, he quickly went back with the others. They all turned when a black Chevy Tahoe pulled up and stopped at the side of the house.
Alexis gasped when Chevalier got out, followed by the Chief of Defense.
“Mom! Dad’s here,” Alexis yelled.
“Alex, what’s going on?” Chevalier asked, and started toward her. He gasped and stopped moving when a brief burn was felt in his chest.
“Stay back,” Alexis said. “Mom’s orders.”
“Dain’s in pain,” Mark told him. As if on cue, another crash sounded and Dain screamed in pain.
Chevalier started forward again, but Alexis stepped in front of him, “Stay out.”
“That’s my son, too,” Chevalier hissed.
“Mom said to keep you all out… We’ve practiced a lot and I think I can ash all of you at once, so don’t push me,” Alexis yelled.
“She only has one good arm, Lexi,” Silas said. “Let the Elder help.”
“No,” she screamed. “Stay back.”
“Alex, what’s going on?” Pelton asked, and ran up to her. This field-hand was taller than Tucker and well-built, with blond hair and a thick blond goatee.
“It’s Dain,” Alexis whispered.
Pelton turned to the heku, “Can I help you fellas?”
“We’re friends of Emily’s,” Mark said, and smiled slightly. He couldn’t explain why they were all standing outside while Emily fought with Dain alone. Dain roared inside the house and Pelton turned to look at the upstairs window.
“Damnit!” Pelton yelled, and ran into the house.
“There, now she has help,” Alexis said, and grinned smugly.
The heku heard what was happening inside the house when Pelton arrived, “Hold his legs,” Emily said.
“I got him,” Pelton told her, and they could hear the strain in his voice. “We need to call an ambulance.”
“We can’t!” Emily screamed. “He’ll be ok, just hold him down.”
“How bad did he get you?”
“I’m ok.”
“That’s not what I asked… how bad?”
They heard Emily strain as she held Dain down.
Hours passed and Alexis held the heku at bay. Things in the house finally quieted down and Dain no longer screamed in pain. Emily and Pelton began to whisper quietly from the upstairs bedroom.
“It’s nice to see that you help your Mom,” Chevalier said softly to Alexis.
She shrugged, “Someone has to.”
“I have been looking for you.”
“I know.”
“Lexi,” Silas called from beside her. The second she turned to look at him, he locked her eyes and the heku flooded into the house.
Emily spun when the door opened and gasped when she saw Chevalier standing inside the door.
“Who the hell are you to just walk in here?” Pelton asked, and moved between Emily and Chevalier.
“I’m her husband,” he growled, and then moved to sit on the bed beside Dain.
“Leave him alone!” Emily whispered harshly.
“He looks ok, but I smell blood,” Kyle said, and looked at her.
“You smell blood?” Pelton asked skeptically.
Kyle sighed, “Mark…”
Mark blurred to the mortal man and immediately locked his gaze.
“Leave him alone,” Emily yelled, and pulled at Mark, though he didn’t move.
“Em, leave Mark alone… Pelton can’t know this stuff,” Chevalier said to her.
She turned to him and glared, “Get out of my house.”
“Not until you hear me out.”
“No, I’ve listened enough, get out.”
“Where’s the blood coming from?”
“Maybe from my fat ass,” she growled, and started to push the heku out the door.
“That wasn’t me!”
“Sure as hell looked like you, get out!”
“No, not until I can prove to you that I didn’t say those things.”
Emily glared at him, “Ashing this entire house in 3…”
Mark ordered his Cavalry to leave the house and they took Pelton with them.
“2…”
“Elder, let’s go,” Kyle said.
“1…” she growled, and saw Kyle and Chevalier both disappear from the room.
Emily walked up and shut the door behind them, then returned to Dain’s bed and sat down beside him and took his hand, “It’s ok, Baby. We’ll keep them away from you.”
The heku surrounded the house as Pelton was sent back to sleep in the bunkhouse. Alexis stood at the door and glared at them, and when the sun came up, she turned toward the house when she heard Emily walk down the stairs.
“Please, at least let me in,” Chevalier asked her. “He’s my son too and I’m worried about him.”
Alexis stepped aside, “If she ashes you, I’m not cleaning it up.”
He grinned slightly, “Agreed.”
Chevalier glanced once at Kyle and then walked into the house. With the trace amounts of dried blood on her shirt, it was easy to find Emily, and he walked into the kitchen as she made a fresh pot of coffee. She saw his reflection in t
he window and turned around to face him.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
She just watched him.
“I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you, but I can’t leave here until I know that you know the truth.”
Again, she didn’t speak.
Chevalier sighed, “Kyle, Jerry, Dustin, and I were on our way to a coven ceremony when we were in a car wreck. When I woke up, I was in an Encala interrogation room. I was in there for days before they knocked me unconscious and I was dropped down an empty well with the other three.”
He watched her and then continued when she didn’t speak, “We were held captive for 5 months until, one day, they let us go… free for no reason. When we got back, we found what happened to you and immediately began to look. I destroyed the Encala, to the extreme that the heku have never seen before.”
Emily turned and got herself a cup of coffee before leaning back against the counter to watch him.
“We’ve looked everywhere. My doppelganger was kept alive just to help prove to you that this is all true.”
They stood in silence and studied each other for a few minutes before Emily spoke, “I have to get back up to Dain.”
“He’s my son too, and I’m worried about him,” Chevalier told her.
She swallowed hard, “I don’t know how to help him.”
“He may need the heku.”
“No, he needs me, that’s all.”
“Just let me see him, please.”
Emily nodded and then led Chevalier upstairs to Dain’s room. He was sound asleep, barely breathing, and completely unmoving.
She sat down on his bed and took his large hand in hers.
“My God, he’s grown,” Chevalier said, and then sat down on the other side of him.
“Dad?” Dain whispered, though his eyes didn’t open.
“I’m here,” he said, and looked over the heku child.
“Save Mom.” His voice was soft and slurred.
“I’m here, Baby, I’m ok,” she said, and kissed his forehead softly.
Dain settled back down into a deep sleep. Emily brought his hand to her lips and kissed it.
“I can’t believe how big he’s gotten,” Chevalier whispered, watching his son.
“I know.”
“How are you feeding him, Em?”
“I knew he’d be big though… you are.”
“Em…”
“He’s well fed, don’t worry about that.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 28
