“Was it a poison?” Dr. Cook asked, and she looked over at him, but didn’t answer.
Zohn sighed, “Yes, it was.”
She looked over at him, “Zohn, don’t.”
“What did they poison you with?” Chevalier asked, and she looked down at her hands.
Emily stood up and looked around the room.
“Please, tell us.”
“I need… will you ask the overseer if I can ride my horse?”
Chevalier tried to take her hand, “Why won’t you tell us?”
“I can’t handle it… I can’t take the anger,” she whispered, and dug through her bag until she found her riding gloves. “I’ve done ok on my own, protecting myself and the kids from the Encala.”
“We won’t get mad. It will help me treat you,” Dr. Cook told her.
“Please,” she whispered, and they could tell she was starting to panic.
“I fired the overseer, do whatever you’d like in the stables,” Chevalier told her.
She nodded and quickly left the room.
“I’d like to know,” Zohn told him.
“Yes, well, this will be easier without Emily here,” Chevalier said, and then called for Allen to bring Alexis.
Miri and Alexis appeared a few minutes later.
“I’m sorry, Elder. Allen was holding Dain back so I brought her,” Miri said, and bowed slightly.
“Have a seat, Alex,” Chevalier said, and pulled a chair up.
“What’s going on?” Alexis asked, and sat down after looking over at the doctor and Zohn.
“Out,” Chevalier said to Miri, and she left, shutting the door behind her.
“What, Dad?” Alexis asked, irritated.
Chevalier sat down beside her, and when she looked at him, he immediately locked her eyes. Zohn and Dr. Cook sat back to listen.
“Can you hear me?” Chevalier asked softly, his voice was calm and soothing.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“Tell me about the Encala attack that made Emily’s stomach pains start.”
She sighed, “We were fixing the kitchen table, Mom and I.”
The heku watched as her voice caught and her body tensed.
“There were only two Encala,” she whispered, starting to panic. “They had controlled the field hands, two of them… it was too much and Dain was asleep. He had an attack the night before… we were painting, varnishing the able… Mom told me to run, but I watched from the trees.”
Chevalier spoke softly, “It’s over, Alexis. There are no Encala here.”
She calmed slightly, “Mom tried to fight them. She’d ashed the Encala, but the mortals kept coming. Their eyes… they were empty. They didn’t know what they were doing. She fought them, but she was tired from being up with Dain. They saw the varnish remover…”
“It’s ok, Alex, they aren’t here,” he told her when her heart began to pound.
“I wanted to help, but they were mortals. They were strong and they held her down while I watched…”
“Shhhh, Alex, it’s ok,” he whispered again when her eyes began to fill with tears.
“They held her down and made her drink it,” she whispered, and fell silent as her mind replayed it over and over.
“Made her drink the varnish remover?” Chevalier asked.
“Yes… then Tucker came… he was furious… he had a gun, a hand gun, and he shot them. There was blood and Mom was throwing up and shaking. It smelled like varnish and the blood, it was everywhere,” Alexis whispered. “I had to… I had to call an ambulance, Mom was bleeding and in so much pain.”
Chevalier couldn’t speak. He was in too much shock.
Alexis spoke quickly, “Tucker and Pelton quickly hid the bodies in the trees and Tucker picked Mom up, and he took her to the ambulance. She couldn’t breathe and he was breathing into her mouth when the ambulance got there. He rode with her, but we couldn’t go… He told the field hands that came to keep us away from the trees.”
Chevalier took a deep breath and held her gaze, “Where are the bodies?”
“Dain woke up when Mom was in the ICU,” Alexis whispered. “He took the bodies deeper into the woods. I don’t know where they went. Police came and asked the field hands questions, but they didn’t see it happen. Dain… Dain controlled the police and told them that Tucker and Pelton weren’t involved.”
Chevalier looked deeper into her eyes, “Alex, you won’t remember telling us… you did not tell us what the Encala did.”
“Ok,” she said as if in a dream.
Chevalier broke the gaze and looked over at Zohn.
Zohn stood up, “Alex, what did the Encala do to your Mom?”
She frowned, “I won’t tell you.”
“We need to know.”
“No”
“We know already that it was a poison, your Mom slipped and gave us that. We just need to know what kind.”
Alexis set her jaw, “No.”
He nodded, “Very well, return to your brothers.”
Alexis watched him and then quickly left for the game room where Allen and Dain were waiting.
Dr. Cook was visibly upset, “I need to go research that, to see what we’re dealing with.”
“Do it,” Chevalier hissed, and then looked over at Zohn when the doctor was gone.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Zohn whispered. “I would imagine they thought it would kill her.”
“I’m going to talk to the Encala,” Chevalier growled, and started for the door. He stopped and turned when Zohn spoke again.
“You can’t take care of Emily if you are away. No one else can even come close to doing what you do for her.”
“They need punished.”
“Take care of her first, and then we’ll talk to the Encala and decide how far we want to take this.”
Chevalier nodded, stood up, and then threw his chair against the stone wall where it shattered into splinters. He took a few minutes to calm down, and then walked down to the game room. He could hear Allen and Alexis talking to Dain, trying to calm him down while Kyle watched. They all looked over when he walked in.
The Elder sat down by Dain, “Your Mom told us what the Encala did, what they made her drink.”
Alexis glanced at Dain, shocked.
“What did you do with the bodies?”
Dain looked his Dad in the eyes, “I tore them to pieces and buried them.”
“Where?”
“Out in the trees, about 2 miles south of the ranch.”
“I’m on it,” Kyle said, and disappeared from the room.
Chevalier sat and watched his kids talk about the last year, though he noticed that neither Dain, nor Alexis, spoke of any Encala attacks.
“Elder?” Dr. Cook said from the door. Chevalier followed him out into the hallway.
“So? What are we up against?”
“We’re dealing with hydrocarbon poisoning, the hazardous ingredient in varnish remover,” Dr. Cook explained. “It would immediately cause her throat to swell, that would be why this Tucker guy needed to force air into her lungs. As for the rest, it burned her esophagus and tore away the lining of her stomach, which causes severe pain because of the damage.”
“For how long?”
“Indefinitely, though… she’s right, her heku blood makes her heal when others may not. For now, we keep her on the PPI and watch her. She’s going to have to have limited acidic foods, which includes her coffee and Coke.”
Chevalier nodded, “Get with the chefs on what she can and cannot eat. If she orders something on that list, they are to contact me, and I’ll pick something else and talk to her.”
“The hard part,” Dr. Cook said, “Is going to be her getting enough rest, and stress is going to make it worse, a lot worse. She’d be better off staying in bed in a calm environment for now.”
“She’s not going to do that.”
“I know, but at least we should keep physical exertion to a minimum and try to lessen
any stress.”
Chevalier sighed, “Easier said than done. I’ll do what I can, but I don’t want to make her too upset.”
“Starting now.”
“She’s just out riding, I think.”
“Not what I heard,” Dr. Cook said, and started down the stairs.
“Mark…” Chevalier called out, and they both walked out to the stables. Emily’s guards were standing outside of the stable doors and the doors were shut. All of the horses were out in the corral gazing.
“Elder,” Silas said, and bowed slightly.
Chevalier looked at the doors, “Why are you out here and not inside watching her?”
“Emily requested some time alone in the stables. We have heku at the back doors also,” Silas explained.
“What’s she doing?”
“It sounds like she’s just cleaning.”
“Of course she is,” Chevalier sighed. “Put out new orders. She’s not to do anything physical until the doctor releases her.”
Silas nodded, “Yes, Elder. Shall we go talk to her?”
“No, we will,” Chevalier told him, and he and Mark walked into the stables. Emily was covered in sweat and mucking out one of the stalls. She was only done with four of them, but those four were pristinely clean with fresh straw, and the water and food troughs were scrubbed clean and refilled.
Mark opened up the stable doors and called for the entire Cavalry.
Emily looked over at him, “What are you doing?”
“Calling in the Cavalry. This place is disgusting and it’s going to take a while to clean it.”
“Yes… that’s why I’m cleaning it. I don’t need their help.”
“Yeah you do,” Chevalier said, and took the pitchfork out of her hand. “You’re off any physical work until the doctor releases you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because of the damage the varnish remover did,” he told her.
Emily gasped, “What?”
“We know… you can supervise, but you aren’t to lift a finger.”
“I don’t know who told you that, but it’s wrong,” she told him, and tried to get the pitchfork.
“Do we need to go over that all again? About you listening to me?” he asked, and held the pitchfork higher.
Emily turned when each of the 57 members of the Cavalry began to muck out a stall.
She sighed, “I’m ok to work.”
“No, you aren’t.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him, “How dare you control Alexis.”
He grinned slightly, “I had to know what we were dealing with.”
“Lady Emily?” one of the city guards asked from behind her. She turned and saw him standing outside of the stable doors. The heku was nervously watching Chevalier, and Emily noticed that his hands were shaking.
“Yes?”
“There’s a visitor for you at the farmhouse.”
She sighed, “Ok, I’ll go.”
Emily started for the door, and turned when she felt someone behind her. She sighed when she saw Kralen, Mark, and Chevalier. Knowing she couldn’t fight them, she walked to the tunnel and was soon stepping into the farmhouse. She hadn’t been in the new one that was built when the V.E.S. destroyed the last one. It was bigger, and she liked how everything was painted brighter.
The farmhouse guard opened the door and Emily saw Tucker waiting on the porch. She ran forward and hugged him.
“You’re hard to track down,” Tucker said, and pulled away from her. He looked over at the three heku, and then back to Emily.
She smiled, “I didn’t know you were looking for me.”
“Of course I was. You disappeared one night and I don’t like that… I wanted to make sure those blokes didn’t get to you again.”
“I’m ok, I just… returned to my husband is all,” she told him, and turned to look at Chevalier.
“Some big’ole men have been at the ranch looking for you,” Tucker told her. “I told them you moved to Texas.”
She smiled, “Thank you.”
Tucker turned toward the door, and then sighed and faced her again, “I can’t leave you alone…”
“It’s ok,” Chevalier told him. “We protect her.”
“Yeah, well where were you when all them big guys were bothering her?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“That’s hard to explain.”
“Where’s Pelton?” Emily asked, and looked out the window at Tucker’s dusty truck.
“He left the day after you did. Last I heard he was working at a ranch up in Wyoming and wasn’t interested in following me around the country looking for you,” Tucker explained.
Mark smiled, “Funny thing, though. I was coming to find you.”
Tucker’s body tensed, “For what?”
“I just wanted to talk… to make you an offer.”
Emily gasped, “What offer?”
“Yeah, what offer?” Tucker asked as he crossed his arms.
Mark smiled at Kralen, and then turned back to the mortal, “An offer to become one of us.”
“No,” Emily gasped.
“You want me to join the military?” Tucker asked, confused.
“No, you don’t,” Emily said, and opened the door. “I’ll write you later, Tucker.”
“No, I want to hear this,” he said, and turned to Mark.
Mark glanced nervously at Emily, and then back to the man, “We’re not military… we’re… heku.”
“What the hell is a heku?”
“Don’t do this,” Emily said, and stood in front of Tucker. “Mark, stop or I’ll ash you.”
“Ash?” Tucker asked, now completely confused.
“Em, let them at least give him the offer,” Chevalier suggested.
“No, it’s not right.”
“I don’t understand,” Tucker told them.
“Don’t do it, you don’t understand,” Emily told him. “They want to kill you.”
“Em…” Chevalier whispered. “Don’t.”
Tucker’s eyes narrowed and his finger twitched above the gun at his side.
“No, we don’t want to kill you,” Mark told him, and then smiled. “We want to make you immortal.”
“They’re vampires,” Emily told him, and moved closer to him. “They want to turn you into one.”
Tucker grinned, “Vampires?”
“The vampire myth came about from our kind,” Mark explained. “However, we’re not vampires.”
“They drink blood,” Emily said.
“Em, stop it,” Chevalier told her.
“Do you?” Tucker asked.
Kralen smiled slightly, “Well… yes…”
“It’s more though,” Mark told him. “The three of us, the heku in this room, we’re thousands of years old and are part of a species that is militaristic in nature. We spend our time protecting ourselves from others like us that we consider enemies.”
“They will send a stake through your heart,” Emily yelled.
Tucker kept looking at Mark, “You big fells are all… what was that?”
“Heku,” Mark told him. “Chevalier, Emily’s husband, is an Elder. He’s one of the highest ranking of our faction.”
“How many of these factions are there?”
“The rest of the information will be given when you’ve decided to join us.”
“Ya’ll are all big fellas.”
“Part of being a heku.”
“Tucker, listen to me,” Emily said, and took his hand. He looked over at her, “Don’t do it.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I have nothing, no family, and no real friends. Do you know when you quit, the owner decided to sell the ranch to some nitwit from New York?”
“What’s the problem, Em?” Mark asked. “You didn’t care when Dr. Edwards turned.”
Emily gasped and Chevalier growled, “Mark…”
Mark’s eyes grew wide and he became quiet.
She turned to Chevalier, “You… you turned Dr. Edwards? When?�
��
“He came to us about six months ago. He’s in his 80’s now and wanted to join Island Coven… so he lives there.”
“You turned him!?”
“Yes, at his request.”
“If you’re offering Tucker this just because you think I need a new guard, then you have another thing coming,” Emily screamed.
“So Emily isn’t a heku?” Tucker asked.
“No, she’s not… Her story will come after you turn,” Mark told him.
“He won’t be your guard, Emily. He’ll become a member of Island Coven,” Chevalier explained.
“So, what?” Tucker asked. “I join you fellas and move to this Island place and I never die?”
“You’ll drink blood, Tucker,” Emily said, becoming angry when she saw that he was seriously considering their offer. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
“If he decides to turn,” Mark explained. “Then we will tell him the rest, and he can still back out.”
Her eyes filled with tears, “I won’t be a part of this!”
The heku watched as she disappeared into the farmhouse and they heard the door to the tunnels slam.
“If she’s not a heku, then why does she live here?” Tucker asked.
“She’s my wife,” Chevalier told him.
“Then where were you when she was getting attacked?”
“I was looking for her… she disappeared.”
“Heku… so those big blokes who kept attacking her?”
“They are an enemy of ours,” Mark explained.
“I’m older than all of ya’ll, and a lot smaller.”
Mark smiled, “That’ll change.”
“I have no family and right now no job. I was hoping to find Emily to see if she was going to buy a ranch like she’s always wanted… so I could work for her,” Tucker said, deep in thought.
“You won’t grow old, or die of old age… Island Coven will fully take care of you, no money worries, and you could later try for their guard staff,” Mark told him. “Kyle and I both spotted qualities in you that we can’t teach, something innate that would benefit Chevalier’s coven.”
“Why is Emily so against this?” Tucker asked Chevalier.
Chevalier shrugged, “She had a traumatic experience with the heku as a child. It’s made her have a strong aversion to turning anyone.”
“But she lives with the heku.”
“Lives with and loves the species, just won’t join us.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 33
