Alexis came into the room and immediately moved to stand between them, “Stop it!”
“You’re as blind as he is,” Dain growled at her. “You need to put her away.”
Alexis gasped, “Mom?”
“No,” Chevalier said. “You’re blind and I suggest you get out of my sight.”
“I suppose you’re going to make me.”
Kyle instantly grabbed Dain and began to haul him out of the bedroom while Alexis took Chevalier’s arm to hold him back.
“You’re so hung up on how Mom used to be you can’t even see that she’s gone!” Dain yelled as Kyle roughly pulled him from the room.
Alexis put her hands on Chevalier’s chest, “He’s just upset.”
“He has no right to speak about her like that.”
“I know, but fighting with him isn’t helping anything.”
Chevalier looked over at the bedroom door, “She’s crying.”
“Did she hear?” Alexis asked, looking at the door.
Chevalier nodded and then sat down.
She walked over to the door and knocked, “Mom, can I come in?”
When no one answered, Alexis tried the door and found it unlocked. She stepped inside and saw Emily sitting on the edge of the tub and it was obvious that she had been crying.
Alexis shut the door and walked over to her, “He’s just confused. I know that Dain doesn’t mean those things.”
She looked up at her daughter.
Alexis smiled softly, “He’ll come around.”
Emily looked around the bathroom.
Alexis thought for a moment and then smiled, “What do you say we get you out of those overalls?”
She looked over at her daughter.
“If I bring in a catalog, can we pick you out some clothes?”
When Emily didn’t answer, Alexis smiled, “I’ll be right back. Don’t move!”
“How is she?” Chevalier asked when Alexis came.
“She’s upset… I’ll talk to Dain later. Right now I’m hoping to get Mom out of those overalls.”
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“Girl stuff, Dad,” she said, and then winked at him before running out of the room.
Chevalier walked over to the bathroom door, “You ok?”
Emily looked over at him.
“I’ll talk to him,” he said, and then frowned slightly when Alexis pushed him out of the way.
“Girl time, Dad. The Council is waiting for you.”
“Hint taken,” he said, and then shut the bathroom door behind Alexis. He grinned and walked down to the council chambers.
“Ok, Mom,” Alexis said as she piled catalogs on the counter. “I understand you don’t want anything girly, but I’m sure we can find something in here other than those ugly overalls.”
Emily looked down at the dull blue overalls, and then stood up and walked over to the counter.
Alexis opened the first catalog, “I figure you don’t want your old jeans and t-shirts, because they are still sitting in your closet and you haven’t worn them. Funny how Dad didn’t get rid of those.”
Emily reached over and began thumbing through the catalog.
“Oh look, those are cute,” Alexis said, pointing out something she liked.
Emily just kept moving through the catalog.
“Mom, you’re in men’s clothing now,” Alexis told her, and started to pull the catalog away.
When Emily kept looking, Alexis smiled slightly, “You’re going to get men’s clothes, aren’t you?”
Emily stepped back and thought for a moment, and then walked into the bedroom, followed by Alexis. She disappeared into her closet while Alexis sat down on the bed and started going through another magazine.
When Emily came out, Alexis smiled slightly, “I guess that’s a start. At least it fits.”
Emily looked down at the green camouflage fatigue pants and black t-shirt, and then back up at her daughter.
“You’re still walking funny from horseback riding yesterday,” Alexis pointed out. “Why don’t you go sit in the hot tub? I can have Dad clear it out for you.”
Emily turned and pulled out her bikini, and then held it up for Alexis.
“Oh, good, you found it.”
She pushed it out toward Alexis.
“Hmm… do you not like it?”
Emily turned and tossed it into the trash.
Alexis grinned, “I’ll take that as a no. I’ll talk to the tailor and have them make you a one-piece, ok?”
Emily walked over and looked out the window. She noticed that the heku were out in training and the four wolves she’d raised as puppies were out with them. Alexis walked up and looked out the window also.
“I heard Garrett talking, and he said the wolves are really learning fast,” Alexis told her. “Speaking of Garrett, we’re going to a movie. Want to go?”
Emily just looked at Alexis.
“I figured not. I’ll have a new swimsuit brought up and I’ll talk to Dad about clearing the building so you can get some hot tub time in.”
Alexis hugged her Mom briefly and then hurried down to the council chambers.
“May I talk to the Elders?” Alexis asked Derrick softly.
“Go on in,” he told her, and opened the door.
Alexis bowed slightly to the Elders, and then smiled softly at her Dad, “Can you clear the out-building?”
Chevalier nodded, “How long would you like it?”
“Mom needs the hot tub. I told her I’d have it cleared, but I don’t know for how long.”
“Emily’s going out there?” Zohn asked, shocked.
Alexis shrugged, “I’m not entirely sure, but I think so.”
Chevalier called out orders to clear the out-building for the rest of the day, “Any luck?”
“No… well… she’s out of her overalls, but that’s all I’m going to get for today,” Alexis said. She turned and headed for the door.
“Are you swimming with her?” Quinn asked.
Alexis turned, “No, Garrett and I have plans. She’ll be ok.”
He nodded and she smiled and then left.
“At least she’s out of those horrid overalls,” Zohn said.
An hour later, the Council heard Emily coming down the stairs with four members of the Cavalry following her.
“Ask her to come in please, Derrick,” Kyle asked.
They listened to see if she agreed.
“Good afternoon,” Derrick said. “The Council would like to see you.”
There was a long pause of silence.
“Well… I’ll take the stare as a yes. Go on in.”
Derrick opened the door and stepped back. From Chevalier’s place at the center of the council’s stand, he saw Emily step forward slowly and look into the council chambers carefully. Silas put a hand on her back and pushed gently, but she didn’t budge.
“Come in, Em,” he said, motioning her forward.
She froze and looked at him from the doorway.
He smiled, “Please… just for a second.”
Emily jumped when Kyle appeared at her side.
Kyle chuckled, “Sorry.”
She caught her breath and took his hand when he offered it. They walked up to the council stand together.
Kyle looked down at her fatigues and shook his head, “It’s sort of an improvement.”
Emily looked down at her clothes, and then up at the Council.
“Are you going swimming?” Chevalier asked her.
She watched him, but didn’t speak.
“Not even a nod?”
Emily glanced down at the unfamiliar face on the Council stand.
Chevalier looked over, “Have you met Akili?”
“We have met,” the Liaison Officer said.
“Were you going out to the hot tub?” Quinn asked to take her penetrating gaze off of Akili.
She looked over at Quinn, and then glanced back at the door.
“We’ve cleared the entir
e building,” Chevalier told her. “Use it all you’d like.”
Without a word, she turned and walked quickly out of the council chambers. The guards fell in behind her as she slowly walked down the stairs, making sure to check around her carefully for any sign of trouble.
She stepped back when the front doors opened, but Silas put his hand on her shoulder and she finally stepped out into the bright daylight. They all looked over at the heku training the wolves on the south lawn, and then started for the out-building.
“What?” Silas asked when he saw Emily smile slightly.
Emily suddenly whistled loudly, and her guards turned just in time to see Devia run out of the stables toward her.
“Em…” Silas sighed when the wolves abandoned their heku owners and ran toward Emily. She reached down and pet all five dogs, and then walked toward the outbuilding, followed by them all.
“We need to let the wolves go back to their training,” Silas told her.
She didn’t reply, and the wolves didn’t leave her side as she entered the building and held the door for the dogs to enter also.
Mark was called in when the wolves took off from training, and he soon had the story and walked into outbuilding. He met up with Silas, who stood outside of the pool door.
“She called them, didn’t she?” Mark asked.
Silas nodded, “Yes, she did.”
“Are they in there with her?”
“Yes, they are. Devia too.”
“Let me think through this one.”
“Go get that wolf trainer,” Silas ordered one of Emily’s guards. He blurred away and returned with Clayton.
Mark looked up at him and the trainer was outwardly furious, “How dare she interrupt our training! All she did was solidify herself as their alpha and remove any progress that we have made.”
“I’m sure she didn’t mean to do anything bad,” Mark told him. “We actually need to go tell Chevalier. Whistling is sort of communication.”
Silas peeked into the pool room and then shut the door softly, “She’s in the hot tub and the dogs are all lounging around it.”
Clayton walked in, followed by Mark and Silas. Emily looked over at them and immediately brought several towels into the hot tub to cover herself with. The largest wolf yawned and then laid back against the warm cement.
“You cannot keep your hold on them,” Clayton said angrily. “Calling them is doing nothing more than undermining what we’re doing!”
“Watch it,” Mark growled. “Do not yell at her.”
Clayton whistled and started for the door, then turned and noticed that the wolves hadn’t even looked up at him. He hissed and went back, then reached down and roughly grabbed the collar of the largest wolf, and pulled him toward the door.
Emily gasped and scrambled out of the hot tub.
“Wait, Em,” Silas said, and took her arm just as she grabbed a hold of Clayton’s wrist.
Clayton turned and glared at Emily, “They are going back to training immediately.”
The wolf was pulling against the heku, struggling to get free of Clayton’s grasp.
“Em, let him have them,” Mark said.
She tightened her grip on the heku’s wrist and glared at him.
“I’m not letting go,” Clayton told her. “These dogs are to be part of the Cavalry.”
“Let them go, please,” Silas said, gently pulling on Emily’s hand.
Mark finally managed to pull Emily away from Clayton, and he turned and hauled the wolf out of the pool room, followed by the other wolves.
Devia looked up at Emily curiously.
Emily glared at Mark and jerked her arm away from him.
“You know those were for the Cavalry,” Mark told her.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped in it before going into one of the dressing stalls and slamming the door.
Silas thought for a moment, “Should we go get the Elder?”
“Let’s just wait and see,” Mark said.
They stood silently while they waited to see what Emily would do. She sat in the dressing stall for almost an hour before she got dressed and stepped out into the pool room.
“You ready for dinner?” Silas asked, looking over at her.
She just watched them.
“You can’t be mad at us for that,” Mark said to her. “We told you that the wolves were going to be part of the Cavalry.”
Emily crossed her arms, evidently angry. When a single tear rolled down her cheek, Mark sighed.
“Now… don’t do that.”
Silas frowned, “Please don’t cry.”
She stomped her foot and glared at them as her eyes filled with tears again.
“What?” Mark asked. “Just… we didn’t want to make you sad.”
“I’m not so sure she’s sad,” Silas said to Mark. “Remember when she used to tell us that she wasn’t crying, she was mad?”
“Oh, right.”
Silas cleared his throat and looked at Emily, “The wolves belong to the Cavalry. You can be mad if you want, but it’s not going to change anything.”
“Damnit, Silas. You made it worse,” Mark hissed when the tears freely fell down Emily’s cheeks and her lip quivered slightly.
Emily ducked her head and quickly walked past them. They followed her out of the building and headed across the lawn toward the stables after her.
She walked over to the stall of the lame horse and opened the door, then frowned and looked back at her guards.
“What?” Silas asked, stepping forward. He looked into the empty stall and then shrugged, “I have no idea where he is. Maybe out in the back corral?”
Emily walked out through the back door of the stables and looked at the empty corral.
“Well… I don’t know,” Mark said, carefully looking around the area.
“Maybe he got worse and Kralen took him in to the vet,” one of her guards suggested.
“Or not,” Silas mumbled when six of the Cavalry came into view. The injured horse was being ridden by his heku rider.
Emily’s eyes grew wide and she glared as she waited for them to get closer.
“Let us handle it, Em,” Mark whispered.
She didn’t answer, but crossed her arms.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Silas yelled when the heku got closer.
“There’s nothing wrong with this horse,” the heku rider said.
Emily’s eyes narrowed as he dismounted.
“The veterinarian agreed with Emily,” Mark said. “That horse is lame and isn’t to be ridden.”
“I’m the owner,” the heku said. “I know that horse better than any of you and nothing’s wrong with him!”
“He’s lame.”
“I just ran him up on the hill and he’s fine.”
Emily roughly tore the reins from the heku and he glared at her as she took the stallion into his stall.
“You’re on report,” Silas growled. “That horse isn’t to be ridden.”
“Yes, Sir,” he said snidely.
“Do you have a problem?”
“May I speak freely?”
“Be my guest,” Mark whispered.
“I didn’t sign up for the Equites elite… the Cavalry, just to take orders from a mute mortal who happens to return from the dead!”
“She’s been a member of this Cavalry for longer than most of us,” Mark hissed.
“I just don’t like how her word is being taken over mine.”
“Deal with it,” Mark said, and then turned when Emily stepped out of the stall.
She looked over at them and then shut the stall door.
“Is he ok?” Silas asked her.
Emily moved quickly to the angry heku and slapped him just as Silas got to her and pulled her away from him.
“Enough,” Mark yelled, taking the angry heku’s arm.
“I don’t have to take that from a mentally unstable mortal!” the heku screamed.
Emily tried to get to him, but Silas held her
back.
“3am, my office,” Mark said, pushing the heku out the door.
Silas sighed and looked at Emily, “This isn’t the Cavalry you are used to. Some of these heku don’t like mortals.”
Chapter 32 - Sotomar
Emily opened the bedroom door and looked out at Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Horace.
“Did you need something, Em?” Mark asked.
She silently watched them.
“We’re not up for the guessing game,” Kralen told her. “If you want something, then tell us.”
She moved aside, giving enough room for the heku to enter. When Kralen stepped into the room, Emily reached out and pushed Silas back a bit and shut the door in front of him.
Kralen turned and saw he was alone in the room with Emily, “Ok, now what?”
Emily walked over and looked out the bedroom window.
Kralen did the same and then looked at her.
She glanced at him and then opened the window.
“Still not sure what I’m supposed to do.”
Emily took his hands hesitantly and then pulled him forward and put his hands against the wrought iron bars. He gripped the bars and looked over at her as she pushed his hands against the bars and then stood back.
He let go and looked at her, “I can’t break those bars off.”
She thought for a moment and then took his hands and put them against the bars again.
“No”
Emily frowned and then turned back for the door. When Kralen followed her, she pushed him back to the window and he watched as she went to the door and opened it.
“Do we get to come in now?” Silas asked, irritated.
Emily took his hand and pulled him into the room, then shut the door before Mark and Horace could come in.
“She wants me to break the bars,” Kralen told Silas.
She pulled Silas over to the window and then went over to Kralen. After she put his hands back on the bars, she took Silas’ hands and did the same to his. Once he was holding the bars, she pushed against his hands and then stepped back.
Both heku let go and Kralen turned to her, “I didn’t mean I’m unable to break the bars… I mean I won’t take them off.”
After a few moments of silence, Emily went to the door and let Mark and Horace in.
“What’s going on?” Mark asked the two heku by the window.
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 75
