“I’m going alone,” Chevalier said when Silas and Kralen started to get into the car.
Kralen winced, “Sir, Elder Zohn and Elder Quinn felt it better if we go along also.”
Chevalier didn’t respond, but spun out and drove quickly to the hospital when Kralen and Silas were both in the car. Neither dared speak to him, and they quietly followed him into the hospital.
After checking their ID’s and sending all three through a metal detector, a stern looking older nurse led the heku up a private elevator to a set of three glass doors. She huffed slightly and left them standing alone.
Chevalier walked up to the small phone and picked it up. His acute heku hearing allowed him to hear through the sound-proof glass. A pretty blonde nurse came up and smiled sweetly at him, then eyed Kralen before picking up the phone.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“I’m here to see my wife, Emily Winchester.”
The blonde again glanced at Kralen and then started looking through files. She pulled one out of the pile and glanced through it before returning to the phone, “You have authorization to see her through the glass only.”
Chevalier frowned, “Why?”
“She’s showing signs of violent tendencies,” the nurse said. Her sweet, naive voice made Chevalier angry, “I will bring her here though so you can see her. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”
His eyes narrowed as she hung up and then disappeared through a back door.
Silas sighed, “Am I the only one afraid to see her?”
Kralen shrugged.
Five minutes later the nurse came back and motioned for Chevalier to pick up the phone.
“Yes?” he asked, irritated.
“She’s being sedated, so you can’t see her right now. The doctor suggested you try tomorrow.”
“Sedated?”
“Yes,” she said, and smiled. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Chevalier slammed the phone down and turned around just in time to see Kralen flash a smile at the young nurse. He thought for a moment and then glared at the guard.
“Get me in there.”
Kralen nodded and let Silas and Chevalier walk out the door. He heard them stop and wait for him.
The blonde nurse looked up and smiled at Kralen when he leaned back against the wall. He was surprised that it only took a simple wink for her to buzz him through.
Kralen walked past the glass doors and into the small office with the nurse.
“Did you need something?” she asked, fluttering her long eyelashes.
Chevalier listened carefully and finally heard the buzz of the glass doors. He and Silas blurred in instantly and opened the glass door just as Kralen disappeared into the back storage room with the blonde nurse.
They were surprised that the first set of glass doors was the only one secured, and within seconds, appeared in Emily’s room, following her scent. She was sitting up in a large wheelchair with her arms wrapped around her in a straitjacket. Her head hung limply against her chest and her breathing was slow and rhythmic.
“Em?” Chevalier whispered, and knelt down at her side. When she didn’t respond, he gently lifted her chin and sighed, “She’s drugged out of her mind.”
He carefully rested her head against her chest again and then looked up at Silas, “Keep up.”
Silas nodded and gasped when Chevalier and Emily disappeared without him even seeing anyone move. He quickly blurred from the room and almost ran into Chevalier at the glass doors. He had Emily tenderly cradled in his arms as he looked over at the storage room door.
Silas moved closer and listened, and then shook his head and whispered, “Only Kralen.”
Chevalier tightened his grip, “He’ll catch up, let’s go.”
Silas opened the door for the Elder and this time was able to see him blur away, though he couldn’t keep up with the ‘old one’. Once at the car, Chevalier tucked Emily into the backseat and unbuckled the straitjacket before laying a blanket over her.
Silas jumped into the driver’s seat and started up the car when Chevalier crawled in beside Emily and laid her head on his lap. Just as they were speeding out of the hospital’s parking garage, Kralen dove into the moving car and slammed his door shut.
“You could have just controlled her,” Silas said, glancing at him.
Kralen smiled, “Yeah, I could have.”
From the backseat, Chevalier growled, “She’s so far gone.”
Kralen looked back, “She was sedated and restrained?”
Chevalier nodded and repositioned her head so she looked more comfortable.
“General Skinner said the helicopter will be waiting when we get back,” Silas told them.
Kralen answered his phone when it rang, “Kralen here.”
He nodded and then frowned, “That was fast.”
After a few minutes, he hung up and then turned to Chevalier, “It’s all over the news already. Escaped mental patient… and apparently my nurse gave me up and I’m the suspect.”
Chevalier chuckled, “Serves you right.”
“It’ll be better when we get back to Council City,” Silas said. He looked over when they passed into Powan, “Winchester 1 is here.”
“And the seven?”
“Already waiting for you in the palace’s prison.”
Chevalier carefully got out of the car with Emily already cradled in his arms. She didn’t move and her head lolled against his shoulder.
“Let us know if we can help, Elder,” General Skinner said. It was obvious that he was livid that Emily was injured while in his coven and it was so quiet in the coven that the heku from Council City wondered what horrors the General was putting them through.
Chevalier nodded and crawled into Winchester 1. He laid Emily down on the couch and finished taking off the strait jacket when the pilot took off.
Lori and Dr. Edwards were waiting by the helipad when they arrived. Emily was still completely limp in Chevalier’s arms when he walked into the palace.
“What did they give her?” Dr. Edwards asked, taking her wrist so he could check her pulse.
“Something strong is all I know,” Chevalier replied as he laid her down. He covered her with the warm blankets and then sat down beside her.
“We’re working with the lawyers to keep her out of a hospital,” Lori told him. “The 5122 is pretty hard to beat and will be even harder now that she’s an escapee.”
“How is it Kralen is the suspect?” Dr. Edwards asked curiously. “They even have pictures.”
Chevalier looked over at Kralen and he grinned sheepishly, “Sorry.”
Mark came in and looked down at Emily, “She ok?”
“Yes,” Kralen said, and then cleared his throat. “So I guess you know I’m the suspect?”
Mark looked over at him, “Yes, I caught the news report with the crying blonde. So… let me guess… you decided not to just control her to get into the ward?”
Kralen sighed, “I will next time.”
“What have you gotten out of the Powans?” Chevalier asked.
Mark sat down and lowered his voice, “Four are from Wendell Coven, one from Council City, and two from R and N Coven. They had been at Powan for less than a week when Emily arrived.”
“Did you know that?” Chevalier asked Silas.
He shook his head, “No, Elder.”
“Go on,” he said.
Mark continued in hushed tones, “We’re getting most of our information from Powell from Council City. He said that shortly before we arrived, they smelled a Valle and found Emily missing.”
Silas frowned, “A Valle got into Powan?”
Mark shook his head, “I think he’s lying. So they are all sticking by the story that the Valle tied her up and threw her into the grain silo.”
“Did the geniuses have any idea why?” Chevalier asked.
Dr. Edwards finally finished looking Emily over, “I think I can wake her up with Narcan.”
“Do it.
”
The doctor nodded and then fished in his bag and drew out the needle and medicine. It was only a few minutes after injecting Emily that she sighed and began to stir.
“Coffee,” Silas whispered into the air.
“She won’t drink it,” Lori reminded him.
“Can we offer it?”
She shrugged, “Sure.”
Chevalier helped Emily sit up and she wobbled a bit and then looked up unsteadily at them.
He smiled, “You’re back now.”
She looked around the room with an unstable head and then tried to pull the blankets off.
“Just say there. We have some coffee coming to help you wake up,” Chevalier told her.
Silas took the coffee from a servant and walked over with it. Emily reached out for it three times before she was able to wrap her hands around the hot cup. He kept a tight grip and chuckled softly as she fought to get it to her mouth.
After taking a small sip, she leaned back against Chevalier and looked silently at the heku in her room.
“Would you like us to leave?” Lori asked.
Emily finally managed to get her legs out of bed, and Kralen caught her before she fell to the floor. She steadied herself against his arm and he helped her into the bathroom. Once he was sure she wouldn’t fall, he shut the door and walked back to the others.
“Leave us alone,” Chevalier said to them. “I’m going to try to get a story out of her.”
After almost twenty minutes, Chevalier walked over and knocked on the door, “Em?”
When he got no response, he opened the door and found her sitting on the floor in front of the jetted tub with her head resting against the cold porcelain, and she was deep asleep. He gently picked her up and then left for the council chambers once she was tucked into bed.
Once he sat down, he joined the current trial while Dr. Edwards watched over her as she slept.
Chevalier looked down at the heku on trial and then over to Quinn, “He confessed?”
“Yes”
The heku prisoner shrugged, “I did it.”
“I don’t think a confession should lessen his punishment.”
“Lord Paxton has given us full autonomy on this,” the Coven Liaison Officer told them.
“For stealing from a coven?” Chevalier said, “I vote death.”
Zohn chuckled, “Of course you do. My vote is for 500 years.”
Quinn thought and then nodded, “500 years.”
The heku prisoner tried to run, but his ash scattered across the trial room floor.
“Gah, I hate having to gather them up,” Kyle grumbled, then called for housekeeping.
“We want to talk to Kralen,” Zohn told Chevalier.
Chevalier nodded and turned when Kralen walked in with Mark and Silas behind him.
“You called for me?” Kralen asked.
Zohn sighed, “You’re a good guard, one of the best actually.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“However, we’re a bit concerned about some of your reckless ways,” Quinn said. “We feel that some of your decisions are more fueled by passion than laws or even common sense.”
Kralen frowned slightly, “Ok.”
“The incident with the nurse seemed reckless and impulsive,” Chevalier said. “While most of us would have simply controlled her and probably not been caught doing it… you took it to the next level.”
“Understood, Elder,” Kralen said.
“So what to do with you,” Zohn sighed. “You’re too good to let go, however, we aren’t sure we need reckless leaders on the Cavalry. They are our elite for a reason.”
Kralen simply nodded.
“Maybe you could best serve the Equites as a leader for the City Guards,” Kyle suggested.
Kralen’s shoulders fell, but he nodded again.
The Council turned when the back doors opened, and were surprised to see Emily walk slowly and unsteadily into the room.
“What’s wrong, Em?” Chevalier asked, catching her before she fell. He helped her sit in a chair next to him and she looked over the trial area with heavy eyes.
She frowned slightly when she caught sight of Kralen.
Mark and Silas both smiled at her, but Kralen stayed serious and facing the Elders.
Emily leaned her head against Chevalier’s arm and shut her eyes.
Chevalier turned back to the trial area, “You’ve been a good member of the Cavalry. It’s just obvious to the Council that some of your ways are a bit crass for our elite.”
“Yes, Elder,” Kralen whispered.
“The Elder vote is in and you are hereby returned to the City Guards at your current rank of Captain,” Zohn said.
Emily opened her eyes and sat up, then looked over at Zohn.
Zohn smiled, “Feeling better, Dear?”
She leaned forward and whispered into Chevalier’s ear, too softly for even the heku beside him to hear.
He sighed and then looked down at her, “We have to do it. Things have been done that just aren’t befitting of the Cavalry.”
She frowned and leaned forward again, cupping her hand to stop the other heku from hearing.
Chevalier shook his head when she finished, “No, it’s not. This has nothing to do with you. We as a Council feel he needs to…”
Shocking the others, Emily moved to Kyle and then whispered into his ear. He chuckled and then looked at her, “Yes I agreed with the decision.”
Chevalier sighed when Emily stood up and used the chairs as support as she walked unsteadily down to the trial area. She glanced back at the Council and then fell slightly into Kralen’s grasp.
When Kralen steadied her, he then leaned down so she could whisper into his ear. The Council gasped when she spoke freely to someone other than Chevalier.
Kralen smiled, “I’m ok. Maybe they’re right.”
She motioned for him to come down to her level again and she whispered to him.
“What is she saying?” Chevalier asked.
Kralen finished listening to Emily and then frowned at her, “Don’t do that.”
“Now, Kralen…” Chevalier said.
Kralen turned to the Elder, “She wants…”
He stopped talking when Emily put her hand over his mouth and glared at Chevalier.
Chevalier smiled slightly, “Fine.”
Emily pulled Kralen down again and began talking in his ear. The heku heard only a soft whisper, so they waited patiently to find out what she wanted.
When she was done, Kralen shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and then again looked down at her, “No, ok? Don’t put yourself into danger because of this. You can still visit me in the city.”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed when he saw Emily’s jaw set.
Kralen shook his head, “Listen to me, Em. No. If the Council doesn’t feel I’m fit for the Cavalry anymore, then I’ll take my post in the city.”
Emily stomped her foot and then left, finally steady enough on her feet to storm out of the council chambers.
“Care to enlighten us?” Zohn asked.
Kralen sighed, “She said that unless I’m on the Cavalry, you will be hard pressed to keep her from slipping her guards.”
“Damnit,” Chevalier sighed.
“She also said that if I’m put into the City, then she’ll find a home there too and leave the palace.”
Quinn chuckled, “It is good to have her back.”
“Our decision stands,” Zohn said, and then gasped when Derrick announced that Emily was listening at the door.
“Talk to her, Mark,” Chevalier said.
Mark nodded and then disappeared. Kralen turned to Silas and bowed slightly after handing his Cavalry pin to the Cavalry Captain. Both walked out and started for the barracks.
“She’s going to be mad,” Chevalier said.
“She’s more cooperative since she got back,” Zohn said. “I don’t think she would disappear based on this.”
“She’s still a dangerous weapo
n though,” the Chief of Defense said. “We have to consider what happens if she falls into the enemy hands again.”
“Is she a dangerous weapon now?” the Chief of Staff asked. “Or is she simply the Elder’s wife. We need to consider that she can no longer turn a heku to ash.”
Kyle frowned, “No longer can, or no longer wants to?”
“Both, I wonder if her mind won’t let it happen for fear of punishment. If the Valle attack right now, would she defend or cower?”
Chevalier shook his head, “Pretty sure she would hide.”
“I beg to differ,” Kyle said, irritated.
The Coven Liaison Officer thought carefully before speaking, “Maybe the strokes and the following death rendered her incapable of that ability.”
“She let those heku, be it Powans or Valle, tie her up and throw her into a grain silo,” Zohn said.
Quinn sighed and looked at his hands, “Our Emily wouldn’t have let that happen.”
“I’m not going to sit here and let you treat her like she’s no longer an important part of this faction!” Chevalier yelled.
“Wives of Elders have always been an important part of this faction,” Quinn said. “However, she may no longer hold quite the status that she once did.”
Chevalier growled softly and Zohn held his hand up, “Every wife of an Elder is protected. You don’t have to worry about that. We’re just saying that it’s no longer imperative that we treat her like a weapon.”
“We don’t even know this,” Kyle said angrily. “Just because she’s chosen not to turn anyone to ash doesn’t mean she can’t. I distinctly felt a burn from her, and it was more than just a way she got my attention, she was angry.”
“How exactly does her status change?” the Chief of Staff asked. “I mean, what is the difference in protection for a wife versus a weapon?”
“Two guards,” the Court Reporter suggested. “Maybe Palace Guards like the rest of us have when we need them, and not Cavalry.”
“If they aren’t Cavalry, you’re putting her out there to be kidnapped,” Kyle said.
Chevalier interrupted, “Weapon or not she’s still a Winchester and the other factions want her. She’s my wife and I will decide the level of protection she needs!”
Quinn nodded and sat back in his chair when Chevalier’s temper flared.
“But the other factions don’t want her anymore,” the Faction Liaison Officer said. “The Encala aren’t strong enough to kidnap a fly, and the Valle are too afraid to get near her… no one’s after her anymore.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 81
