Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “You sure about that?”
Derrick blurred suddenly into the council chambers, “The General reports that Lady Emily has disappeared.”
Kyle sighed and looked at the ceiling, “Are we sure she heard us demote Kralen?”
Derrick nodded, “Yes, Chief Enforcer. She heard it.”
Zohn reached over and hit the speaker phone when it rang, “What!?”
“Don’t yell at me,” Encala Elder William growled. “Is this a joke?”
Zohn frowned, “Is what a joke?”
“Calling the Encala Council and saying nothing? It’s quite irritating.”
Kyle looked over at Chevalier.
“When did this occur?” Quinn asked.
“Four times over the last ten minutes,” William said, irritated. “No one speaks, but we can hear breathing. So leave us the hell alone!”
“Nothing at all was said?” Chevalier asked. “Even… say a whisper or an attempt at speaking?”
There was a brief pause, “What the hell kind of question is that?”
“What phone number is calling?” Kyle asked.
“It’s your 64 number,” William said. “I suggest you stop it, it’s childish and beneath you.”
Kyle stood when William hung up the phone, “I’ll go look, that’s the game room.”
Chevalier nodded, “Go ahead, but you aren’t going to find her.”
“So what do we do?”
“Kralen may be able to get her to come out.”
“He’s no longer authorized to be in the palace,” the Chief of Defense reminded him.
“Exactly,” Chevalier said, and then called for Alexis.
It was obvious that Alexis was angry when she walked in. Though still poised and refined, she seemed to be holding back a glare as she stood before the Council.
“Are you ok, Alex?” Zohn asked, frowning.
“Yes, Elder,” she said, looking only at him. “You called for me?”
“Chevalier did.”
Alexis looked at her Dad, “Yes?”
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. Why did you call for me?”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Is something wrong?”
The Council hadn’t seen Alexis this angry since just after her Mom died. They were surprised that she glared at Chevalier and they could tell she was prepared to turn him to ash at any moment.
“Yes, something’s wrong,” she snapped.
“What?”
“Is there some reason Garrett’s too afraid to speak to you now?”
Chevalier grinned slightly, “Oh… that…”
Zohn looked over at him, “What did you do?”
“It was a joke, Alex,” Chevalier told her.
“Not funny!”
“I’ll talk to Garrett later. For now, we’re missing Emily.”
Alexis smiled some, “What did you do?”
“We have moved Kralen out to the city and…”
“Why would you do that to her?” Alexis asked, shocked.
“We didn’t do it to her,” Chevalier explained. “He was demoted for a reason.”
“It is too doing that to her, and I would imagine she’s hiding out of anger,” Alexis said.
“How can she take that personally?” the Chief of Staff asked.
“Kralen’s the only member of the Cavalry Mom can relate to. He’s the only one she feels she can talk to… well… if she talked. She’s close to Mark and Silas… but she feels a kinship with Kralen.”
Chevalier leaned back, “Why didn’t I know this?”
Alexis looked into his eyes, “Because you can be blind.”
“Alex,” Chevalier growled.
Alexis suddenly calmed and returned to her soft-spoken elegance, “Kralen is Mom’s friend, and you just fired him.”
“Please help us find her,” Quinn asked.
Alexis smiled, “I can’t. I already know where she is.”
“Wait,” Zohn said when she turned for the door.
Alexis looked back at him, “No, Elder.”
Zohn sighed when she left, “A kinship?”
“I can see that,” Chevalier said. “Damnit… let’s wait until we find her and then I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Mark’s called for the Cavalry. That many of them should be able to find her,” Quinn said.
Chevalier nodded and then left to go think in his office. It was two hours later when he heard a knock, “Enter.”
Kyle came in and sat down on a chair across from his desk, “We can’t find her.”
“I guess we wait until she comes out. She can’t be out of the palace, she’s too afraid of that.”
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Ok”
“In a way, she threatened the Council… when she threatened to leave if we demoted Kralen,” Kyle said.
Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”
“Don’t you think that would warrant a punishment?”
“No!”
“No, I don’t mean we’ll give her a punishment. I just wonder if she’s actually hiding out of fear because of what she did.”
“Damn, I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right though,” Chevalier said.
“I just can’t figure out the Encala phone call,” Kyle said, deep in thought.
“I’m imagining it was a call for help,” Chevalier told him. “If they knew it was her, they may consider it.”
“Let’s talk to Alexis again.”
Chevalier nodded and called for her, then turned to Kyle, “She’s pretty mad about what we did to Garrett.”
Kyle chuckled, “That was fun.”
“Yes well, she’s not going to let us forget it.”
“Oh we’ll apologize to him later.”
“Enter,” Chevalier said when he heard a light knock.
Alexis came into his office and shut the door behind her, and then sat down in the chair beside Kyle, “Yes?”
Chevalier sat back in his chair, “We suspect your Mom is hiding out of fear.”
“No, she’s retaliating in her own way.”
“She threatened to move out of the palace though… threatening the Council,” Kyle said.
Alexis looked over at him, “She’s retaliating.”
“We need to know where she is.”
“No”
“Alex, it’s bigger than hiding because of Kralen. She’s afraid to come back because she thinks we’ll punish her.”
“Retaliating,” Alexis said again. “Just like I’m going to do for what you did to Garrett.”
Kyle chuckled again and Chevalier grinned, “We’ll talk to him when this with Emily is done.”
Alexis smiled softly, “It’s not going to be over until Kralen returns as her guard.”
“The decision was made and it’s final,” Kyle said.
“Yes, try that rationale with Mom. I’m sure she’d completely understand.”
Kyle sighed, “Damn.”
“Just tell us where she is, Alex,” Chevalier said.
“No, Elder,” she snapped.
His eyes narrowed, “Elder?”
She nodded, “Yes, as it seems you’ve stepped out of the family and into Elder mode. It seemed appropriate.”
“Just go, Alex,” Kyle said when Chevalier started to argue. Alexis stood silently and left the room.
“Women”
Kyle laughed, “At least you only have two. Allen and Dain could have been girls.”
“Let’s think this through,” Chevalier said. “She’s not out in the open where others can find her. There has to be a tunnel in that room.”
Kyle nodded and followed Chevalier out the door. They both went into the room and started going over every inch of the walls, looking for a hidden compartment.
Dain walked in and looked at them, “What are you looking for?”
Chevalier looked up, “How does your Mom get out of here?”
Dain shrugged, “I don’t k
now. I was too young when she was doing that.”
He stood back and watched them go through the room.
“We’ve done this before,” Kyle said, looking around the room. “There’s no passageway.”
“Ask Allen,” Dain suggested. “He spent more time with her in here than Alex and I.”
Chevalier stood up and pulled out his cell phone. Several minutes later he hung up and sighed, “He won’t say.”
“But he knows?” Kyle asked.
“Yes, he knows. I’d like to know how Emily outranks me to them.”
Zohn knocked on the already open door and walked in, “She’s called the Encala three more times. They’re getting pretty mad.”
“Like they can do anything about it,” Kyle said as he shoved the bed across the floor.
“True,” Zohn said, watching him. “What are you looking for?”
Chevalier looked around the room again, “Emily gets out of here. Dain doesn’t know how… Alex and Allen aren’t talking.”
“What good is calling the Encala?” Kyle asked, sitting on the bed.
“No idea… she’s not talking when she calls them,” Zohn said.
Chevalier sat down and fell into thought, “I need to re-bond with her. At least then I can feel what’s going on.”
“You hope,” Kyle said, looking over at him. “What if that doesn’t happen again?”
He shrugged, “I can only hope. If we were bonded, I would have known she was having trouble at Powan.”
“We need to find her and ask about the Valle that put her into the silo.”
Zohn chuckled, “Have you told her about what it takes to get bonded to an Elder.”
Chevalier winced, “No… she just knows about the heku way, not the Elder way.”
Kyle laughed slightly and walked into the bathroom, then called out, “She’s not going to agree to get fed from again… nor is she going to agree to drink any blood.”
“I just need to try to reason with her. If I had known…”
Zohn’s eyebrows rose, “Reason with her?”
They looked up when Alexis and Dain walked in. She crossed her arms and snapped, “Go talk to Garrett, and I’ll talk to Mom.”
Kyle came out of the bathroom, “That sounds like a deal.”
“You have to take Mark, Kralen, and Silas.”
“No, we’re leaving Kralen alone for a while.”
She glared at Kyle, “All of you need to go apologize. He’s convinced you’re going to kill him and hook me up with Todd. Todd! He’s…”
Dain chuckled, “An idiot?”
Alexis nodded, “All of you go, or I leave Mom alone.”
Chevalier stifled a grin, “Fine, we’ll go. I need to talk to him anyway.”
Her eyes narrowed, “About what?”
“He found your Mom in the silo.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Well he did. I need to thank him for that.”
Alexis smiled, “That would be nice… Kralen too though.”
Kyle sighed, “I’ll go get him.”
The heku left the room and Alexis turned to Dain, “Go.”
“What? Why? I’m not going to tell.”
She pushed against his chest and finally got him out of the door.
Chevalier, Mark, and Silas appeared outside of the main barracks and waited for Kyle and Kralen to arrive.
Kralen seemed uncomfortable with the Cavalry, but bowed slightly at the Elder before they all walked into the barracks. The entire building fell silent and all eyes turned to Chevalier.
“Where’s Garrett?” Kyle asked.
There were slight gasps and whispering as Garrett stepped out from beside his tiny living space.
“Come,” Mark said, motioning for Garrett to follow.
He swallowed hard and looked sadly at the closest heku before nodding once and following them out. The heku walked in silence toward the stables outside of the palace.
They all stepped inside and Mark turned to Garrett, “Alexis is pretty mad at us.”
Garrett just nodded.
“We don’t like it when Alexis is mad.”
“I… I didn’t… I’ll talk to her.”
Chevalier stood up and squared his broad shoulders at the smaller heku, “What makes you think I’ll let you out of these stables if all you’re going to do is cause problems with my family?”
Garrett gasped, but couldn’t speak.
Silas put a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped and looked at the Captain with wide eyes, “You seem nervous.”
Mark crossed his arms, “Why did you tell Alexis that we’ve picked Todd for her?”
“I... I didn’t know it was… a secret,” Garrett whispered.
Chevalier glared at him, “I’m done with you.”
“You are?”
Chevalier nodded and crossed his arms, “Mark… give him his punishment.”
Mark’s hands tightened into fists and he shoved Garrett toward the back of the stables, followed by the other heku. Kralen followed them silently.
Garrett moved along with them, not fighting, but it was apparent he was terrified and sure death would come soon. It wasn’t until Mark pushed him into the stall with an Arabian stallion that the heku looked over at him, confused.
“There… take care of your own damned horse,” Mark said, and then started to laugh.
Silas chuckled and Chevalier grinned when Garrett looked out at them, “Sir?”
Mark shoved a brush into his hand, “Start brushing, Boy. Get familiar with the horse and then we’ll have you fitted.”
Garrett turned and looked at the horse, and then back at Mark, “Sir?”
Mark pointed at the stallion, “That… is a horse…”
“Horse?”
Kyle looked over at Chevalier, “He’s a fast one.”
Chevalier shook his head and looked at Garrett, “You’re sure you are the one that found Emily in the silo?”
Garrett nodded and looked back at the horse. He still had the brush gripped tightly in his hand.
The heku watched as Garrett walked forward hesitantly and began brushing the horse, though he glanced nervously at the others often.
Finally, Kyle started laughing, “Welcome to the Cavalry, Boy.”
Garrett gasped, “I am?”
Chevalier nodded, “Not only did you find Emily and probably save her life… but I won’t have my son-in-law not be one of the elite.”
“Son-in-law?” Garrett asked.
Chevalier looked over at Kyle, “Didn’t he want to bond with my daughter?”
Kyle shrugged, “Maybe we misunderstood.”
“No!” Garrett said hurriedly. “I… I do.”
“Mark will get you settled in the barracks. The ceremony for your promotion will be Cavalry only,” Chevalier explained. “We don’t want the entire faction in on this decision.”
Garrett nodded and then finally smiled broadly, “I can marry her then?”
Chevalier grinned, “As soon as you can get her Mom to approve.”
Garrett’s face fell, “Lady Emily?”
Mark sighed, “Yes, that’s her Mom.”
“Well… she’s… not talking.”
“Oh, if she doesn’t approve, you’ll know,” Silas laughed.
Garrett nodded and turned back to the horse.
“I’ll be close, don’t worry,” Kyle chuckled, and then left with Chevalier.
When they walked into the bedroom, Emily was in the corner on her knees with her forearms extended out in front of her. She was crying softly and Alexis was trying to get her to calm down.
“I don’t know what you’re doing,” Alexis whispered.
Chevalier sighed, “She did that to Sotomar. It’s some type of Valle punishment.”
Alexis looked up at him, “She won’t stop.”
“Go talk to Garrett,” he said, and knelt down beside Emily. He couldn’t help but notice how she tensed when he got near her and her breathing was in short gasps
. Again she was waiting for pain to start.
Alexis nodded and walked out of the room. Kyle shut the door behind her and watched Chevalier try to coax Emily out of the punishment position.
“Em, you’re not going to get punished,” he whispered, and took her hands. He lowered her arms, but she slipped her hands out of his and put her forearms back up toward him.
He sighed and tried to get her to look at him, “We don’t even know what that punishment is. Now stop it.”
Emily frowned slightly and started to remove her shirt, but Chevalier held it down, “No.”
She looked up at Kyle and then pushed the hair away from her neck.
Kyle shook his head, “I’m not going to feed from you.”
Emily spun suddenly and pulled up the edge of the rug near the wall. The heku watched her dig through a small stash she had buried there, and when she turned around, she had a Cavalry Captain pin in her hand. She held it out to Chevalier.
“I’m going to assume that’s not Silas’ pin,” he said, watching her.
She held it out closer to him.
“We had to send him back to the city.”
Emily shoved it harder at him.
“No, we had our reasons.”
She turned suddenly and went to sit in the window. It was raining hard outside and she watched the rain pound the large stables.
“Em, you have to understand that it’s our job to ensure the Cavalry is our best,” Kyle said. “Kralen has unique ways that may not be completely what we need.”
She ignored him and kept watching out the window.
Chevalier sighed, “I’ll have dinner sent in.”
When she didn’t answer, Kyle and Chevalier headed down to the council chambers. Both became angry when they saw two Palace Guards outside of the bedroom door.
They sat down and Zohn spoke, “Don’t be angry. The entire Council feels the change is what’s needed.”
“Palace Guards can’t hold her,” Kyle said. “Will it take a kidnapping for you to realize that?”
“I said Cavalry,” Chevalier growled.
Quinn sighed, “She’s not a threat, Chevalier. Sotomar knows that after seeing her, and it won’t be long before the Encala see those news reports and realize it also.”
“We don’t know if she’s a threat or not.”
“She’s not. If she could turn a heku to ash, she would have turned the ones that tied her up and threw her into a silo.”
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 82
