She smiled and then started out of the cave, heading north. The last time she took this route she was so frantic and afraid, that she hadn’t taken time to look around the island. The colors of the flowers were vibrant against the dark greens of the trees. It was completely silent as she zig zagged through the trees, often stopping to smell a flower or to look at an odd bug.
“What is that?” the closest heku asked as he covered his nose.
Emily immediately spotted the pungent yellow flower. She went over and smiled, “Smells terrible, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Maybe we should take one back for Chev.”
He cringed, “You want to torture the Elder with that?”
“Yeah… so maybe not,” she said, and then lightly touched the strong smelling yellow nectar before wiping her hand on a tree and heading off again.
Emily looked over when one of the heku trailed off a bit and began pulling vines away from something.
“What did you find?” she asked, heading for him.
“I’m not sure. There’s an old crate over here.”
She stopped and watched him uncover it, “We didn’t have any crates when we were here.”
“It’s too old to be yours.”
The heku knelt down and ran his hand over a red, gold, and white coat of arms, “This is the standard for Castile.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It was a Kingdom that later turned into Spain.”
“What’s in it?”
He reached up and started to raise the lid, but it crumbled in his hand, revealing clay pots. He picked one up and looked inside, “It’s just spices.”
“Why would it be here?” Emily asked as she picked up a jar and smelled the contents.
“My guess is they got stranded here with some cargo.”
“Is it worth anything?”
“Nope,” he said, standing up and brushing himself off.
“Can I take some?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Emily reached down and grabbed the two jars that seemed to be in the best shape, and then headed back for the cave. Kralen was there waiting and still looked extremely unhappy.
“Still no sign, Sir?” one of the Cavalry asked him.
“Not a one.”
Emily sat down in front of Kralen and set the clay jars out, “Look what we found.”
He looked at them and frowned, “What is it?”
The crate’s finder turned to him, “Sir, we found a crate from Castile. It was full of spices.”
“Interesting find.”
She finally stood up and smiled at Kralen, “We’re ok.”
“For now.”
“No, we will be ok here until someone comes for us.”
“If I get my hands on Niccolo…”
“I’m sure he has a good excuse. He’s too anxious to join the Cavalry to take off on his own.”
Kralen simply growled softly.
“Well, we’re good here. I have food and water. You all can feed off of each other…”
“What?” Kralen asked, frowning.
A broad grin crossed her face, “I wondered if you were listening.”
“That’s disgusting,” he said, finally smiling. “You’re not afraid?”
“Not at all.”
“We’re on a deserted island, and no one knows we’re here.”
“I trust you all to keep me safe. I’m good.”
He nodded, surprised at her answer, “Good to know.”
“I haven’t called for him,” she said, looking up at Kralen.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to worry him. I get the feeling that Niccolo will be back.”
“You might as well call for the Elder. We could be here for a while if we don’t. No one will even know we’re missing for 3 more days.”
“You sure?”
Kralen nodded, “Yes, I’m sure. Let him know.”
Emily hesitated, and then silently called for Chevalier’s help. After eating more bananas, she sat back with her book and enjoyed the quiet island. The heku found various things to do but kept completely silent.
The second night was similar to the first, except for a rain started and thunder cracked above them. The lightning lit up the trees and Emily started to get spooked, though she wouldn’t admit it to the heku. They didn’t seem to be afraid of anything, and she didn’t want to appear weak.
One deafening crack of thunder made her jump though, and all she heard was Kralen’s chuckle from behind her before another guard cloak was laid over her gently.
When Emily got up the next morning, it was still raining and all of the heku except two were sitting around the walls of the cave.
Seeing she was awake, one of the heku reached out a cup to her, “That might help.”
She looked at it and saw it was a hollowed out half of a coconut, “You made this?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She smiled, “Thank you. I really like it. It’ll be nice to have something to drink out of instead of my hands.”
He nodded and sat back against the wall. Emily scooped up some water and took a long drink before walking over to sit beside Kralen.
“What’s going to happen to Niccolo if he’s not dead?” Emily asked.
All of the heku looked over to listen when Kralen answered, “It all depends. If I find him first…”
“You’ll beat him.”
“Probably”
“What will the Council do?”
“More than likely he’ll be put into prison for a while, unless someone gets hurt out here, and then he could be banished.”
She nodded and looked at the forlorn faces of the guards, “We could play a game or something.”
“Someone’s coming,” one of the heku said as they all stood up quickly.
Emily peeked around Kralen’s legs and then smiled when Chevalier appeared, looking angry, “Chev!”
He crossed his arms and looked at Kralen, “Explain.”
“Elder,” Kralen said, stepping back. “Emily wanted to see this island again. I left Niccolo in charge of the boat, and he’s disappeared in it. We’ve not seen him.”
“Are you hurt?” Chevalier asked, looking down at Emily.
“No”
“No sign of him?”
Kralen shook his head, “No, Elder.”
Mark walked up behind them and scanned the cave before turning to Kralen.
“There’s not a lot to report. We got Em food and water, and we’ve just been waiting,” Kralen said.
Emily watched as Mark and Kralen spoke to each other too low for her to hear. She began gathering her things and was soon ready to go. Chevalier looked over her closely, but when he saw no injuries, he relaxed some.
“We’ll use the radar in the boat to see if we can find him,” Chevalier told them as they walked toward the beach.
Things were tense between Mark and Kralen, and Emily hoped she hadn’t gotten Kralen into trouble by asking to come here. She grabbed the coconut cup and the two clay jars and ran to catch up with Chevalier.
Emily stopped suddenly when the Coast Guard Cutter came into view, “You called the Coast Guard?!”
Chevalier looked over at the ship, “In a way.”
Her eyes narrowed, “You have heku in the Coast Guard, don’t you?”
He simply smiled and helped her onto the raft that had brought him to the beach. Two Coast Guard sailors had already tied the yacht’s raft to the side of the pristinely white vessel. It didn’t take long for the heku to row out to the Cutter.
As the raft was lifted up the side of the Cutter, Kralen turned to Emily, “Only the Captain and Commander are heku.”
She nodded, mentally noting not to say anything heku-ish around the sailors.
Emily followed Chevalier onto the bridge of the Cutter, where the Captain and Commander were waiting. They all walked into a side room, and Kralen shut the door behind them.
“
Oh good, you found them,” the Captain said, pleased.
Chevalier looked down at a large radar panel, “We’re missing my yacht though.”
“Got away from you did it?” the Commander asked Kralen, smirking.
Kralen’s eyes narrowed, “There’s a heku on board.”
The Commander’s eyes grew, and he looked down at the radar.
“Do you see it?” Chevalier asked him.
“There are four smaller vessels within 32 clicks from here.”
Emily moved forward and looked down at the screen. Green circles were the focal point, along with odd squiggly lines and tiny blips.
“Where?” Chevalier asked, looking down at the screen.
The Commander reached out and pointed to four points on the radar, neither of which was blinking, as Emily thought they would.
“How long would it take to get to each of them?”
“Not long. We could hit all four by nightfall, unless they start heading away from us.”
Chevalier studied the radar and then looked up at the Commander, “One of these isn’t moving at all.”
“Right”
“Head to that one first.”
The Captain stepped out for a few seconds and then returned. Emily grabbed ahold of one of the tables when the boat shifted as it began to move.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Emily,” the Captain said, smiling down at her.
She smiled and then fell back into Kralen when the boat shifted again. He laughed and righted her.
“Yeah, no sea legs,” she said, blushing.
Chevalier turned to Emily, “Before we get to the yacht, why the island?”
She sighed, “I’m sorry. I thought it’d be fun to have a picnic and a swim. I don’t think I broke any rules.”
“No, no rules broken. It’s just you have such bad luck.”
“I know. Don’t get mad at Kralen though. It was my idea.”
“I’m not mad at Kralen, though I want to get my hands on Niccolo.”
“Which reminds me,” Emily said, looking from Chevalier to Kralen. “I think when we get to the yacht, I should go on board alone.”
“Why?” Chevalier asked.
“I don’t think Niccolo needs killed for this. I can go on board and see if he’s there. If he is, I can find out why and mediate, so you don’t tear him apart.”
“It’s too dangerous. Something had to have happened for Niccolo to take off and abandon you there.”
“If it’s Valle or Encala, I can incapacitate them.”
Chevalier thought for a moment, “I don’t know if I like it.”
“Please, Chev,” Emily said. “Let me find out before you tear him apart.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Kralen told her.
She finally nodded, “Fine, but can I at least go with you? I can take care of any amount of heku that fit on that yacht.”
Chevalier nodded, “Yes. You can go with us. If I had to guess, it’s the Valle.”
“Why the Valle?”
“They are more apt to be out on a boat than any other faction.”
“Oh”
“Elder, we’re coming up on the first boat,” the Captain said after taking a message from the bridge.
They all walked out onto the bridge and looked over the crystal blue water and saw the yacht sitting quietly.
“No damage,” the Commander said.
“Stop a ways out,” Chevalier said. “I don’t want to let anyone on board know we’re here.”
Kralen took Emily’s arm and led her out onto the deck. She stepped into the raft, followed by Kralen, Chevalier, and the Commander. Her stomach sunk when the boat lowered, and she put her hand over it to try to keep from throwing up.
“You ok?” Chevalier asked, studying her.
She nodded.
“You’re turning green,” Kralen said.
“I’m ok.”
The raft silently pulled up next to the yacht, and the heku listened carefully. Finally, Chevalier turned, “I don’t hear anyone moving around.”
Kralen nodded and quickly climbed onto the yacht. Chevalier helped Emily up, and soon, they were all standing on the front deck.
Chevalier motioned for Kralen to check the bridge. He headed toward the back deck while Emily went down below to the living area.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs when she saw Niccolo kicked back on her bed with her book. He was oblivious to her presence as he turned a page and kept reading.
Not sure what to do, Emily cleared her throat.
Niccolo jumped up and dropped her book, “Lady Emily! You’re back.”
She spun when she heard someone on the stairs. Kralen and Chevalier had heard him speak and were coming down.
Emily looked at him, “You better have a story.”
“For what?” he asked, and then saluted Chevalier. “Elder! When did you arrive?”
Kralen blurred forward and knocked Niccolo onto the floor, “Why?”
Niccolo jumped to his feet and stood at attention, “Sir?”
“You better have a damned good reason you left the Lady stranded on a deserted island for two days!”
“I didn’t! I waited in the boat as instructed.”
“Did you drop the anchor as instructed?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Kralen backhanded him and Niccolo flew back against the wall. Kralen was on him in an instant, “Apparently not! This boat is over 12 kilometers from that island.”
Niccolo gasped, “What?”
“You abandoned the Elder’s wife and members of the Cavalry on a deserted island, and I want to know why.”
Emily had the urge to stop Kralen from punishing the heku, but instead reached down and picked up her book.
“I didn’t know, Captain!” Niccolo said, trying to save himself.
“What were you doing?” Kralen snapped.
“Sir… I was… I just…”
“What?!”
“I was reading… Sir.”
Kralen’s eyes narrowed, and his hands balled into tight fists.
Emily knew what was coming next, “Kralen…”
“Stay out of it,” he growled.
“Please don’t kill him in front of me,” she whispered.
Chevalier cleared his throat, “Let’s take him back to the Island.”
Kralen blurred to Niccolo and snapped his neck, then watched as he slumped down onto the floor.
Emily sighed as she watched his body slowly begin to heal.
“What was he reading that was so important he couldn’t do his job?” Kralen asked angrily.
Emily held up her book, “It’s one I was reading a few nights ago. It’s called Soft Hearts Tell Lies.”
Chevalier chuckled, “It’s a romance?”
“Sort of… it’s about this couple who can’t express their feelings to each other…”
Kralen cut her off, “He was reading a chick book?”
“It’s not... ok, yes. It's a chick book,” Emily finally said.
Chevalier looked over when Niccolo finally made it to his feet, “You abandoned your superiors to read a romance novel?”
“I was just bored, Elder,” he said, still in some pain. “The book was all I could find to do.”
“Then 2 days later when you hadn’t heard from them, you didn’t think to check on them?”
“No, Elder. I figured they just decided to stay longer.”
Emily held up the book, “You read this book for two days?”
Niccolo nodded.
She frowned slightly, “It’s 200 pages long and an easy read. I finished it in one night.”
Chevalier looked up at Niccolo, “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Nothing! I… I just read slowly.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, no I’m not. I wouldn’t lie. I want on the Cavalry!”
“Get him out of my sight,” Chevalier hissed.
Kralen and the Coast Guard Commander hauled Niccolo
over to the cargo hold. Chevalier went up to the bridge to go pick up the rest of the Cavalry that was waiting on the Coast Guard Cutter, while Emily went through her things to see if anything was messed up.
Once Kralen took over manning the helm, Chevalier returned to the living area and found Emily looking through her bags.
“Missing something?” he asked her.
She jumped, “Don’t sneak up on me!”
“Sorry”
“My stuff is messed up but nothing’s missing.”
“What do you mean messed up?” he asked, moving closer.
“Like my clothes aren’t folded, that sort of thing.” Emily finally closed her bag and then went over to the kitchen to make something to eat.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, it’s ok though. We’ll be back on the island soon, and I will just wash it all anyway.”
“Woody,” Chevalier said, and then turned to the stairs when one of the Cavalry came down. “Call ahead to convene my court. I want to find out what he was thinking.”
The heku nodded and blurred up the stairs.
Emily looked at Chevalier, “He’s in enough trouble as it is without adding, don’t you think?”
“I think he’s lying to us about something, and I want to know what.”
“It just seems like unnecessary additions.”
“Not to me. I want to know everything he did.”
She nodded and then sat down, “Are you going to kill him?”
Chevalier sat beside her and took her hand, “He left you stranded on a deserted island.”
“I know that sounds bad, but I had a good time actually.”
“It could have turned out much worse.”
“Considering what happened last time we were here, I’ll give you that. Do I have to be in on the trial?”
He smiled, knowing how much she hated to be in a court room in any official capacity, “I don’t know yet. As you found him, probably.”
“When I found him, he wasn’t doing anything against heku laws.”
Chevalier kissed her softly and then stood up, “Get some sleep. We’ll be back in Island Coven by morning.”
Emily nodded and then changed into a nightgown and was soon fast asleep. When she woke up, she could hear the gentle lapping of waves against the beach and realized they had reached Island Coven, but they hadn’t woken her. She yawned, stretched, and then dressed quickly. She wondered if she could catch Gordon soon enough to get some of his strawberry crepes.
Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series Page 2
