Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

“No”

  “Did you identify yourself as Equites?”

  “No, we heard them talking, and they thought we were Valle,” Murso said, amused.

  “That wasn’t Andrew’s wife,” Kyle yelled.

  Murso frowned, “Then who is she?”

  “My wife,” Chevalier told him with an ominous tone.

  “What?” Murso managed to squeak out.

  “You kidnapped my wife.”

  Murso looked over at the other heku from the interrogation room, “We… we didn’t know.”

  “No one ever said she was Emily?”

  “No, Elder! We didn’t listen in on their entire conversation in the prison though. She was gagged, and we wouldn’t allow the Encala to speak… we thought…”

  “We know what you thought,” Zohn said. “However, it was wrong.”

  “It would be best if you start at the beginning and tell us everything you did,” Richard said, irritated. He studied them carefully as they spoke to ensure nothing was a lie.

  Murso went over every detail of Emily’s capture, hoping by telling the truth that their lives might be spared. When he was done, his eyes were down on the dirt floor, and his voice was but a whisper.

  Chevalier’s entire body shook as he stood up and balled his hands into fists.

  Zohn cringed and looked down at the heku, “You will learn to verify who you have imprisoned before…”

  Zohn stopped speaking when Chevalier disappeared from the council chambers with Murso. The other heku looked over, shocked, when he saw his friend disappear.

  Quinn tapped his pen lightly against the desk and looked at the other heku, “What’s your name?”

  “Mario, Sir.”

  “Well, Mario… so you groped the Elder’s wife and somehow thought it would be ok to assault her?”

  “I didn’t!”

  “It sounds to me like you threatened to.”

  “I wouldn’t have…”

  “Yes, you would have,” Richard said. “Never is it ok to sexually assault anyone. That rule goes right up there with feeding without consent.”

  “He tortured a member of our coven until he went insane!” Mario said, trying to save his own life.

  “Which did not give you the right to harm what you thought was an innocent mortal.”

  “If she was his wife though…”

  “Then she was still a mortal. We do not exert our powers over the weaker species!”

  “But…”

  “No, he should have been turned over to this Council. You have no right to imprison and torture a member of an opposing factions Council, and you know it!” Zohn yelled, standing up.

  Mario nodded slightly and watched the floor.

  Zohn’s lip curled slightly, “I want this one in interrogation.”

  Derrick appeared from the doorway and hauled Mario out, followed by Zohn.

  Kyle growled low and then disappeared after them.

  “Would not want to be in there,” the Chief of Finance said.

  Quinn nodded, “They will get what they deserve.”

  “How do we stop this in the future?” the Chief Investigator said. “How can that coven not know Lady Emily by now?”

  “How many covens do you suppose don’t even know what she looks like?”

  He shrugged, “There’s no telling really. I know that only the larger covens are invited to the palace for coronations and such. Those know her.”

  “Maybe we should send out a photo,” the Coven Liaison Officer said. “Make sure they post it where every coven member can see it.”

  Quinn nodded, “Do it.”

  The Coven Liaison Officer disappeared.

  Dr. Edwards was just taping up Emily’s ribcage when she sighed softly and then finally opened her eyes.

  “You’re home safe, dear,” he said, taking her hand.

  “Andrew?” she whispered.

  “He’s safe too. Are you in pain?”

  She nodded and looked around the room. Dr. Edwards ordered a glass of orange juice and then helped her sit up to take a few pain pills with it. When she was done, he laid her back down and propped her arm up on a pillow.

  “Where’s Chev?”

  “He’s downstairs.”

  “With them?”

  Dr. Edwards nodded, “I believe so.”

  “Does he know everything?”

  “I think so.”

  She nodded.

  “You have three cracked ribs, a bruised hip, and then the shoulder injury. I’ve wrapped up your wrists too. Is anything else hurt?”

  She smiled slightly, “Isn’t that enough?”

  “Well…”

  “No, nothing else hurts.”

  “I’ll sit with you until the pain pills kick in, ok?”

  She nodded and flexed her hand. Just after she fell asleep, Chevalier came in covered in blood.

  “Elder,” Dr. Edwards whispered.

  “She was awake?”

  “Yes”

  “How is she?”

  “There are no injuries aside from the ones we know about. She took a few pain pills.”

  He nodded and released the doctor. Chevalier wasn’t sure when it would stop shocking him that Emily was obeying the orders of a doctor, but he appreciated the effort she was making to behave. After a quick shower, he sat down beside her and took her hand.

  The next morning, she sighed softly and then slowly began to wake up. She started to roll onto her side but cried out when she landed on her shoulder.

  Chevalier gently helped her lay back on the bed and repositioned her arm onto the pillow, “Do you need pain pills?”

  She shook her head and then looked around the room.

  He smiled, “For me, take them?”

  “What’s wrong with my shoulder?”

  “Dr. Edwards suspects a rotator cuff injury. He’ll go over more options when you feel better, ok?”

  She nodded, “Orange juice please.”

  It was only seconds later that a glass of ice cold orange juice appeared in Chevalier’s hand. He helped her sit up enough to take pain pills and a long drink before lying her back down.

  “Do you need anything else?” he asked as he pulled the covers over her.

  “What happened to that coven I ashed?” she asked. Her words were still slurred from the medication.

  “They admitted what they did.”

  “And?”

  “I dealt with them.”

  Emily nodded, not wanting to know more, “Where’s Andrew?”

  “He took off when we found you.”

  “Did you call to make sure he’s ok?”

  “No, he’s fine. I’m sure.”

  “He told me you banished him,” Emily said, watching him.

  “I’m surprised he told you.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It’s hard to talk business with you, Em. You hate banishment and anything to do with it. I don’t like to bring it up.”

  “He told me why.”

  Chevalier nodded, “I figured… Enter.”

  Emily looked over when Dr. Edwards came in. He smiled down at her, “How are you feeling?”

  “It’s a mixture between too drugged to think and pain.”

  “I have an appointment for you to get an MRI on your shoulder.”

  She cringed and then finally nodded. Her agreement with herself to follow his orders when injured was going to be harder to stick to than she thought if he was going to shove her into a tiny tube for an hour.

  Chevalier looked over at him, “If it is a torn rotator cuff, then what?”

  “Surgery to fix it, and 12 weeks in a sling along with Physical Therapy.”

  “Or we wait and I heal by myself?” Emily asked.

  Dr. Edwards smiled, “Or that. I don’t know how long that will take though.”

  “Can I try, please?”

  Chevalier and Dr. Edwards had a brief conversation she couldn’t hear, but when Chevalier turned to tell her they would give her tw
o months to heal, she was already sleep.

  Chapter 3

  “I don’t understand why I can’t talk to him,” Emily said to her laptop. The screen showed William in his chair with the Encala Council.

  “We’re not keeping you from talking to Andrew. He’s on a mission right now and has been busy.”

  “It’s been three weeks, and I don’t believe you that he’s ok.”

  William smiled, “He wasn’t injured.”

  “Then what’s wrong? Why won’t he talk to me?”

  “He’s pretty upset that you were injured in his care. Just give him time.”

  “That wasn’t his fault.”

  “We know that. It’s hard though.”

  She sighed, “Well tell him I called again, will you?”

  “We will, dear. How are you feeling?” William asked.

  “Better thanks. I’m still in a sling, but I think it’s getting better.”

  “If you need our Physical Therapist, let us know.”

  Emily smiled, “You think Chev’d go for that?”

  “No, probably not,” William chuckled. “We also were curious if you have heard from the Valle.”

  “Not since I petitioned for Sotomar’s release four months ago.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, and I plan on doing it again soon.”

  William’s smile grew, “I would imagine you will.”

  “I better go.”

  “Thank you for calling, dear.”

  Emily nodded and shut the laptop. She looked over at the cane at her side and sighed. With her right arm in a sling and a cane in her left hand to help with the limp, she felt incredibly inept and frustrated.

  Sighing, she stood up and then used the cane to limp over to the door. Silas heard her coming and opened it for her, “Coming out?”

  “Yes, hoping to wobble out to the stables,” she said, slowly passing him.

  He smiled and followed her over to the stairs where she was frowning and looking over a burgundy chair hooked to the top of the stairs, “What’s that?”

  “A chair lift.”

  She looked over at him, “You put in a chair lift?”

  “The Elders did. When you’ve healed, I’m sure we’ll take it down.”

  “I’d rather hobble down the stairs.”

  Silas walked over to the controls, “You risk falling. This way, you can get down without hurting yourself.”

  Emily looked down the long flight of stairs, and then over to the chair. As humiliating as it looked, she saw no other option than to be carried around. With this chair, she could at least be somewhat independent.

  “Mom?” Megara said from behind her.

  Emily turned around and smiled, “Done with school for the day?”

  Megara nodded and smiled at the chair, “It’s fun. You should try it.”

  “You did?”

  “Oh yeah. Dain and I were racing earlier.”

  “On the stair lift?!”

  “Yup. He cheated though,” Megara said. She bit her lip slightly and looked up at her Mom, “What are the chances that I’ll grow up to be as fast as Dain?”

  Emily smiled slightly, “No chance really, Megs. He is full heku.”

  “Maybe I will be.”

  “He was from birth though. I would imagine you’ll be like Allen.”

  “Not Alexis?”

  “I think you take more after Allen. He’s not as fast as Dain, but he’s way faster than Alexis and I.”

  Megara smiled, “You are pretty slow.”

  Emily swung her cane at the girl, but Megara easily dodged, “Don’t call me slow.”

  Megara fidgeted slightly with the controls on the chair.

  “What’s wrong, Megs?”

  “Alexis told me you once took her into the prison to practice ashing.”

  “Right”

  The young girl hesitated, “Can we do that?”

  Emily nodded, “I don’t see why not.”

  “Do you think I can do it?”

  “I really don’t know.” Emily saw the heku guards back off as it seemed private, “Alexis didn’t turn a heku to ash until she felt threatened. You have never been in a situation to be threatened, so it’s hard to know if you have the ability.”

  “But I could?”

  “Yes, you could. You’re more heku than mortal though, so I don’t know.”

  “Can we go now?”

  Emily smiled, “Sure. Let me figure out this lift, and we’ll go into the prison.”

  Megara clapped and headed down the stairs at a run.

  Emily sat down in the chair and looked over at Silas, “Will you go ask the Council if they have a prisoner of choice for this?”

  Silas nodded and blurred down the stairs. He heard the motor on the stair lift, just as he stepped into the council chambers, and smiled.

  “Yes, Silas?” Zohn asked, looking up from a thick binder.

  Silas bowed slightly, “Lady Emily is taking Megara into the prison for… ash practice.”

  Chevalier’s eyebrows rose, “She is?”

  “Yes, and she would like to know if you have a prisoner preference.”

  “She actually asked?” Richard asked him, shocked.

  Silas nodded, “Yes. She’s been very compliant as far as heku relations go.”

  Kyle nodded and turned to him, “It’s part of the unspoken agreement she has with the Elder. She stays out of heku business but involves us in important things, and we let her do what she wants.”

  “I wasn’t aware there were specifics,” Richard said.

  Chevalier chuckled, “There are no specifics. I don’t even know when it happened. All of a sudden, Emily started listening to me.”

  “Growth spurt,” the Chief of Staff said, smiling.

  Chevalier glared at him, “It’s not a growth spurt.”

  Silas cleared his throat.

  Quinn looked up at him, “I don’t think it matters who she tries to turn to ash. I don’t believe Megara can do it.”

  “You don’t?” Chevalier asked.

  “I think she would have shown it before now.”

  “She’s never been threatened.”

  “Maybe we should set up a mock threat,” Kyle said. “That’d let us know, one way or the other.”

  “Is it worth scaring her?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

  “To know if she has the ability… maybe.”

  “I’ll talk to Emily about it. I’m not sure I like the idea of scaring Megs.”

  Silas smiled, “So I can tell her to pick a prisoner?”

  “Yes,” Kyle said. “Then let us know how it goes.”

  Silas nodded and disappeared. He met up with Emily, just as she was getting off of the stair lift that took her from the second-floor to the first-floor. The first-floor guards were talking to her about it.

  Silas cleared his throat, and both first-floor guards spun suddenly and faced forward, standing straight at attention. Emily started to explain that they weren’t hurting anything but thought twice about it and hobbled toward the prison.

  “The Council said you can ash any heku you want in the prison,” Silas told her.

  She nodded, “Do you have a preference?”

  Silas smiled, “Yes.”

  “Who?”

  “His name is Wallace, and he was a serial killer a few years back.”

  “I didn’t hear about him,” Emily said, looking over at Silas.

  “He wasn’t in this area. When it was discovered he was Equites though, Damon caught him.”

  “Why isn’t he dead or banished?”

  “The Elders wanted him to stay above ground in case more bodies were located by the mortal police.”

  She nodded, “Take me to him.”

  Emily looked down the long flight of stairs leading to the prison, and then winced when Silas picked her up and walked her to the bottom.

  “Captain,” the two Prison Guards said when Silas entered. They bowed slightly toward him and then looked at E
mily, shocked, “Lady Emily! You can’t be…”

  “Enough,” Silas snapped. “She’s with me.”

  “But… Miss Megara too?” one of them asked.

  Megara smiled, “I’m with them.”

  Silas led them over to a cell on the far end of the prison. He and Megara waited for Emily to arrive, and when she did, Silas had a chair for her.

  Two hours later, Emily was thinking of how else to explain the ash process, and Megara was obviously frustrated with the entire process. The prisoner hadn’t felt so much as a burn and was calmly sitting in his cell watching them.

  “I hate this!” Megara yelled when she tried again.

  Emily took her hand, “Just give it time.”

  “No! It’s not fair… what am I? A blood drinking mortal? I can’t turn a heku to ash. I'm not as fast as a heku. I'm not as smart as a heku.”

  “It takes time to see what abilities you have…,” Emily started, but Megara ran out of the prison.

  Emily looked up at Silas, and he shrugged, “The Council wonders if they need to make her feel threatened to bring out the ability.”

  “Threatened? Like someone attack her?” Emily asked, getting slowly to her feet.

  “Yes, but no real threat.”

  “I hate for her to feel that. It’s horrible.”

  “I know, but it could bring out her ability.”

  “I’m not sure she has one. She’s always taken more after the heku.”

  Silas nodded and then carried Emily up the stairs to the lobby. He looked over when Horace walked up, “Miss Megara is in your Jeep.”

  Emily frowned, “Why?”

  “She said she’s waiting for you to take her to the house, so she can live a mortal life.”

  She sighed, “Damnit. I can’t leave her alone with Alec in that house.”

  “The Elder’s not going to want you moving out there either,” Silas told her.

  “Chev,” Emily called out, and then watched him come down the stairs.

  Chevalier smiled, “How did it go?”

  “She’s sitting in the Jeep waiting for me to take her to my house, so she can start her life as a mortal,” Emily told him. “She listens to you… see what you can do.”

  Chevalier sighed and walked into the garage. Megara was sitting in the Jeep with her arms crossed, glaring at the dash board. He walked up and knocked on the window, “Can we talk?”

  Megara lowered the window, “What about?”

  “About you turning fully mortal.”