Encala : Book 3 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Emily?” he asked, and she looked at him.

  She held out her arm, palm side up, “Here, just leave my neck alone.”

  “I’m not here to feed,” he said, flinching slightly at her scent. Part of the reason he hated her, was how sweet her blood smelled, how enticing it was.

  “Then what do you want?” she whispered, and returned her forehead to her knee.

  “I wasn’t in your trap,” he said, softly. “Can you trust me? I can help you.”

  She shook her head, “Damon wouldn’t help me.”

  “Come on, I’m not that mean,” he said, hurt.

  “Either feed or go,” she whispered.

  Damon jumped back down out of the loft and sighed when he walked up to Kyle, “That didn’t help.”

  “I guess just leave her. Mark’s still trailing her,” Kyle said.

  Kyle knocked on Chevalier’s office door.

  “Enter,” Chevalier said to him. He looked up from a newspaper when Kyle walked in and sat down.

  “Not good.”

  “What happened?” Chevalier asked, putting down the paper.

  “Emily came out to training.”

  Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “Oh? That surprises me.”

  “Yeah well… she’s not Emily. She barely spoke, didn’t even hardly react when a guard was mean to his horse. She got bucked off because of the guard and didn’t say anything to him. Now she’s rocking up in the loft,” Kyle told him.

  “I should go talk to her,” Chevalier said.

  “I wouldn’t. She thinks this isn’t real. I even tried Damon, with no luck,” Kyle said.

  “You sent Damon?” Chevalier frowned.

  Kyle sounded frustrated, “Yeah but he was too nice, so she didn’t believe it was him.”

  “She said nothing when she got bucked off?”

  “Nothing…” Kyle said, and sat up straighter. “I have an idea.”

  Chevalier started to ask him what it was, but he had already blurred out of the office.

  Emily sighed when she heard footsteps on the ladder. She wondered what horror was headed her way this time. She felt exhausted, her energy entirely depleted. She decided that death had to be better than this, and she was ready for it, welcomed it even.

  She turned and saw Frank, Nelson, and Silas standing awkwardly in the loft.

  “What?” she asked them, softly.

  “We… um… heard what happened. Anything we can do?” Frank asked.

  “Yes,” she said, softly.

  Kyle smiled from down by the stalls, but began to panic when he smelled blood.

  Emily cut her wrist on a rough nail on the wall of the loft, and held up her bleeding arm, “Just drain me quickly, that’s all I ask.”

  Frank and Silas froze, wide eyed. The smell wafted past them, and their senses burned with hunger. Nelson took a step toward her, his hands curved into claws.

  Frank knocked him upside the head, “What are you doing?”

  Nelson blinked a few times and then looked at Frank, “I wouldn’t have.”

  “You were going to,” Silas yelled.

  “No I wasn’t,” Nelson said, walking back to them.

  Emily watched them, and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

  Nelson smacked Frank hard against the side of his head, and the two blurred into a fight. Emily couldn’t see what was happening, but could hear the growls and snarls. Silas watched intently, grinning at them.

  Kyle appeared in the loft and soon had Nelson’s collar in one hand, and Frank’s in the other, “What are you two doing?”

  “He went to feed,” Frank growled.

  “I did not,” Nelson hissed at him.

  “Go back inside,” Kyle snapped at them. Emily could hear them bickering as they left the stable.

  “If I go back to prison because dim-wit over there couldn’t control himself, I’ll kill you both,” she heard Silas yell.

  “I didn’t do anything but…” Frank’s voice trailed off as they entered the palace.

  “Emily, I don’t care how fragile you are right now, you cannot go around cutting yourself and offering every heku a chance to feed,” Kyle yelled at her, angrily. “Furthermore, if you are going to allow the guards to walk all over you, then consider yourself fired.”

  He growled angrily and stormed out of the stables.

  “Come in, Kyle,” Chevalier said from his office.

  Kyle walked in and slammed the door behind him and sat down roughly, “She’s going to get herself killed.”

  Chevalier simply nodded, he hadn’t seen Kyle this angry in a long time.

  “I fired her, just so you know… and I yelled at her,” he told the Elder.

  “I see,” Chevalier said, frowning. He wondered how well Emily had taken that.

  “She didn’t even fight back,” Kyle said, irritated, and still partially yelling.

  Chevalier just watched him, figuring it was best if Kyle just got it all out before being questioned about yelling at Emily.

  “Those morons I sent in there got in some argument after one of them decided it was time to take Em up on her offer to feed, and then they got into this huge fight right in front of her and…” Kyle stopped, and growled.

  “Offer to feed?” Chevalier asked, that part had caught his attention.

  “Yeah… she cut her wrist on a nail and asked that they drain her quickly,” Kyle yelled, throwing his hands into the air.

  “She what!?” Chevalier growled, and then turned to the door when someone knocked. “Enter!”

  He looked at the door, ready to kill whoever walked in, and his jaw dropped when he saw it was Emily. She limped in to his office with her hand behind her back.

  “Em, I can’t believe you ask…” he stopped when she glared at him.

  Emily brought out the cattle prod and touched it to Kyle’s neck just as he yelled, dropping him to the floor. She then turned and limped back out, slamming the door behind her.

  Chevalier stood up and leaned over his desk, “You ok?”

  “Oh, she did not just do that!” Kyle yelled, standing up, still shaking.

  “I think you got your answer to yelling at her,” Chevalier said, grinning. His face fell, though, when he remembered her offer to the three prisoners.

  “Did she really ask to be drained quickly?” Chevalier asked when Kyle got back into his chair.

  “Yes, after cutting herself. We have good guards, but you can only ask so much out of a natural predator. She’s lucky the three of them didn’t attack instantly,” Kyle said, feeling the side of his neck, it still tingled.

  “Where are they now?” Chevalier asked.

  “Back in the cells. I let them out for one purpose and they screwed it up,” Kyle scowled.

  “Let them out. Reinstate them to the Cavalry.”

  Kyle frowned, “Do what?”

  “If they can pass up an offer like that, they deserve to be part of Emily’s cavalry. Yes they drank, I haven’t forgotten that, but that showed loyalty,” Chevalier explained.

  Kyle nodded, “You’re right, I’ll let them out on good behavior.”

  “Now what to do with Emily. I wonder if she’s back to trusting us,” Chevalier wondered out loud.

  “I guess only one way to find out,” Kyle said. “I’ll go yell at her for shocking me and see how that goes.”

  “I’ll have Damon ready,” Chevalier chuckled.

  “Yeah I guess you’re right. I don’t feel like spending my day smoking,” Kyle said.

  “I’ll go, and see if she trusts me yet,” Chevalier said, standing up.

  Kyle followed the Elder as he went to the kitchen to grab lunch for Emily. He walked up the stairs quietly and stopped outside of her door. He sighed when he found the door locked, and he knocked.

  It opened only about an inch, “What?”

  “Em, I have your lunch,” he said, holding out the tray.

  Chevalier heard her limp over and sit on the bed. Taking that as a sign to enter, he walk
ed in and sat the tray down on the table. He turned to her and saw she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, watching him accusingly. Her eyes were still red from crying.

  He walked over to the table, “It’s a hamburger and fries, your favorite.”

  Emily said nothing and watched him.

  Chevalier turned to her, “I didn’t poison it, come eat.”

  Emily moved ever so slightly, and Chevalier noticed she had the cattle prod gripped in her hand.

  “Are you going to electrocute me?” he asked.

  “If you get too close, yes,” she said, seriously.

  “You’d be better off ashing. The cattle prod only works for a couple of seconds,” he suggested.

  Emily screamed and grabbed at her right thigh.

  Chevalier was heading for her side when she held up the prod, “Get back.”

  “Is it the runes?” he asked, stopping.

  Emily jumped out of bed and walked on the sides of her feet as fast as she could, and went into the bathroom. Chevalier cringed when he heard her groan from the pain.

  She emerged a short time later, her eyes were furious.

  “Are you ok?” Chevalier asked from across the room. When he heard her coming, he’d moved far away from the bathroom.

  Emily ignored him, grabbed the cattle prod, and headed out the door.

  “Where are you going?” he asked from closer behind her, and she spun to face him.

  “Stay away from me,” she said, gritting her teeth.

  He put his hands up and backed away, knowing Mark would follow her wherever she was going. She used the railing to take some weight off of her feet as she went down the stairs.

  “She’s going to the prison, do I let her?” Mark whispered into the air.

  “Yes,” was the response.

  Chevalier blurred down into the prison, motioning for the guards not to make a noise that he was there. He watched as Emily walked up and down the aisle of prisoners looking for Vaughn. When she found him, she stopped and turned toward his cell.

  “Get it off of me,” she demanded.

  Vaughn stood up and smiled, “Is that for me?” He motioned to the cattle prod.

  “No, it’s for the nosy heku following me around,” she said, glancing toward Mark and Chevalier.

  “Damn,” Chevalier whispered and stepped toward her.

  “Get it off, now,” she said again.

  “No, it will come in handy when I get out of here and need you,” he said, smugly.

  Emily narrowed her eyes at him and watched as he screamed and fell convulsing to the floor.

  “Emily, stop,” Chevalier said from beside her. She turned to him and he was barely able to dodge out of the way of the cattle prod.

  Vaughn stumbled to his feet, “I demand that you do not do that again!”

  “You demand?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Vaughn fell to his knees, gripping his chest and groaning with pain.

  Vaughn fell against the floor, panting. After a few moments, he got to his feet shakily, “If you do that again, I’ll never get you out of this hell.”

  “What hell are you referring to?” she asked, suspiciously.

  “The one you’ve been in since you stepped through my enchanted wall. Everything’s calm now, but wait, you disobey me and it will all come back.”

  Emily took a step back, “What?”

  “Just a minute,” Chevalier growled.

  “You don’t seriously think everything’s safe for you now, do you? That corridor is just out of reach. In an instant, I can bring it back, and all of the terror with it,” Vaughn chuckled.

  “Keys,” Chevalier demanded of the guard, and immediately began opening the cell door.

  “I’m the only one that can help you, Emily. I’m the only one that knows how to end it. If he kills me, he’s only killing the enchanted image of me, and then you’ll be alone. No way out,” Vaughn said, watching her.

  “Chevalier, get out,” she said, quickly.

  “Don’t listen to him, he’s lying,” Chevalier said from inside the cell.

  “Get out before I ash you,” she said, and Chevalier felt the slightest bit of burn start in his chest.

  “Turn him to ash, Emily. Do it and show me your loyalty,” Vaughn smiled.

  Chevalier backed out of the cell and the burning stopped. He turned to her, “He’s lying. You have to trust me.”

  “Emily, listen to Chevalier,” Mark said, stepping out of the shadow.

  “If I let you go, will you let me out?” she asked Vaughn.

  He nodded, “Come with me. I hold the key to the runes. You can’t resist it forever. Soon you’ll come when I call.”

  “I’ll worry about the runes later, just let me out of this corridor,” she said, begging.

  “Emily, you can’t let him go,” Chevalier said, and touched her hand softly. She screamed and jerked away from him, landing on her back on the floor. She crawled backwards way from him, frantically.

  Emily scrambled to her feet and ran up the stairs, ignoring the pain from the gravel cuts. She disappeared into the upstairs foyer.

  Chevalier growled at Vaughn, “How dare you.”

  “Have fun with her now. She’ll come running to me soon enough,” Vaughn said to him.

  “Unless you’re dead first.”

  “You can’t kill me. Code says you have to keep me until a release is negotiated. I’m the only Elder the Encala have,” he said smugly, and sat down.

  “So you’re an Elder now?” Chevalier asked.

  “Yes, when all three Elders died, I was the only council member to take their place,” he explained. “When Emily comes to me, she’ll sit at my side as the second… well… after she’s given me a female child and we turn her into an immortal, of course.”

  Mark held Chevalier back and whispered into his ear, “Just wait, we’ll get him.”

  They headed back to the door and Chevalier turned to the guards.

  “I don’t care if she threatens to ash you. If I catch her down here, you’ll wish she had,” he growled and walked up the stairs.

  “Where is she?” he asked at the top of the stairs.

  “Stable,” he heard a voice say from far away.

  “Kyle,” Chevalier said, and Kyle blurred to his side. Chevalier stood and looked out the window to the stables as Mark filled Kyle in, word-for-word, on what had just occurred.

  “How did he even know?” Kyle asked, baffled.

  “It has to be a connection through those runes,” Chevalier said.

  Chevalier’s eyes narrowed as he saw the silhouette of a figure on top of the stable roof, “What is she doing?”

  Kyle looked out, “I’m not sure.”

  “Dad!” Emily called into wind.

  Chevalier frowned.

  “Help me,” she whispered softly, and sunk down into her protective ball and rocked.

  “We could sedate her and bring her in here. We can keep her here until we figure out how to convince her,” Mark said.

  Chevalier shook his head, “We aren’t going to earn her trust by betraying it.”

  Damon walked up and looked out the window, “Just leave her. She’ll figure it out on her own. You all indulge her too much.”

  Chevalier growled at him.

  Damon looked over at him, “I just mean… she’s not hurting anyone out there but herself. When she decides to see logic, she’ll come down.”

  “She’s up there because our ancestors scared her to death,” Kyle snapped at him.

  “She’ll live,” Damon said. He shrugged and walked off when the other heku glared at him.

  Chevalier turned around and gasped just as Emily jumped off of the roof of the stables. Chevalier, Mark, and Kyle blurred to the other side of the stables, prepared to find her dead on the ground. Instead, she was lying on her back on a loose pile of straw that stood taller than the heku. When they saw her crawling out of the straw, they scattered quickly and joined up back in the palace.

  “I didn’t�
�” Kyle said, and Chevalier cut him off.

  “Don’t say it,” he said.