Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (32 page)

“We want to go for a ride,” Silas told
him.

Mark shrugged, “So go.”

“We want you to come.”

“I’m busy with…”

“No,” Kralen said,
sternly. “We want you to come.”

Mark sighed, “Fine… let’s go
riding.”

Within twenty minutes, the
General and both Captains were out on horseback, heading deeper
into the trees.

“He can’t keep treating her like
this,” Kralen said when they were far away from the
palace.

“He’s going to kill her,” Silas
added.

Mark shrugged, “It’s our
duty to follow Elder’s orders, and it’s no different when it comes
to Emily.”

“Something’s not right. He
never treats her badly,” Kralen said, and stopped his
horse.

“I know,” Mark told him.
“However, she’s never gone so far as to kidnap an enemy Elder
either.”

“That was almost 17 months
ago.”

“I realize that, but he
couldn’t do anything about it at the time, or he risked never
getting Frederick back.”

“So you’re ok with what’s going on
with Emily?” Kralen asked, irritated.

“No, but it’s not my place to question
the orders.”

“She’s in pain,” Silas
said, and looked over at Mark. “She’s not eating and has some type
of pain in her stomach.”

“She told you?”

“No, we heard a thud and
went into her room. She was already acting strangely on the stairs,
and when we got into her room, she was on the floor on her knees,
obviously in a great deal of pain.”

“Damnit, we have to tell
the Elder,” Mark said, and turned his horse.

“She ask that we not.”

Mark sighed, “She might be
pregnant.”

“I know,” Kralen whispered.

“That’s even worse then.
What if something’s wrong?” Silas asked.

“That’s why we have to
tell the Elder.”

“Can’t we just get Dr.
Cook?”

Mark looked around the trees, deep in
thought, “We have done that in the past.”

“So do it now. For some
reason, she doesn’t want him to know.”

“She’s just trying to keep a low
profile.”

“That’s because every time
he sees her, he insults her,” Silas growled.

“Something’s different
with him,” Kralen said, and sighed.

“Let’s go get Dr. Cook,”
Mark told them after a few minutes of silence. They all kicked
their horses into a fast gallop, and met Dr. Cook outside of
Emily’s room.

“What’s the problem?” Dr.
Cook asked.

“She’s in some kind of…” Silas stopped
when Chevalier appeared on the landing with Kyle.

“Why is the doctor here?” he
asked.

Mark turned to him, “We
just want him to look at Emily. She’s not feeling well.”

“She’s looking for
attention,” Chevalier said, and opened the door. He looked around,
but didn’t see her, “Where is she?”

“She was in there,” Mark
said, and stepped inside. He turned when he heard a noise in the
bathroom, “She’s in there now.”

Chevalier sighed, “She’s
just looking for attention… She’s not used to being out of the
center of it. I’m sure nothing’s wrong.”

“But…” Mark said, and
looked at him.

“No buts, just watch…”
Chevalier slammed open the door, and the other heku gasped. Emily
was leaned over the toilet with blood on her hands and blood
splatters around the toilet bowl.

Dr. Cook blurred to her
side and knelt down, “Are you in pain?”

“Leave her alone,”
Chevalier ordered, and Dr. Cook hesitated before standing
up.

Emily looked up at them, not sure what
to do.

“She’s vomiting blood… I need
to…”

“You need to stop catering
to her and leave her alone,” Chevalier said. “Emily, that’s enough,
I’m tired of your attempts at getting attention.”

“Her heart is racing and
she has a fever,” Dr. Cook said, with wide eyes.

“She’s faking… Emily, pack up, it’s
time to go.”

She slowly got to her feet and started
to wash the blood from her hands.

“No time to clean up…
you’re such a pig it won’t matter anyway. I said to
pack.”

“Where is she going?” Zohn
asked when he walked in.

“I’m kicking her out. I’m
tired of this.”

Quinn appeared behind Zohn, “You’re
what!?”

“She’s my wife… or was my
wife… and I’ve had enough of her drama. Frederick was the last
straw, and I’m not going to allow her to cloud the palace any
longer.”

Emily walked past them, stooped
slightly with her arm against her stomach.

“Take nothing the Equites
or I gave you,” Chevalier said, and followed her into the
bathroom.

She looked over at Kyle,
surprised he wasn’t helping her. Jerry walked in and stood casually
beside Kyle.

“That leaves just what you are
wearing, no reason to pack,” Kyle said.

“Where will she go?” Zohn asked,
almost too shocked to speak.

“What do I care? Join the
Valle… see how much drama they can take,” Chevalier told them, and
sat on his bed.

“Mom?” Alexis asked when
she walked into the room with Dain.

“Are you sick?” Dain asked.

“You can take Alexis, but Dain stays
here,” Chevalier said.

Emily turned suddenly and
stood up straight, “No.”

Kyle crouched slightly, “The heku
stays with his own kind.”

“You can kick me out, but
you will not take my children from me.”

“Everyone calm down.
Emily, you aren’t leaving,” Zohn said, and turned to
Chevalier.

“She’s my wife, and I have
every right to kick her out!” Chevalier yelled.

“Elder’s vote is 2 to 1, she
stays.”

“No,” Emily whispered.
“I’m no longer wanted. I’ll go… but I’m taking Dain.”

“Over my dead body,” Jerry
hissed, and immediately turned to ash.

“You Bitch!” Chevalier
growled, and went to hit her, but Zohn caught his arm.

“You can make her leave,
but I won’t stand here while you assault her.”

“Get out,” Chevalier told
her.

“Alexis, get Dain into the
Jeep,” Emily said, and started for the door.

“Chevalier bought you that
Jeep, it stays,” Kyle told her.

“No!” Quinn yelled. “This
isn’t right.”

“She’s too sick to leave,”
Dr. Cook said, aggravated.

Chevalier reached out and pushed Emily
slightly, “Get out of this palace.”

“She cannot go!” Quinn
yelled.

“As her husband, I have a
right to get rid of her. She’s not good for the
Equites.”

Mark, Silas, and Kralen
stood aside when Emily passed. They weren’t sure what to do. Their
charge and friend was obviously in pain, while her husband fought
with the other Elders, and she was being kicked out of the
palace.

“Emily?” Chevalier said.

She turned and saw his hand
out.

“The ring,” he told her.

She pulled on the essence
ring, but found it tightly sealed, “It won’t come off.”

“It will. When it does, I
want it back,” he hissed.

She nodded and headed down the stairs
after Alexis and Dain.

“We’re taking the Aero,” she whispered
when they entered the garage.

“Stay, we’ll talk to him,” Zohn told
her.

“He’s just mad about
Frederick. He’ll calm down,” Quinn said.

She slid into the Aero and leaned her
head against the steering wheel while she turned on the
engine.

Dr. Cook knelt down,
“Please, go directly to the hospital.”

“You should be gone by
now,” Chevalier told her, and folded his arms.

Emily glanced at him briefly before
driving out of the palace garage.

Kyle smiled, “Good, get
the Cavalry back onto the streets where they belong.”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark replied, holding back
his temper.

“Let’s go finish that
trial,” Chevalier said, and started up the stairs.

“Revive Jerry first,” Zohn said,
obviously angry.

“I don’t feel like it,”
Kyle told them, and followed Chevalier.

“Banish him, that’s my
vote,” Dustin said, and smiled.

“Agreed,” Chevalier growled, banish
him for 300 years.

“For what?” Quinn asked,
shocked.

He sighed, “There were
some things said against the Council while we were gone and…it’s
just time.”

“He’s been our Records
Keeper for 2,000 years. We can’t just banish him.”

“He mentioned that the
Encala could be trusted, and how he once considered joining
them.”

“He did!?”

“Yes, banish him.”

Zohn sighed, “Fine, banish
him.”

Quinn growled, “That’s not
right!”

Zohn shrugged and they
disappeared into the council chambers.

***

“They could at last have
the decency to tell us why we’ve been down here for two months,”
Jerry said, and looked up at the hole.

“Surely, the Equites are
looking for us,” Kyle sighed.

Dustin continued to draw pictures into
the mud, “You’d think.”

“If I’m reading Emily
right, they know we’re missing. I get a lot of loneliness from her,
and I hate how scared and afraid she is,” Chevalier
said.

“And the pain?” Kyle asked.

“I haven’t felt it for
almost six weeks, so whatever it was, is gone.”

“Do you think she…”

He shrugged, “I don’t
know.”

“She what?” Dustin asked.

“When I left, Emily thought she might
be pregnant.”

Dustin gasped, “So the pain could be
that she lost it?”

Chevalier nodded, “That’s what I
suspect.”

“What about the scared and afraid? The
Equites would make sure she’s safe,” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know.”

***

“Oh, sorry,” Zohn said
when he opened the Elder’s Conference Room door and saw Chevalier,
Kyle, and Dustin speaking.

“Well if you’d knock…” Chevalier
growled.

Zohn glared at him, “I’m
an Elder. I don’t have to knock before entering my own conference
room.”

“Well we’re busy, and this
is private.”

Zohn slammed the door and
met Quinn in his office, “Call in two members of the
Council.”

Quinn looked up, “It’s
time?”

“It’s damn well time,”
Zohn scowled, and sat down. “I just got yelled at for opening the
conference room door.”

“Still… to banish him,”
Quinn said. “He’s the strongest Elder we’ve ever had.”

“The strongest and now the
angriest, most selfish, moodiest, and unreliable one.”

“It is becoming a problem.”

“I don’t see why we
banished Jerry for 300 years, yet caught an Equites red-handed
giving information to the Valle and he’s spared and put into
prison.”

“Then… Emily…” Quinn said
softly. They hadn’t spoken of her in public since Chevalier kicked
her out, but they had some of the Cavalry on a mission to find her
and make sure she was safe.

“I never, not in a million
years, would think he would say what he did about her, and then
kick her out.”

“It was awful. She was so
sick.”

“I just hope she’s alive.”

“Do you think she was
pregnant?”

“Mark said he didn’t detect anything,”
Zohn reminded him.

“It was still early.”

“I know.”

“I’m just so confused
about those three,” Quinn said, deep in thought. “Since their
return from being missing for four days, they’ve acted
strangely.”

“I agree, though, not enough to
suspect that they are up to something.”

“Does it seem to you that Kyle is
resisting turning anyone to ash?”

“Yes, but it’s not something the Chief
Enforcer enjoys,” Zohn said.

“No, but he’s never hesitated if it
was called for.”

“True”

“So are we banishing
Chevalier?” Quinn asked.

“Let’s wait until we’re
sure.”

Quinn nodded.

***

“How are you holding up?”
Frederick asked as he looked down into the hole.

“This violates so many heku laws…”
Chevalier growled.

“So did your little whore.”

“This has nothing to do
with her, and you know it!”