Chapter 20 - Book

“Are you certain?” Quinn asked, stunned.

“Yes, it’s the book,” Chevalier said.

“Our highly trained heku have failed to get what that child obtained by accident?” Maleth asked, laughing slightly.

“She’s not very happy about the ceremony to turn it over to us,” Kyle said.

Quinn frowned, “She wishes to keep it for herself?”

Kyle shook his head, “No, she doesn’t like ceremonies and rituals.”

“Or Council City for that matter. It’s going to be tough to even get her back here for a ceremony,” Chevalier said.

Zohn looked at him, “She doesn’t like the city?”

“She’s caught between worlds. Too mortal for our world, but not mortal enough for the human world. I think this thing with Damon put her over the edge, and she’s not feeling like she belongs in Council City anymore,” Chevalier explained.

“She’s… not coming back?” Maleth asked, suddenly panicked.

“I think I can get her back for the ceremony, but I don’t think I can get her to stay. She feels better on the island, and if that’s where she wants to stay, then I’ll let her.”

Maleth nodded, “The child has been thrown into an ancient war, older than even her own species. I can only imagine what that must feel like.”

“Trapped probably. Now that she’s in it, there’s no way out,” Zohn said sadly.

“She asked me once, about becoming heku,” Kyle said, unsure if he should have divulged this great secret.

“She did?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“More asking if you wanted her to turn.”

“What did you say?”

“I told her you hadn’t brought it up,” Kyle said.

“She’s too young to even discuss it,” Chevalier said, frowning, his mind suddenly far away.

Maleth nodded, “When the time comes, we’ll all approach her about it.”

“No, it will be me,” Chevalier said.

“Get her to the palace with the book. We’ll see if we can get her to stay,” Quinn said.

Kyle sighed, “No offense intended, Elder, but you’re on the top of her list of heku not to like.”

“Oh?” Quinn asked, surprised.

“You did suggest we put her in a cell until Chevalier arrived,” Kyle said.

Chevalier nodded, “You were also one of Damon’s supporters.”

“And you replaced Leonid,” Maleth said.

“How exactly is that my fault?” Quinn asked.

“She’s mortal… she liked Leonid and took his rest as a death. She felt we replaced Leonid too quickly with you, and has always held that against you,” Maleth explained.

“I see,” Quinn said, frowning.

“Zohn’s next on her list,” Kyle said.

“What? Why me?” Zohn asked, not entirely shocked.

Chevalier chuckled, “There are many things, Zohn, none of which are your fault… of course… none of which are hers either. More a conflict of personality.”

“An emotional creature, that one,” Zohn said, frustrated.

Kyle laughed, “That she is.”

“So it’s agreed. She brings the book and we’ll go from there,” Quinn said.

“I will try to bring her, yes,” Chevalier said.

“What do we do if she says no?” the Record Keeper asked.

“I will try, that’s all I can do. I won’t force her to come.”

***

“No,” Emily said, staring from Margaret to Chevalier.

“I behaved, Child, I promise,” Margaret said, smiling sweetly.

“I don’t care if it’s jeans and a t-shirt. I’m not doing another ceremony,” Emily said sternly.

“It’s important to me,” Chevalier told her, sitting beside her on the bed.

“Damnit,” Emily yelled, stood up, grabbed the dress from Margaret, and went into the bathroom.

“That was mean,” Margaret said, grinning at Chevalier.

Chevalier chuckled, “She needs to do it. Please tell me you did behave, if that dress is revealing, I’ll never get her to go.”

“Yes, I behaved. She’ll be completely covered.”

“Hmm, I almost like this,” Emily said, and Chevalier smiled, finally something went her way.

“Almost?” Margaret asked, frowning.

“It’s a little… fitted.”

“That’s the style, Child,” Margaret said, laughing, and walked out.

Emily finally emerged in a floor-length, green satin Asian style dress with a high collar and short sleeves. The brooch at her neck was an emerald and diamond Equites symbol. The dress was fitted perfectly and hugged every curve in her body. There was a split on one side of the dress up to her thigh so she could walk.

Chevalier raised his eyebrows, “Nice.”

Emily nodded and looked down, “As far as I can tell, I’m not showing anything but my leg.”

“Let’s go then.” Chevalier took her hand and handed her the briefcase.

Emily sighed and took the briefcase, “You owe me for this.”

“I know,” he chuckled.

Anna brought Alexis in and handed her to Chevalier along with a bag, “Hurry back, Child.”

Emily nodded and headed for the helicopter to Council City.

When they landed on the roof of the palace, Emily cringed. She swore she wouldn’t come back there, yet a week later she found herself once again in Council City.

A guard helped Emily down from the helicopter, and Chevalier ran off to take his spot as Emily got Alexis out.

The toddler grinned broadly when she saw Silas appear on the roof. She held her hands out for him and Emily handed her over.

“It’s good to have you back,” Silas said, smiling at Emily.

“I’m not staying. I just need to hand over this damned book,” she said, and followed the guards into the palace.

Emily felt more like an outsider than ever as she made her way down the palace stairs to the great hall. She felt the eyes of the heku on her, and she felt as though they were all judging her and waiting for her to panic and ash all of them. She was well aware of what Damon told her about their thoughts, and as she thought about it, it made it hard to breathe.

When they rounded the corner to the entrance, Emily froze. Standing before the door were all thirteen of the Cavalry, Mark at the head.

“I don’t need guards,” she said sternly.

“We’re not here to guard you. We’re here to guard the book,” Mark said to her, officially.

“Great, then you take it,” Emily said, and removed the book from the briefcase.

Mark stifled a grin, “We can’t, you have to take it to Quinn.”

“No, I’ll give it to Chevalier.”

“Orders say Quinn,” Mark said.

Emily frowned and walked through the doors when they opened, and then turned suddenly to Mark.

“If all I have to do is hand this stupid book to the Elders, why are so many here?”

Mark grinned, “Everyone wants to see the book.”

She started down the long aisle, her eyes fixed on the three Elders, who sat with serious expressions in the three center chairs.

“Not everyone can find a delicious little mortal to marry so we can fuck any time we want,” Damon’s words echoed through her head.

The thought made it harder to breathe, and she could feel herself starting to hyperventilate as her heart began pound in her chest. Chevalier watched her, concerned.

“Sweet piece of ass in the palace,” Damon’s voice sent new swells of panic through her and she stopped moving. She looked to the side of her at the heku gathered.

“Emily?” Mark asked from behind her.

“We are going to replace Chevalier… They are a liability because of you.”

Emily turned around and looked past the Cavalry to the doors. She was trapped. There were heku to the sides of her, Cavalry in back of her, and the Council in front of her. Her hands began to shake as she looked quickly for a way out.

“Lady Emily, are you alright?” a member of the Cavalry asked her.

“To prove to me that you are going to do as I ask without a fight…”

Damon’s words seemed to come from all around her. She wondered briefly if everyone in the room could hear them. She took one step forward, and then stopped again, gripping the briefcase tightly.

Maleth stood up and reached a hand out to her, “Come here, Child.”

“The Council feels it is time for another baby.”

The control Damon demanded in the name of the Council, and the way they watched it happen, all flooded back to her. Emily pulled her skirt up a few inches and ran through the Cavalry toward the door.

Mark caught up with her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Emily?”

“No, Damon, I won’t do it,” she yelled, and pulled away from him. A murmur ran through the crowd.

Chevalier appeared at her side and took her hand, “Look at me, Em.”

She looked up at him hesitantly.

“Breathe”

Emily took a short, shallow breath.

“I’ll walk with you,” he said, and stepped down the aisle.

Emily’s eyes fixed on Quinn and Zohn, who was sitting next to him. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats at her confused gaze. To them it looked like she was walking to her death at their hands.

Maleth and Quinn stood when Emily and Chevalier got closer.

“Lady Emily, do you possess the book of the Valle Covens?” Quinn asked. His voice was loud and demanding.

Emily nodded and looked up at Quinn, terrified.

Quinn glanced at Chevalier and he nodded.

Quinn’s voice boomed, “Do you, Lady Emily, wish to transfer the rights of this book to the Equites Council?”

Emily put the book out for Quinn quickly.

Quinn looked at Chevalier.

“Em, say yes,” Chevalier whispered.

Emily nodded.

Quinn reached out and took the book from her. Before he could complete the dialogue, Emily was once again running back up the aisle. She looked forward, ignoring how the heku watched her curiously as she ran out into the foyer. When she got to the stairs, she took them up, two at a time, all the way to the roof.

Once she climbed up onto the wall of the roof, she could finally breathe. She looked down over Council City as she had dozens of times while under Damon’s control.

Once silence fell over the great hall, Quinn spoke again, “It is… with great honor that we accept this book. For over three hundred years, heku from all around the Equites family have tried to take it from the Valle, and we are pleased that it has now been done.”

The Equites broke into applause.

Quinn silenced them, “As the finder of the book has… well… left… then we will have to cut this ceremony short?”

Quinn glanced at Maleth and he shrugged, and then nodded.

“Very well then, as we can’t continue, you may go,” Quinn said, and the Council watched as the heku all moved out of the great hall.

Chevalier sighed, “I better head back to the island.”

“No, please,” Quinn said. “I think Zohn and I need to talk to her.”

“After the Damon comment… I’m not sure if she’s ready to talk to you,” Maleth said. The comment by Emily had proven to the Council how badly Emily was afraid of the palace.

“Still, I want to just talk to her, and I think Zohn should be with me,” Quinn said again.

Chevalier nodded, “You can try.”

Quinn and Zohn walked up to the roof. They had heard her move to the spot from which Damon once banned her. Zohn knew that she had contemplated suicide from that same spot during Damon’s control over her.

They made it to the roof and backed the guards into the hallway. As the two heku approached her, they both wondered if she might jump. She was leaning dangerously over the side of the palace, looking straight down toward the ground.

Quinn cleared his throat.

Emily spun and her eyes grew wide. She clung to the turret wall and watched the heku approach.

“We came to see if you are alright,” Zohn said.

“I’m fine,” Emily told him.

“It’s come to our attention that we may not be your favorite heku in the palace,” Quinn said, and Zohn cringed at the bluntness.

“I’ve not made that a secret.”

“True,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow. “Might we ask why?”

Emily shook her head.

Zohn smiled, “Then can we ask how to remedy that?”

Emily shook her head again.

“You’re not helping us at all, Dear,” Zohn said.

Emily glared at Quinn, “You put me in prison.”

Quinn sighed, “Yes I did. I thought it would keep you safe until Chevalier arrived.”

“It was cold.”

“I am sorry.”

“Everyone was whispering about me and hissing at me.”

“Again, I am sorry.”

“It was too dark, they turned the lights off,” Emily said scathingly.

“A lapse in judgment, and I am sorry.”

“I hate you,” she whispered and tried to blink away the tears.

“I am aware of that… I am also aware that you didn’t like me before that.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why is that?”

“You questioned me in Paris like a suspect, and accused me of lying,” Emily said to Zohn.

“You were though,” Zohn said, and then Quinn elbowed him. “I mean… I just knew you were hiding something.”

“What did your instincts tell you?” she asked, suddenly wanting to know.

Zohn studied her for a moment, “I felt that Damon may have lost his temper with you.”

“Hmm, I told Chris you were smarter than he was,” Emily said, and shrugged.

“Did you, now?” Zohn smiled.

“Leonid was my friend,” Emily said to Quinn.

Quinn nodded, “Yes, I know that you were quite upset at his retirement.”

“Retirement? They buried him alive.”

“At his request.”

“So? Who does that? Who buries someone alive when they ask?”

“We do,” Zohn said, confused.

Emily turned around and looked over the city so the heku wouldn’t see the tears.

“The Council is worried about you, and truly wish you would return to the palace,” Quinn said after a few minutes of silence.

“The Council is worried my abilities will go elsewhere. They aren’t worried about me.”

“I beg to differ.”

“I’m a weapon in their hands, a liability in others. That’s all they care about,” Emily said, and sat down on the edge of the roof, dangling her feet over the grass, 9 stories below.

“There’s more to it than that,” Quinn said.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot about the baby maker part.”

Quinn cringed.

“The palace isn’t the same without you… it’s… boring,” Zohn said honestly.

“I bet, and I also bet the guards love that,” Emily told him.

“We want you to come back and live in the palace,” Quinn said.

Emily turned toward them, “Do I have a choice?”

Quinn nodded, “You do.”

“Then I want to go back to the island,” Emily whispered.

“As you wish,” Quinn said, and then he and Zohn headed back down to the reception.

With some difficulty, Emily crawled into the silent helicopter and curled up on the seat. She listened to the music and voices from the palace for a while before deciding she would go check on Patra, after she heard an odd whinny come up from the stables. Her foal was due soon, and she’d been worried about her alone in Council City, but she was too far along to move to the island. She’d only had a foal 18 months ago, but one of the Cavalry let her out into the corral when she was in heat. Now her third foal was due.

Emily hesitated outside of the bedroom and then stepped inside. She slipped off the dress and put on the more comfortable jeans and t-shirt. She tied her hair up and then snuck down the back servant’s entrance. The cool grass felt good on her bare feet and she walked quickly to the stables.

Emily heard Patra’s whine a short distance from the stables, and she broke into a run. As she rounded the corner into the stable, she flipped on the lights and opened Patra’s stall. The mare was standing up, panting. Emily rubbed the mare’s belly.

“I’m here girl, it’s ok.”

Emily moved down to the mare’s hind end to see if she could see any sign of the foal. It was then that Patra laid down, and a gush of bloody liquid flooded over Emily.

“Ugh, seriously, Patra?” Emily growled, and went back to the mare’s belly. “That was disgusting.”

Emily looked up when she heard a noise and saw six members of the Cavalry watching her.

“Shirt please,” she asked, and held her hand out. When a white guard issued shirt was handed to her, she faced the back wall, slipped off her wet and bloody t-shirt, and then buttoned up the guard shirt, rolling the sleeves up to her elbows.

“May we stay? Please?” one of the members of the Cavalry asked.

“Yes,” she replied, and moved back down to Patra’s hind end when she began to push. “Come on girl, push.”

The mare rested for a moment and began to push again with a loud bellow.

“I see feet, come on girl,” Emily said, watching closely.

“No, no, no, no,” Emily groaned, and leaned down on the straw to get a better look.

“What’s wrong?” one of the Cavalry asked.

“Breech,” Emily said, and took a deep breath. She grabbed onto the hind feet of the colt and as soon as Patra pushed, she began to pull.

“Can I do that?” one of them asked.

“No,” Emily said, straining. “You might pull the legs off.”

“Oh, true,” he said, disappointed.

Emily rested when the mare did, and then pulled as soon as she pushed. The Cavalry watched her nervously. She was straining and pulling hard enough that she was sweating and her arms shook with the strain.

“Come on, damnit,” she groaned, and pulled on the hind legs of the foal.

Once the colt’s hocks emerged, Emily got to her hands and knees to catch her breath. The new shirt was soaked with sweat and drops fell from her forehead.

“Ok, girl,” Emily panted. “Hard part coming.”

“That wasn’t the hard part?” one of the guards asked nervously.

Emily shook her head, “Nope, the foal’s breech. The hips are going to be the hard part.”

When Patra pushed again, Emily grabbed the back legs of the colt again and pulled gently but firmly. Emily groaned and used her entire body weight to pull.

“What’s going…” the faction doctor asked, but was quickly shushed by the watching Cavalry. He joined the rest of them in the stables, watching Emily pull on the legs of the foal.

Emily fell back on the straw when Patra relaxed. She fought to catch her breath and rubbed her sore arms. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the arm of her shirt and then leaned back up with a groan when the mare started to push again.

Again Emily began to pull, leaning back with all of her strength. She slipped back and slammed into the stall wall when the colt’s hips broke free, and the colt slid out quickly. She ignored the frantic questions from the doctor and crawled up to the foal.

“It’s a colt!” she said, and watched Patra clean off the foal after a short rest.

Emily sat down on the straw and sat her tired arms on her knees. She looked up as the faction doctor came over to her.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

Emily nodded, “Yes, why?”

“You fell against the wall pretty hard,” he said, and touched the back of her head.

Emily jerked away, “I’m not hurt. Stay back away from the colt.”

The doctor nodded and moved back by the Cavalry.

Emily’s hands were still shaking from all of the pulling and she was covered in blood. She smiled and watched the colt fight to get to his feet. The Cavalry watched the foal, amazed at the new life they just witnessed.

“Now what?” a member of the Cavalry asked.

Emily sighed, “Now we wait to make sure he stands up and nurses.”

“He’s beautiful, Lady Emily,” he said, and then smiled at her.

Emily smiled, “Yes, he is.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Quinn asked, joining the crowd in the stables. He peeked over the heads of the Cavalry and saw the colt struggling to get to his feet. He cringed when he saw Emily, but she was smiling, so he decided not to say anything about the sweat or the blood.

Quinn whispered briefly, and was soon joined by Zohn, Kyle, Maleth, and Chevalier. Chevalier grinned and stepped through the Cavalry to sit by Emily on the hay.

Emily smiled at him, “It’s a colt.”

Emily got quickly to her feet when Patra stood up and the umbilical cord broke. She checked quickly for bleeding, but then sat back on the straw when everything seemed normal.

“Hmm,” Chevalier said, frowning at Emily.

“What?”

“When I left you, you were in a gorgeous green number… now you’re in a guard’s shirt that’s about 8 times too big for you, and you’re covered in blood, straw, and goo,” he chuckled.

“Teach you to leave me alone.” She laughed, and turned back to the colt.

Within a few minutes, the colt managed to get unsteadily to his feet and began to nurse.

“That was much faster,” Chevalier said. He remembered the length of time it took Patra’s first foal to nurse.

Emily laid down on the straw and yawned into her hand. The Cavalry slowly began to return to their quarters, followed by the rest of the heku. Kyle stayed behind and watched the colt and mare together.

Chevalier chuckled and picked up Emily’s wet and bloody t-shirt, “You really should stop stripping in front of the guards.”

Emily kicked at him playfully, “She slimed me.”

Allen appeared by Kyle and looked into the stall, unimpressed, “I see she finally popped it out.”

Emily looked up at him. She was hopeful he would take the colt as his own, “Yes, a pretty colt.”

Allen shrugged, “Yeah I guess. Kyle, you promised me a copy of War and Peace.”

Kyle nodded, “Yeah sure, let’s go get it.”

Kyle shrugged at Emily and walked off, following Allen.

“It’s almost 3am, why don’t we just stay here for the night. By the time you got back to the island, it’d be time to get up,” Chevalier said.

Emily sighed, though she desperately wanted to get back to the island, if they stayed at the palace, she could check on Patra and the colt first thing in the morning.

“Yeah, ok.”

Chevalier jumped up to his feet and put his hand out for Emily. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. She was exhausted. She ignored the gasps and stares she got when she walked into the palace covered in horse blood and straw. As soon as they got into the bedroom, she stripped and slowly crawled into the hot shower.

“You asleep in there?” Chevalier asked during the long shower.

“Shhhh, don’t wake me,” she said, and turned off the water. Chevalier wrapped a towel around her when she stepped out and kissed her softly.

Emily pulled on an oversized t-shirt and crawled into bed, almost immediately falling to sleep. Chevalier smiled and pulled the heavy curtains in the room, so the morning sun wouldn’t shine in. He slipped off his clothes and slid into bed beside her, then wrapped his arms around her and watched the dreams that had already started.

Chevalier relaxed as her dreams floated past his mind, swirls of horses and images of the ranch in Montana. The dream was about the dogs, horses, and cattle she cared so much about. Her emotions were soft and light. They were the emotions he felt from her when she was out riding.

Just before Emily woke up, he ordered some breakfast and went in to get Alexis from her room. When he came out, Emily was pulling on jeans and a t-shirt quickly.

“Eat some breakfast first,” Chevalier suggested.

“I’ll grab something when I get back. I want to check on the colt, and then get back to the island,” Emily said, and ran out of the room.

Chevalier sighed and sat down with Alexis so she could eat.

“I thought maybe Mommy would want to stay after Patra delivered,” Chevalier said to Alexis.

Alexis shook her head, “No, no.”

“You too, eh? Do you want to stay?”

“Si go,” she said, taking a bite of scrambled eggs.

“No, Baby, Silas can’t go.”

“Si go.” She frowned.

“We’ll come back and check on Silas, ok?” he smiled softly at her.

“I thought they were leaving last night,” Allen said, stepping into the room.

“Your Mom wanted to check on the colt first. Watch the attitude, I’d much rather have them here,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Yeah, whatever.” Allen shrugged and left for his classes.

Emily let Patra and the colt out into the corral and then she stood against the fence and watched. The colt was bucking and kicking around while Patra grazed calmly on the grass.

Emily turned and looked into the stables when she heard the meow of a cat. She frowned and walked into the stables, checking behind her to make sure she was alone.

“Sam?” she whispered.

“Come up here,” Sam whispered from the loft.

Emily crawled up into the loft, again checking to make sure she was alone. She stood a ways from the familiar and eyed him suspiciously.

“Where have you been?” Emily asked.

“I’ve been with the Encala,” Sam said. “They want to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“They have an offer that I really think you should take.”

“I can’t trust that!” Emily frowned.

“I’m not lying to you. They are just outside of the city waiting for you,” Sam told her.

Emily sighed, “So what? I got out there and get kidnapped… again.”

“No,” Sam said. “There are only 3 of them, enough you can handle if they decide to do something stupid, but I assure you, their intentions are genuine.”

“I suppose Vaughn is one of them?”

Sam nodded, “Yes, but he has relinquished any claim he had on you.”

“He never had a claim on me,” Emily hissed.

“Emily?” Silas called from the stables.

Emily’s eyes grew wide, “I’m cleaning up here, Silas. What do you need?”

“Can we let some other horses out into the corral with the new horse?” he called up to the loft.

“Yes, they’ll be fine,” Emily said, and watched Sam hide under the straw in his cat form. “Leave me one though. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Ok, can I go with you?”

Emily cringed, “No, I need to think.”

She could hear Silas grumble as he started to walk horses out to the corral. Emily crawled back down and dug in the storage room until she found a large leather satchel. She grabbed the Smith & Wesson .357 that she kept loaded in the shed, and slipped it into the back of her jeans. Emily then returned to the loft and put Sam inside of the bag along with his clothes.

“What’s that smell?” Silas asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Not a clue,” Emily said, and led Kyle’s mare out into the stable. She slipped a bridle on the horse and jumped onto it bareback.

“Are you sure I can’t go? I haven’t ridden in a while other than patrols,” Silas asked. He was looking at her suspiciously and sniffed at the air again.

“No really, I just need to think for a while. I’m ok.” Emily smiled and then kicked the mare into a canter. As soon as she cleared the city gates, she laid the bag on the ground and Sam crawled out, and returned to his human form and got dressed.

“Where to?” Emily asked, looking around the area.

“South to the trees. They are in there a bit,” Sam said, and started to walk toward the trees.

“I swear, if you’re lying to me…” Emily threatened.

Sam smiled, “I’m not. You may like this offer.”

Emily took the mare to the trees and slid off of her, and then tied her to a tree.

She pulled the .357 out of her jeans and followed Sam into the dense forest. She kept a close eye out around her. Up ahead, she saw a large blanket laid out on the forest floor and three men sat on it. They all wore red capes and the center heku was Vaughn.

Emily stopped as soon as she saw them, and held the gun tightly in her hand.

“Please, come and sit with us,” the man on the left said to her, and smiled.

“I’m fine here… why did you come?” Emily asked skeptically.

“We are the Elders for the Encala, and we have come with a peace offering, of sorts.” He smiled again at her.

“We are alone,” the Elder on the right told her. “Please have a seat. If we misbehave, you may turn us to ash.”

Emily inched closer and sat on the edge of the blanket. Her hand rested in her lap with the gun gripped tightly, “What kind of offer?”

“You know Vaughn already. I am William and this is Koly.”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

“You are unhappy here, are you not?” Koly asked her.

Emily thought for a moment, “I guess it’s no secret that you are correct.”

“You are restricted here, watched, guarded… maybe even controlled?”

Emily nodded.

“You have a free spirit, one that must be unrestrained and left to soar. That is the opinion of the Encala Council,” William told her.

“Ok,” Emily said, watching them closely. She felt comforted by the weight of the gun in her hand, even though it would only slow them down.

“We want to offer you that freedom.”

“In exchange for what?” Emily asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Peace,” Koly said, smiling.

“How exactly do you figure on getting that?”

“Our idea,” Vaughn said, “Is to give you your own coven, anywhere you want. You would be the sole leader of the coven… meaning you would set the rules, and punish those who didn’t follow. You would be your own master, and the heku in the coven would follow your every word.”

“I don’t know how to lead a coven,” Emily reminded them.

William smiled, “Oh but you do. With your own coven, you would never be told what to do. You would have complete autonomy in how you ran things.”

Silas walked up to where Kyle, Zohn, and Chevalier were talking. They turned to him when he arrived, “Yeah, she was in the stables but she’s gone out for a ride.”

“That’s good, that means she’s thinking about something,” Chevalier said, nodding.

“Damn though, I can’t get that cat smell out of my nose. I hate those things. Why would we have a cat in the barn?” Silas asked.

Kyle and Chevalier looked at each other quickly.

“Damnit,” Chevalier growled, and blurred out of the palace and into the stables, followed by the others. He stopped in the stables and inhaled, smelling around the stable, “It’s him. How long ago did she leave?”

“Thirty minutes ago, maybe a little longer,” Silas said, frowning. “What’s the panic?”

“Sam in familiar form is a cat,” Kyle told him. “I can smell him in here.”

“So she left with Sam?” Silas growled.

“Her scent is stronger out here, won’t be hard to follow,” Zohn said, and blurred into the city.

“How did you get the Valle to agree not to attack this coven of mine?” Emily asked them.

Vaughn smiled, “They agree that it would be best for the Equites to lose the hold they have on you. It would humble them some. Both the Valle and the Encala factions believe that peace will come when you are out of Equites control.”

“The Valle?” Emily frowned. “They tried to kill me last week… again.”

“That was to protect themselves. They weren’t after you. They were destroying the boat,” William explained.

“Yeah, with me on it.”

“They are sorry, I assure you.”

Emily looked down at the gun, giving herself time to think. Their offer had some appeal. Her own coven would mean freedom to do what she wanted. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be in control of that many heku though. However, if she had complete power over them, it would give her the ability to do whatever she wanted. She thought of raising Alexis in a place where no one tried to kill her or kidnap her, where no one would give her guards, or watch her every move.

“Think about it, Emily,” Sam said. “I really think this is a good offer. I hate how the Equites treat you like a piece of property.”

“Complete freedom,” Emily whispered, still thinking. Images ran through her mind of how her coven would act, how they would respect her, and do as she asked. Then the image of her ranch flew into her mind, the sounds of the fire raging, the images of the dead horses.

“Child?” Koly asked when a tear slipped down her cheek.

“You burned my ranch and killed fifteen of my horses… that was my life,” Emily said, getting angry.

“That was not sanctioned by the Elders. That was a coven attack. I know you wouldn’t know this, but your ranch was within two miles of a large Encala coven, and they were nervous having you that close,” William explained.

“Those horses had to have suffered,” Emily glared at them.

“The coven is no longer there. They have been punished severely for that attack,” Koly said, and Emily saw true sadness in his eyes.

“I’ll need to think about your offer. I don’t want to make a rash decision,” Emily said to them.

“What offer might that be?” Kyle asked from behind her.

Emily sighed and didn’t even turn around. The Encala Elders stood up and crouched slightly.

“Go away, Kyle. This is a private meeting,” Emily said, and patted the blanket for the Encala to sit down.

“A private meeting with the three Encala Elders? This should be interesting,” Zohn said.

Emily finally turned to see who all was behind her, and then turned back to the Encala, “Sorry for the interruption.”

Sam was still crouched slightly. He placed himself between Emily and the Equites. The Encala slowly sat down, but kept their eyes on the Equites.

“I am assuming this is a limited time offer,” Emily said to them.

Vaughn nodded, “Yes, we’ll need a decision within the month.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, I’ll let you know. Give me a phone number, and I will call you when I decide.”

Koly handed a card over to Emily, and she heard Chevalier growl when the Encala got near her. Koly sat back down by the other Encala Elders and Emily looked at the card.

The Encala stood up and looked down at Emily, “We look forward to hearing from you.”

Emily nodded, and watched as they blurred away. She turned to Sam, “Stand down.”

Sam nodded and stood out of his crouch.

“What was that all about?” Zohn asked her.

“None of your business,” she said, and stood up from the blanket.

“It is the Council’s business. Your little meeting could be construed as treason,” Zohn said calmly.

Emily glared at him as Chevalier spoke, “No it’s not. She’s not held to the heku laws, and you know it.”

“The Council will want to interrogate Sam though,” Kyle said.

Emily gasped, “Not in that room!”

Kyle shook his head, “No, just in the council chambers is all.”

Emily nodded, “Sam, go back with them, answer them truthfully, but not a word about this offer.”

Sam sighed, “Yes, Ma’am.”

“You too, the Council will want to talk to you,” Zohn said.

Chevalier glared at him, “I said, no.”

“I’m going riding. I need to think,” Emily said, and walked past the Equites.

Mark headed after her, but Chevalier stopped him, “Whatever offer they gave her, if we follow her or she feels threatened, she’ll run into it.”

Mark sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

Emily mounted the horse and kicked her into a gallop toward the hills. Zohn, Kyle, Mark, and Chevalier escorted Sam to the palace and called an emergency meeting of the Council. When they arrived, the Council was already in their chairs and looked at Sam, shocked. The three took their places, while Mark stood at Sam’s side, holding his shoulder.

“Interesting, you have returned,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow.

“I have,” Sam said.

“Where have you been?”

“I have been with the Encala.”

Quinn glanced at Chevalier, “I see, and have you given them information about the Equites, like the palace layout, or coven locations?”

“No, I have not,” Sam said.

“What exactly have you talked about for this long?”

“Emily”

Maleth gasped, “You have been talking to the Encala about Emily? What about exactly?”

Sam looked at the Elder, “Her likes and dislikes. Things I’ve seen here that she doesn’t agree with. Things that I’ve seen that would make her happy.”

Chevalier frowned, “So you gave them the ammunition to make her an offer to come to their side?”

Sam stood quietly.

“She banned him from talking about the offer,” Zohn told the rest of the Council.

“Offer?” Maleth asked Zohn.

“Yes, Emily was in a meeting out in the forest with the Encala Elders. Now she’s off riding so she can consider it,” Zohn explained.

Maleth looked at Chevalier, concerned, “She is actually considering it?”

Chevalier nodded, “I believe so.”

“We should bring her back here immediately,” Quinn said, frowning.

“No, we shouldn’t. If we interrupt the process in any way, she’ll run to them. I can assure you of that. Emily is lost and desperately wants a place to call home,” Chevalier said, and looked down at his hands.

“She’s not homeless. She has the palace,” Quinn said.

Kyle spoke softly, “She doesn’t feel that she belongs anywhere. If the Encala offered her a place where she can fit in, it’s a better offer than we have given her.”

“It concerns me that she met with the Encala Elders without our approval,” the Chief Investigator said. Chevalier frowned. He was one of the silent council members that Emily felt hated her because of his lack of communication.

“Emily has never needed our approval to go between factions. She is free to do what she wants,” Maleth said. “If we limit that freedom in any way, we might as well throw her to the wolves.”

Chevalier nodded, “I agree.”

The Council all looked up when the trial doors swung open violently. Emily stepped in and her face was furious. She stormed over to Sam and before Mark could react, she balled her hand into a fist and punched Sam in the nose. He fell to his knees and yelled as blood poured out of his nose.

“How dare you talk to the Encala about me,” Emily said, cradling her hand.

Mark glanced at the Council, and then took a step back when they whispered to him.

“I… it was in your best interest,” Sam said, and stood up, still clutching his nose.

“Am I or am I not your master?” Emily asked him, seething.

“You are.”

“And as such, do I not deserve even a smidgen of privacy?”

“You do.”

“Yet you felt free to go and tell the Encala about my feelings, my wants, and desires… things I’ve told you in confidence?” Emily took a step towards him.

“I thought they could help you. They offered you your dreams,” Sam said, his eyes starting to swell shut.

Emily pulled the pistol out of the back of her jeans with her left hand and leveled it at Sam.

“Emily,” Chevalier said softly from the council stand.

Sam dropped to his knees, “Please, forgive me.”

“I’m done with you,” Emily said, and pulled back the hammer.

Sam cringed, but opened his eyes when Mark spoke, “Let me do it, you aren’t a killer.”

Emily nodded and handed the gun to Mark. He glanced at the Council and then leveled it at Sam, shooting him directly between the eyes. The gunshot rang through the palace, and suddenly, the trial area was full of frantic guards. Mark whispered and they all looked at him and then returned to their posts.

“Emily?” Maleth said softly.

She turned around and he frowned at her swollen hand, “Does that mean you aren’t taking the Encala up on their offer?”

Emily frowned, “Why would I do that?”

Quinn shrugged, “You went to think…”

“Yeah, about whether to get rid of Sam or not. Damn, you all seriously doubt my loyalty to the Equites don’t you?” Emily asked, irritated.

She turned and took the gun from Mark, and then grumbled as she left the chambers, “I need to learn to how punch with breaking my own damned hand.”

Mark couldn’t help but grin when the door shut, and he turned back to the Council.

“I guess we’re done interrogating him,” Zohn said, irritated, as he looked at Sam’s body.

Mark looked up and stepped out of the trial area, shutting the door behind him.

“We shouldn’t be surprised. She’s always been very loyal to this faction,” Maleth said.

“True,” Quinn replied, deep in thought.

“He needed to go. Emily hasn’t trusted him since he kept Allen’s secret from us,” Chevalier said, and then he looked up when Mark came returned.

“Lord and Lady Thukil would like a moment,” Mark told them.

Quinn nodded, “That’s fine, show them in.”

A short, squat heku walked in, dressed in elaborately decorated velvet green clothing that was puffed around the legs and thighs. Beside him walked an older stout woman in a velvet green dress that always reminded the Equites Council of the southern belles before the civil war. The two of them were always smiling and warm. They had the second largest coven in the Equites, just a few hundred heku short of Chevalier’s island.

“Good to see you again.” Quinn smiled at them.

“Always good to come to Council City,” Lord Thukil said.

Maleth smiled, “What can we do for you?”

“Well,” Lord Thukil said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ve come to talk to Lady Emily, actually. We wanted to offer her our coven for a week, to see if she would mind coming for a visit.”

Chevalier chuckled, “That’s different.”

Lord Thukil’s belly shook when he laughed, “Yes, yes it is a bit unorthodox. You see… our elite guards, our Cavalry, were on the front lines of the battle with the Valle. A lot of them were hurt and were shipped to Island Coven to recover.”

Chevalier nodded and turned to the Council, “Emily wouldn’t leave the injured alone. She spent hours out there holding their hands and helping as she could.”

Maleth frowned, “There’s no way to help a heku recover.”

“She highly impressed our most choice guards,” Lord Thukil explained. “They said they’ve never before seen such compassion from human or heku. They said that every time she touched them, they felt a little more comforted and that it helped in the healing process… helped the pain lessen, if you will.”

“We had reports though that she killed some of them,” Zohn said, still irritated at the thought.

“Yes, we heard that also… but do you know she asked them first? If they were in pain and weren’t able to heal, she gave them the option of helping them out of their pain,” Lord Thukil said. “It’s almost embarrassing. We leave our injured alone to heal, that’s just our way. That child broke tradition and somehow managed to work her way into the hearts of some of our most aggressive guards.”

Kyle laughed, “She does have a way of doing that.”

“Our guards have asked if she can visit. They want to show their appreciation,” Lady Thukil said, her voice was high pitched and rather squeaky.

Chevalier grinned slightly, “I’ve actually been afraid of her going to Thukil Coven.”

Lord Thukil’s smile faltered and he frowned, “Why is that?”

“She may never leave,” Chevalier chuckled.

Lord Thukil grinned, “I’m sure we could accommodate her.”

“I see no problem with Lady Emily going to Thukil Coven for a week,” Quinn said, and glanced at the Council. “Anyone opposed?”

None of the Council opposed the idea.

“Emily would need to bring Alexis,” Chevalier told them. “She doesn’t like to be away from the baby.”

Lady Thukil squealed, “Oh! That would be wonderful!”

“Mark, please ask Emily to come,” Chevalier said.

Mark nodded and blurred from the room as two heku came in and hauled Sam’s body away. He came back in and shut the door.