Chapter 21 - Thukil

“It’s going to be a bit, while she… gets… bandaged up,” Mark said, and grinned slightly.

Lady Thukil gasped, “Is she injured?”

“She… umm…” Mark looked up at Chevalier. “She injured her hand.”

Chevalier added, “Again.”

Emily came in a short time later with her hand in a black brace. She blushed when everyone looked at her, and then walked up to the Council, skirting around the Thukils.

“What’d I do now?” Emily asked, and glanced back when the Thukils laughed.

“Emily, this is Lord and Lady Thukil. They have the other coven that was attacked by the Valle,” Chevalier explained.

Emily smiled and turned to them, “I owe three of your heku some thanks. They jumped into the water with me, and then killed the Valle just after I threatened to ash them.”

Lord Thukil laughed heartily, “They neglected to mention the threat.”

Emily blushed again, “Well, thank them for me, please.”

“We were hoping you could thank them yourself,” Lord Thukil said with a smile.

Emily watched him curiously, “Are they here?”

“The Lady and I are actually here to ask if you would come to our coven for a week… call it a vacation.”

Emily smiled, “Really?”

Lady Thukil nodded, “Yes, the guards are very anxious to see you again. A lot of them, you nursed on the grass of Island Coven.”

“Thukil Coven,” Chevalier explained, “Is an... agricultural coven.”

Emily’s face lit up, “There’s an agricultural coven?”

Lord Thukil nodded, “Yes, one of the few.”

“And I can come?”

Lord Thukil chuckled, “Yes, Child.”

“Now?”

“Yes, you can come now.”

“Alexis?”

“Bring the baby,” Lady Thukil said, smiling.

“I’d need Silas,” Emily said, and turned to the Council.

“You may take any of our Cavalry with you,” Maleth told her.

She jumped, excited, and ran for the door “Let me go pack!”

Chevalier couldn’t help but grin. He hadn’t seen her this excited in a while.

“Just a word of warning, though,” Quinn said. “Emily’s abilities interfere with the creation process.”

“Interesting,” Lord Thukil said. “We have none planned, so that won’t be a problem.”

“I think this may be an opportunity for us to do some ourselves,” Zohn said, pulling out a stack of papers to go through.

Within the hour, Emily, Alexis, and Silas were on a helicopter heading for a coven in northern Texas. After two fuel stops, they arrived just as it started to get dark, so Emily wasn’t able to get a good look at what the Thukil’s called, “the Ranch”.

Emily looked out of the helicopter doors as she held the sleeping baby in her arms. She smiled when a path was made from the helicopter into a mansion by mounted guards with vibrant green shirts and green capes.

“Emily, meet our Cavalry… we had the first in the faction,” Lord Thukil said.

Emily saw a guard appear beside her and put an arm out to help her out of the helicopter. She jumped down onto the grass and inhaled deeply. The Ranch smelled like her home in Montana, and she smiled and followed the guard past the Cavalry and into the mansion.

She looked up when she got inside. The mansion was homey and warm. There were no hidden servants. They all came out to greet her when she walked in. Emily handed Alexis over to Silas, so she could shake their hands.

“We were going to wait until morning for this, but the Captain of the Cavalry is most anxious to see you,” Lord Thukil said.

“For what?” Emily asked, shaking the hand of another servant as they bowed to her and welcomed her to the Ranch.

“Come, Child, we will show you,” Lord Thukil said, and motioned her toward a door.

Emily followed his lead and gasped when he opened the door to a large banquet hall. There were hundreds of heku guards gathered, and they all turned toward her. Her heart skipped a beat and she had the urge to run, but caught the eyes of some of the guards and felt herself relaxing. Their eyes were kind and inviting. She didn’t see any of them look at her with hatred.

“You ok, Em?” Silas asked from behind her.

She nodded and then walked toward the large heku at the end of the room. He had his hand out to her and was smiling softly. He was close to seven feet tall with broad shoulders and muscles that threatened to break out of his uniform. As she got closer, she saw that he had shoulder length brown hair and soft blue eyes.

“My Dear, Lady Emily, thank you for coming,” he said to her when she approached.

Emily stood back from him and smiled, “Thank you for inviting me.”

“I’m Darren, Captain of the Thukil Cavalry,” he said, and took her hand. “It is my pleasure to have you in our home.”

Emily blushed and glanced back at Alexis. She was still asleep in Silas’s arms.

“You may wonder why we’re all gathered here.”

Emily nodded, “Yes, sort of.”

Darren smiled, “We are here to induct you into the Thukil Cavalry.”

Emily glanced at Silas and then back to Darren, “Really? An actual member?”

Darren nodded, “Yes, never before has anyone… human or heku, shown such kindness to this guard staff, and we would be honored if you would join our ranks.”

Emily smiled, “I would love that.”

Darren stepped forward and pinned a platinum hoof on Emily’s shirt, the center was an emerald ‘T’.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and pulled the pin up to look at it.

“No… thank you. We have taken the liberty of talking to your tailor, and there’s an official uniform in your room. Please feel free to wear it while you are here. You are inducted at the rank of Commander,” Darren explained.

Emily nodded, still in shock at being a member of the guard staff.

“Please meet, Commander Emily,” Darren said to the gathered heku, and the entire hall erupted in claps and cheers. Emily turned to look at them and felt the blush return to her face.

“Come, Child, there is some dinner waiting for you. You must be hungry,” Darren said, putting a hand on her back gently. Emily walked up the aisle with him and felt like a child next to his hulking size.

“I’m going to take Alexis to bed,” Silas said, and when Emily nodded, he followed one of the servants up the main staircase.

Darren led her into a large hall. She was relieved to see there were only about thirty of the guards in this room. Emily smiled when she recognized some of them from the Island’s lawn. One of them ran up to her and pulled her into a hug. Her feet dangled off of the floor and she wrapped her arms around him.

“Thank you… so many times, thank you,” he said, and sat her back down.

“It’s so good to see you again.” Emily smiled. A servant came by with a tray of tiny finger sandwiches and Emily grabbed one, suddenly hungry. Another came by with glasses of champagne and Emily noticed there were five or six of them wandering around with various foods, even though she was the only mortal in the room.

“Lady Emily?” she heard, and turned toward three towering heku. She wondered briefly if this entire coven was made of massive heku.

“You may not recognize us…” one of them said, but Emily ran into his arms.

“Thank you for coming into the water with me,” she whispered, and then turned to the next and also hugged him.

“You do recognize us.” He smiled.

“Of course! It’s not often I threaten to ash someone who turns around and saves me two seconds later.”

They all laughed and more guards joined them.

Emily hugged the last one, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was our pleasure,” he said, grinning. “It’s not often we get to stage a water rescue.”

“Yeah, I bet not,” she said.

“I see you are injured though, are you ok?” he asked, glancing briefly at her braced hand.

“Oh that? No, the hand wasn’t during that… I’m just accident prone.”

“Good to know, we’ll pad your room.” Darren laughed from behind her.

“Actually I punched someone and broke my hand.” She blushed.

Darren chuckled, “First course of action… we teach our new Commander how to hit.”

One of the guards nodded, “Good call.”

Emily was surprised when she saw a lot of the heku guards with a glass of champagne in their hand. The bottles seemed to be flowing, and Emily sipped on hers and watched the guards interact with one another. Late into the night she danced, and drank, and ate. It seemed everyone wanted to talk to her, and by 3am, she was dead on her feet.

“I think I’ll turn in,” she said, swaying slightly. She had lost count of how many glasses of champagne she drank, but it was more than usual, and she was feeling tipsy.

“Hannah, come!” Darren called out, and a young blond heku came up to Emily.

“Come, I’ll show you to your room,” Hannah said.

Emily nodded and followed her out of the large room. Hannah led her through the halls until the heku opened a door and stepped aside.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and walked into the room.

Hannah turned on the lights, “I will be outside of your door if you need anything.”

Emily nodded and shut the door. The room was fairly large, with a soft feather bed in the center and a fire in the fireplace. Emily’s bags sat on a desk off to the side of the bed. She saw three doors in the room. The first went to a bathroom, the second to a closet with only one garment bag hanging, and the other looked directly into where Alexis was sleeping. Silas watched her sleep and rocked in the chair. He smiled at Emily when she peeked in.

Emily pulled her nightgown out of the bag and was soon asleep under the fluffy down comforter.

She woke up and almost laughed when she heard a rooster crowing. She inhaled and savored the smells she associated with home, the fresh cut hay, the freshly cut logs by the fire, even the cow pasture.

Emily sat up and looked around the room. The fire was still going and it was warm and cozy. She crawled out of bed and walked into the room with Alexis. Alexis was sitting on the floor playing with a wooden horse on wheels.

“Mommy!” she yelled, and jumped into Emily’s arms

Emily kissed her cheek, “You’re up early.”

Silas nodded, “Roosters.”

“I love it!” Emily grinned and kissed Alexis again, “Can you believe I’m a member of their Cavalry?”

Silas grinned, “Quite an honor, their Cavalry is legendary.”

“Guess I better see how bad the uniform is. I hope all they got from my tailors was the size.” Emily laughed and headed into her room. She pulled the garment bag down from the closet and zipped it open. She was happy to see that for the most part, the uniform was the same, with a few feminine touches that she was positive were suggested by Margaret.

Emily stripped and slipped on the jeans first, regular blue jeans, but there were heart cut-outs down both of her legs and they fit low on her hips, but were comfortable. The shirt was Equites green and was embroidered with an intricate golden pattern. It had a collared neck with a diamond cut out on her chest and a small emerald dangled from the top of the diamond shape. The sleeves were long, but there was a small gather at the top that added a slight pouf. The one part of the shirt that worried her was the length. It didn’t reach all the way to the waist of her jeans, so there would always be a band of skin showing and the shirt was fitted and hugged every curve.

Emily looked into the bag and pulled out a pair of new black cowboy boots. She slipped them on and then looked at the cape. She had seen this exact cape on every guard she’d ever come across in the Equites faction. She slung it around her neck and fastened it with the Equites crest. Last, she pulled the Cavalry Commander pin from her t-shirt and hooked it to her left collar.

Emily turned and looked into the mirror, and she couldn’t help but laugh. They had turned her into a miniature feminine guard.

Emily stepped into Alexis’ room, and Silas stood up, his mouth wide, “Wow.”

Emily blushed, “What do you think?”

“I like it… very… let’s just leave it at I like it,” Silas chuckled. “Except…”

“What?” Emily looked down at herself.

Silas walked over and flipped the left side of her cape over her shoulder, and straightened her commander’s pin, “There, perfect.”

“I’m going to have to guess that the regular guards don’t have these?” she asked, and pointed to the hearts that were cut out down the sides of her jeans.

Silas laughed, “I’m thinking not.”

“You’ll be ok here?” Emily asked, and started for her room.

“Yes, we’re good,” Silas said, and sat down on the floor by Alexis.

Emily quickly pulled her hair back into a French braid and grabbed the green cowboy hat and leather riding gloves that were on the desk. She stepped out into the hallway and Hannah greeted her.

“Good morning, Commander,” Hannah said with a bow.

Emily laughed, “Not sure I’ll get used to that.”

Hannah grinned and started down the stairs, “Better get used to it. In this coven, that’s what you are.”

Emily followed her as Hannah took her to a small dining room. There was a pot of coffee and a pile of biscuits with steaming sawmill gravy, “Can I get anything else for you?”

“No, thank you,” Emily said, and sat down to eat.

“The Cavalry is already convened. The Captain said he will meet you out in the stables when you are done.”

“Ok, thanks,” Emily said, and poured herself some coffee.

Hannah bowed and left. Emily looked around and couldn’t help but smile. She already loved this coven with its rustic look and pleasant attitudes. She thought back to the hundreds of heku and not one angry or loathsome expression, they all seemed genuinely glad to have her there. She also couldn’t wait until Chevalier saw her in a guard’s uniform as an actual Commander, either.

After she ate, she walked out of the front doors and immediately saw the stables. She’d never seen such a large stable and guessed it had room for close to two hundred horses. Darren was waiting out in front of them and grinned when he saw her.

“Good morning,” he said, and put his hand out for her.

“Good morning to you, too.” She smiled and took his hand. He led her inside the colossal stables and Emily looked around, shocked. Everything was pristinely clean. All of the saddles and bridles were set out in matching pairs, and there was a conveyor that brought fresh food to the horses throughout the day.

“We need to get you a horse. You have your pick,” Darren said, and grabbed a bridle off of the wall.

Emily walked through the stables and looked into all of the stalls. She couldn’t imagine a wider variety of horses. A gray thoroughbred stallion caught her eye, and when she walked up to him, he lowered his head to her immediately. She took his head in her hands and laid her forehead against his velvety muzzle.

“Oh, you’ve met Thunder,” Darren said, and leaned against the stable wall.

“He’s gorgeous.”

“He’s yours then.”

Emily smiled and reached out for the bridle.

Darren hesitated, “Do you know how to put that on?”

“I’m sure I can figure it out.”

Darren watched as she quickly bridled the horse and led him out into the corridor.

“Oh dang, I forgot,” he said, and blurred way. He returned less than a minute later and handed Emily a belt, holster, and an FNP-45.

“I get a gun?” Emily asked, slipping the holster onto the belt and then fastening it around her hips.

“We thought it might help if you had a weapon.” He smiled and handed her a lasso as soon as she holstered the gun, “This is a lasso, just for show mainly. It’s part of the uniform.”

Emily nodded and watched as Darren went to get her a saddle. She grinned and slipped onto the thoroughbred bareback, and walked the stallion behind the Captain.

Darren turned, his eyes wide, and then laughed, “Well aren’t you full of surprises.”

“I’ve been around a horse or two in my day,” she told him, and clicked her tongue to follow the Captain out into the training grounds.

“Cavalry!” he shouted, and seventy five mounted guards came toward them and then lined their horses up in rows.

“Meet your new Commander,” Darren said, and turned to her.

Emily blushed and nodded at them, “Hello.”

“They were just doing a training course, you may watch if you’d like,” Darren said.

“Ok, sounds like fun.” Emily followed the Cavalry as they returned to a large field.

One member brought his horse to a gate, and when the whistle sounded, he kicked his horse into a gallop. Emily watched intently as he wove his mare through eight barrels, jumped over two fences, lassoed a loose horse, and then dove off of the mare and tackled a running heku. He blurred over and caught his horse and then returned to the starting gate.

Emily clapped with the rest of them when he rode up, “That was great!”

The heku tipped the brim of his hat, “Thank you, Ma’am.”

Each of the Cavalry had to qualify on this course, so Emily watched each of them maneuver the course and then come back for their score. It took over 90 points to qualify, and no one had yet to drop below 98. They were almost done just before lunch and the guards had grown rowdy. They were now cheering loudly, and hitting one another on the back.

Emily saw one of the Cavalry’s horses take off when the heku jumped. It bucked once and ran across the pasture. She kicked her stallion hard and he jerked into a fast gallop. She leaned forward and took the lasso in her hand as her hat flew off behind her. She tested the strength of her hand and then began to twirl the lasso above her head as she neared the spooked horse.

The Cavalry all watched her, stunned at the smooth elegance she exhibited on the horse. They were motionless as they watched her race toward the rogue horse and expertly throw the lasso over its head. She then wrapped the rope around her good arm and slowly stopped her horse. The scared horse slowed with her and then walked back to her.

Emily patted the horses head and then kicked her stallion into a canter, blushing when she saw the entire Cavalry was watching her with amazed expressions.

“Been around a few horses, eh?” Darren asked she rode up.

“Yes, a few,” Emily said, and smiled.

Darren was shaking his head, “Anything else we should know?”

Emily thought, “I play a mean game of football.”

Darren laughed and rode off toward the stables. Emily grinned and followed him.

The Cavalry were all off of their horses and sitting around on the ground, relaxing in the shade. She put her horse in the corral with the others, and took a small bag from one of the servants. She sat down on the straw and pulled a sandwich out and started to eat.

“So how’d you learn to do that?” one of the guards asked, sitting beside her.

“I was raised on a ranch up in Montana, rodeod a bit, and then I trained the Council City Cavalry how to handle a horse,” she said, and leaned back against a bale of hay. It was nice to be able to visit casually with him, without Kyle watching to make sure no one touched her.

“Nice,” he said, and smiled at Darren when he walked up and sat down by them.

“That’s where the confusion came in. We thought you just sort of helped with the Cavalry. I guess I didn’t realize you trained them,” Darren said.

“Only the horse stuff, the rest I left up to their Captain.”

“So you ride, rope, nurse, punch, and play football… is that about it?” another guard asked. They were starting to migrate toward where she sat.

“I get in a lot of trouble, does that count?” she asked, finishing her sandwich.

“Doing what?” one of them asked. “I can’t imagine the wife of an Elder getting in trouble for anything.”

“Oh you’d be surprised what I get myself into trouble for.”

“Is it true then? What they say about your heritage?” one of the guards asked, but he quieted down immediately when Darren glared at him.

“That’s rude,” Darren growled.

“No, it’s ok. Yes, I’m a Winchester,” she said.

“Can you… you know…” he asked, and got another glare from the Captain.

“Ash a heku? Yes.”

“You dim-wit, we already told you she could,” one of the guards said. Emily recognized him as one of the injured from the Island.

“Yeah… well… maybe we didn’t believe you,” he hissed back.

“Can you show us?” another guard asked, and Emily almost choked on her coke.

“No!” she said, wide eyed.

“You offering, idiot?” Darren asked, and smacked the heku upside the head.

“Rumor has it you off’d over 1800 Encala at once,” a heku in the back said.

“Damnit, you are all being rude,” Darren growled.

“No, really, it’s ok.” Emily smiled and patted the Captain’s hand, “Yes, I did, though not at once, it took me a few minutes.”

Everyone fell silent, and when Emily looked up, they were glancing nervously at each other.

She grinned, “I have control, it’s ok.”

“I want to see it,” someone from the back said.

Emily chuckled, “Is that an offer?”

“Do it!” another yelled.

Emily laughed and took another drink. She watched the playful banter of the guards and with the sounds and smells of the ranch, she felt a sense of belonging. None of them seemed afraid of her or embarrassed that she was made a member of their elite guard.

“So what’s up for this afternoon?” Emily asked.

Darren shrugged, “Boring patrols through the city. I’ve set you up with a team you’ll lead.”

“Erm… lead?” she asked nervously.

Darren laughed, “It’s ok, all you do is patrol through the city and look for anything out of the ordinary.”

“You mean like a mortal with a gun?”

Darren started to laugh again, “Yeah, like that.”

“Hey, why don’t we get a gun?” one of the guards asked.

“Because you’d shoot yourself with it,” Darren said, and stood up. “Mount up, playtime is over.”

After patrolling the city with her team for a few hours, Emily followed them back to the stables. Silas was waiting in front of them with Alexis.

“Hiya, Baby,” Emily said, smiling.

“Hi to you, too,” Silas replied, and laughed.

“Gah, not you,” Emily chuckled, and took Alexis when Silas handed her up. Emily kissed her on the cheek.

“Would you two like to go on a tour?” Darren asked, riding up beside Emily. He smiled at Alexis. It wasn’t often he saw a baby at the Ranch, “Oh, sorry, you three.”

“Think you can get on a horse, Silas?” Emily asked, smiling.

“I think I probably could.”

“Pick a horse, bridles are on the wall by the saddles,” Darren said.

Silas nodded and grabbed a bridle, disappearing into the stables. He came out after a few minutes, bareback on an appaloosa.

Darren glanced at them both, “Hrm. Do you all in Council City have problems with saddles?”

“Well, you know, saddles are for those who can’t hold on with their thighs,” Emily said, and kicked her horse into a canter.

Darren glanced at Silas with his eyebrows raised.

“That’s Em,” Silas said, and kicked his horse to catch up to her.

When Darren caught up to them, Silas and Emily were laughing about something and Alexis was pointing over at a cow.

“We have over eight thousand head of cattle here, and out west are all of our dry farms,” Darren said, pointing out the agriculture sites as they rode by.

“Why do it? I mean… I know why Em runs a ranch, but why would heku? You don’t need the food, obviously, money’s never been a problem,” Silas asked.

“It gives us a sense of responsibility, a sense of purpose,” Darren explained.

“It’s touching, how you all care so much about something other than just heku,” Emily said, her mind far away.

Emily rode beside Silas and Darren as they talked about the Ranch, its protection, and its guard strategy. They noticed quickly that she wasn’t paying attention and got deeper into protocols and regulations of the Cavalries.

When they had the horses put away for the night, Darren and Silas visited with each other while Emily and Alexis had dinner. Alexis was yawning by dessert, so Emily laid her down after a quick story.

She walked out to where Darren and Silas were visiting, “I’m going to go out for a run as soon as I change.”

“Wear that, if you can,” Darren said, looking at her uniform. “It’ll let the coven know you belong here.”

Emily nodded and glanced down, “Ok, I’ll slip on my shoes though.”

“Commander?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“Are you… you know… going out, now?”

Emily frowned, “I need to go for a run.”

“It’s ok, I’ll go with her,” Silas said.

“No you won’t. I need to be alone, and you need to watch Alex.” She turned and ran out of the mansion as soon as she’d put on better running shoes.

“She has no sense of danger,” Silas told Darren.

“I’m sure she’ll be ok, but what mortal goes running through a heku city in the dark?” Darren asked, frowning.

“Welcome to the world of Emily,” Silas said with a sigh, and then headed back up to Alexis’s room.

As Emily ran, her head swam with the possibilities of an agricultural coven. When the Encala offered her any coven of her choice, she hadn’t known such a thing existed. She wondered if it would be possible for her to make an agricultural coven work and thrive. If she had her own coven, and could do anything she wanted with it, there would be no reason not to have livestock and farms. No reason why her heku couldn’t learn the ranching trade and eventually might even learn to like it.

Her mind began to fill with things the Encala had done to her, the runes on her thigh that marked her as a slave and drove her to Exavior’s coven. The feel of Vaughn’s hands on her as he savored her before the ceremony. Her father, the Ancient, killed her mother and her brother. He killed her baby, and would have killed her, too. She could feel the necklace pounding against her chest as she ran, the necklace that contained the ashes of the Ancient and his Encala Council.

Emily stopped when her mind was clear again and her thoughts turned entirely back to the Equites. She caught her breath and looked around. While her mind was preoccupied, she had run out of Thukil Coven and into the woods surrounding it. She looked around at the dark trees and sighed.

“Damn, where am I?” she asked no one.

She turned off her iPod and looked around the trees, then heard a noise, soft whispers, and she walked quietly toward it. The wind was blowing through the trees, and she felt somewhat comforted that she was downwind of whomever it was making the noise. She moved tree to tree when she saw shadows in the streams of moonlight through the branches. She peeked out from behind a large tree, and her eyes grew wide.

Heku were gathered, hundreds of them, and they were standing around a clearing. In the dark, Emily wasn’t able to tell the color of their capes, but she was pretty sure they weren’t Equites.

“All of you quiet down!” she heard someone yell. The voice was familiar, but she wasn’t able to place it.

Her breathing seemed noisy in the quiet night as the heku moved to form straight rows in the dark clearing. Watching their backs, she was able to see the E on their capes. They were the Encala, and Emily suddenly recognized the voice, it was Encala Elder Koly.

“The Valle attacks weakened them, and they won’t be expecting an attack this soon. It’s rumored that Selhman and Ingram are either here or in Council City. Now that Island Coven has the Winchester, we will attack just the two, each in turn, not separating our forces. Prepare your teams. We leave in two hours,” Vaughn said.

Emily felt the anger beginning, the familiar call to destroy those that threatened her and the ones she loved. This group was going to attack her new friends. The heku bent solely on raising cattle and taking care of them. The Cavalry that had taken her in and made her one of their own was now in danger, and they didn’t know.

Emily sighed, knowing the fight this was going to cause her later. Chevalier was always telling her to stop protecting the heku, and this was a prime example of what she wasn’t supposed to do.

She walked around the clearing until she was directly behind the three Elders, then stepped out, feeling the anger growing.

“You offered me peace,” Emily said, and the Elders spun, their eyes wide.

A murmur ran through the army as an Equites Commander stepped into the clearing, unafraid.

“You’re… you’re here,” Vaughn said.

“You’re messing with my friends… again,” Emily said, glaring at him.

A panic swept through the army and the Elders looked at each other nervously.

***

“She’s been gone a long time,” Silas said to Darren.

“How long is she usually gone when she runs?”

“An hour, maybe 90 minutes.”

“Let's you and I get on the horses and see if we can track her,” Darren suggested, and Silas looked over at Alexis.

“I can’t leave her alone.”

“I’ll send Hannah in to watch her.”

Silas nodded and ran out to the stables. In a few minutes, he had a bridle on one of the horses and had caught Emily’s scent. Darren rode out behind him, also catching the scent.

“Sir, what’s up?” one of the patrolling Cavalry asked when they passed.

Darren sighed, “Emily went out for a run three hours ago. She didn’t come back.”

The three Cavalry guards glanced at each other, and the front one spoke, “We’ll gather the forces. There’s a lot of forest out there.”

Darren nodded and soon he and Silas were surrounded by the entire Cavalry. They turned their horses and followed Emily’s scent. Almost a mile into the forest, Silas jumped off of his horse and ran to Emily as she stumbled through the trees. The smell of blood was strong.

“Em?” Silas asked as he approached her.

Emily turned on him and glared, putting her hand out, “I won’t let you get them.”

Silas froze. His eyes fixed on the trail of blood from her ears and nose, and the scarlet color of her eyes.

“What’s wrong with her?” Darren asked, concerned.

“Emily, listen to me, it’s Silas,” he said, putting his hand out to her.

“Get back! I’ll ash you if you attack Thukil Coven,” she scowled.

“Damnit,” Silas whispered. “When Emily ashes too many… hundreds… she gets confused and bleeds from her nose and ears… like she is now. I’d wager that somewhere in these woods, are hundreds of piles of ashes.”

Darren frowned and called out to the Cavalry, “Find them.”

“Look at me… who did you find out here?” Silas asked her. “I need you to concentrate, think hard.”

“I need to get to Thukil,” she mumbled, and stumbled off away from them.

Darren whispered into the wind for Thukil to notify Council City of the attack and Emily’s condition, and then walked off after Silas and Emily.

Darren caught up with Silas easily, “Council City is sending backup, a doctor and the Elder are with them. They are coming in by jet and should arrive in the next two hours. Elder Chevalier warned us to keep our distance while Emily is confused.”

Silas nodded, “We’ll just stay with her. If we get too close, she could turn us to ash in her confusion.”

“Captain!” a member of the Cavalry rode up quickly. “A clearing about a quarter of a mile from here, it’s full of ashes and the clothing from an Encala Army.”

Darren hissed, “How many?”

“Just over seven hundred,” the guard said, swallowing hard.

Silas looked at Emily as she staggered around the woods.

“Gather the ashes, all that you can, and the clothing. Return it all to the Ranch,” Darren ordered. “Tell the Lord and Lady… that Emily has saved us from an attack.”

The guard nodded and rode off toward the city.

Silas sat down to wait for Chevalier when Emily hunkered down by a tree with her knees at her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She pulled her cape around her and disappeared under it.

“How long does this take?” Darren whispered, and sat down by Silas.

“I’m not sure. Chevalier usually takes her away,” Silas said, and watched Emily in her protective ball.

“Why did she put herself through this? If she had warned us, we could have protected ourselves.”

“That’s just Emily… out to save every heku.”

“You know, we hear that, but I guess it didn’t really sink in how much this one mortal cares about our species,” Darren said softly, and looked at Emily with respect.

Silas and Darren waited in silence and watched over Emily as she sat perfectly still inside of her cape. They turned when they heard someone approach, and both stood when the Elder appeared with Kyle, Zohn, and the faction doctor.

“Where is she?” Chevalier asked.

Silas pointed to the cape, “She’s crouched down under there.”

“How many?” the doctor asked, frowning.

“The final tally came in at 721 Encala, including their three Elders,” Darren told him.

Chevalier frowned, “They sent all three Elders to an attack?”

Darren shrugged, “I’m thinking they thought it was a sure thing. 721 outnumber us after we lost some in the Valle attack.”

Chevalier sighed, “Where does she think she is?”

“She’s trying to get to Thukil to warn them,” Silas said.

“Kyle, maybe you better wait in Thukil Coven, just in case,” Chevalier said with a half-grin. Kyle nodded and blurred away.

Chevalier walked forward slowly, being as silent as he could. Zohn and the doctor walked behind him.

When the three were within a few feet of Emily, she sprang to her feet and pulled the .45 out of the holster, then leveled it at them as her guard’s cape floated behind her with the breeze.

“Em,” Chevalier said, holding his hands up. He quickly took in the guard uniform and scanned her, but found no obvious injuries.

“Do not come closer,” she growled.

Chevalier took a step back, “Sorry, we won’t come closer.”

Emily frowned and cocked her head to the side slightly, “Chev?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Emily didn’t lower the .45, “I can’t think.”

“I know. Put the gun down and we can go back to Alexis,” Chevalier said softly.

“I have to warn Thukil,” she said, unsure.

“There’s nothing to warn them about, you ashed all of them.”

“We need to tell the Cavalry.”

Chevalier nodded and glanced at the rank pin on her collar, “You’re the Commander, and you need to go tell them.”

Emily nodded, “I am.”

Darren stepped forward, “Come on, let’s tell them together.”

Emily walked to Darren and kept the gun at Chevalier, “Ok, let’s go.”

Darren glanced at Chevalier and then placed his hand on Emily’s back and led her toward the Ranch.

“I’m… pretty sure that’s not a regulation guard uniform,” Zohn said, amused.

“Lock her eyes and put her to sleep,” the doctor told Darren in a whisper, too low for Emily to hear.

“Commander?” Darren asked, and when she glanced at him, he immediately locked her eyes with his.

Emily stumbled and dropped the .45 to the forest floor. Darren reached down and picked her up in a cradle and then blurred toward the mansion with the others close behind. He laid her down on the bed gently, and stood back while the doctor stepped forward and began to check Emily over as she slept.

“I need to give a report to the Lord and Lady,” Darren whispered, and bowed before leaving.

Kyle chuckled, “They made her a Commander?”

“Seems so,” Zohn said, watching the doctor.

“Hey, Elder,” Kyle said from the window.

Chevalier walked over and glanced out Emily’s window. Seventy five mounted guards waited outside on the grass below her window.

“Same as last time, bloody nose, blood pooled in her ears, extremely low blood pressure. I’d wager she has a headache. Let her sleep it off and when she wakes up, we see how she is,” the doctor said. “I wish there was something I could do, but without tests, I have no way to know.”

“Leave us,” Chevalier said, and pulled the curtains over the window. When everyone was out of the room, Chevalier started to gently remove the uniform and slipped her into a nightgown so she would be more comfortable.

He took a warm rag and cleaned the blood from her face and neck and then covered her with the soft blankets. He dimmed the lights and stepped out into the hallway, shutting her door softly.

“How is she?” Darren asked. He was surrounded by several of the top commanders in the Cavalry.

“We won’t know until she wakes up,” Chevalier told him, and went down to meet with the Lord and Lady Thukil.

Chevalier walked in as Lord Thukil was talking with Zohn and Kyle.

Lord Thukil stood up and looked at Chevalier, “How is she?”

“Have we revived the Elders?” Chevalier asked, ignoring the Lord of the coven.

“We were waiting for you,” Kyle said, taking a seat in the small trial room.

Chevalier sat down beside him and Zohn, “Proceed.”

Lord Thukil called for the Captain of the Cavalry and then sat down. Darren took his place at the table when he arrived.

Kyle stood, and with a drop of blood, revived the first set of ashes.

Vaughn screamed as he re-formed and then stood up, still bent slightly from the burning pain, “That Bitch!”

“I suggest you hold your tongue,” Kyle growled at him, and Vaughn looked up, realizing he was no longer in the clearing.

“What is this?” Vaughn hissed.

“A war tribunal, I do believe. You were leading an attack on Thukil Coven,” Chevalier explained.

“I was not! We were conducting a training exercise when we were attacked by the Equites’ puppet,” Vaughn said, smiling.

Chevalier looked at Zohn.

“He’s lying,” Zohn said coldly.

“Banish him,” Chevalier said.

Kyle was at Vaughn’s back in an instant, and with one drop of blood, he fell into a pile of ash.

“We have enough information to take the other two Elders back to the Council. Can you banish the rest of them? Give them each 1,000 years,” Chevalier said to Lord Thukil.

Lord Thukil nodded, “We will do that immediately.”

“We will stay until Emily feels better, if that is ok.”

“Yes, yes, stay as long as the Child needs, we owe her everything,” Lord Thukil said, his voice full of respect.

Chevalier blurred up to Emily’s room and stepped quietly inside. He crawled into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her while she slept. The gray swirls of emotions that surround her when she slept didn’t form into dreams but continued to swirl in erratic patterns as the dawn came and brought the sounds from the animals.

The doctor came in and checked her over, whispering softly to Chevalier before leaving.

“Tell him to leave me alone,” Emily whispered softly.

Chevalier grinned, “If you can tell me where you are, I’ll agree to that.”

“Ahh, my head,” she said, and rolled over, curling up next to him.

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “You aren’t helping convince me to keep the doctor away.”

Emily sighed, “I couldn’t let them attack the Ranch.”

“Your body can’t take this. One of these times, you may not wake up.”

“Council City is next, they want those prisoners.”

Chevalier nodded, “We know, and we’re prepared.”

Emily grinned, “Good, because I don’t want to stay at the palace to protect all your butts.”

“I’d give anything if you’d just stick to protecting yourself,” Chevalier said, and couldn’t help but laugh some.

“Do you think they have any ibuprofen?” Emily asked, and then looked up when the doctor walked in. “If you come at me with a needle I’ll ash you.”

The doctor froze at the door, “It’s… just... a pill.”

“Ibuprofen?”

“No, something a little stronger,” the doctor said.

“Please, just take it,” Chevalier asked, stifling a grin.

Emily sighed, “Whatever.”

The doctor handed her the pills and some orange juice and then left after she took them.

Emily sat up and pushed her palms into her eyes.

Chevalier rubbed her shoulders, “Why don’t you lie down until you feel better.”

“I’m hungry,” she whispered and stood up, swaying slightly. Chevalier appeared at her side and steadied her.

“Let me have something brought up,” he suggested.

“No, I’m ok.” She smiled, and walked more steadily to the desk with her suitcase and she pulled on a robe.

“Are you sure you want to go out there?”

“Why?” Emily asked, turning toward him as she tied the robe.

“You were loved before… now you’ve saved them.”

“Great, if they kneel, I’m running,” Emily said, and opened the door.

Chevalier chuckled, “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

Emily slowly made her way to the dining room she’d been to earlier. Her head was pounding, and as soon as she ate, she fully planned on going back to sleep.

“Child!” she heard from behind her, and turned. Lord Thukil was there along with Darren and the rest of the Commanders of the Thukil guard.

“Yes?” she asked, uneasy at how they looked at her.

Lord Thukil dropped to one knee and lowered his head, “We owe you everything.”

The rest of the heku in the mansion all dropped to one knee and lowered their heads with respect.

Emily’s eyes grew wide and she turned to run, but Chevalier held her with one arm, “I warned you.”

Emily turned around to face the Thukil’s, “Please, don’t do that, stand up.”

“Tell us what we can do to honor you, to repay you for the sacrifice,” Lord Thukil said.

“You can start by not doing that, standup, please. I don’t deserve that,” Emily said, and felt Chevalier chuckle.

“You just made it worse,” he whispered into her ear.

“Don’t deserve it? You are too humble. We are forever in your debt,” Lord Thukil said, and stayed bowed before her.

“Chev, make them stop,” Emily begged.

Chevalier laughed and turned her around, leading her into the dining room.

“Mommy!” Alexis yelled, and ran to her. Emily picked her up and kissed her.

“Good morning… or afternoon, I guess,” Silas said.

“They’re bowing,” she told Silas, and sighed.

Silas laughed, “I don’t doubt that.”

Emily sat down and poured herself some coffee. One of the servants brought in a plate of sausage and fried potatoes, and bowed all the way out of the door.

“I’m a Commander, can’t I stop that?” Emily asked, and then started to eat.

“They want to give you a medal,” Silas said, grinning. He tried to stop when Chevalier glared at him, but had to turn away instead.

“I’m ready to go back to the island,” Emily said to Chevalier.

He nodded, “I know. We need to go to the palace first, and then we can go.”

“Let’s go, after breakfast.”

“Em, they want to give you a medal. It’s important to them,” Chevalier explained.

“Now I’m going to be sick,” Emily told him, and sat down the fork. “Actually, I do feel kind of funny.”

“Funny?” Silas asked.

Emily giggled slightly, something she rarely did, and picked up the fork again slowly.

“Em? Are you feeling ok?” Chevalier asked.

She leaned back in her chair and relaxed.

“Doctor?” Chevalier called, grinning.

The doctor walked in and frowned at Emily as she giggled at the ceiling, “Hrm, maybe I gave her too much.”

“So this is your doing?” Chevalier asked, taking Emily’s hand.

“Yes, it’s the medication. Ma’am, how is your headache?” the doctor asked her.

“You had a headache?” she asked the doctor, frowning.

“Ok, I won’t give her that again,” the doctor said to Chevalier.

Chevalier nodded and picked Emily up.

Emily kissed him lightly, “Let’s have another baby.”

“We are not discussing this right now,” he chuckled, and carried her up to bed.

“I’m a Commander, now I outrank you,” Emily said when he laid her down on the bed and slipped her robe off.

“Whatever you say,” Chevalier told her as he pulled the covers up.

Emily almost immediately fell asleep, and once Chevalier was sure she wasn’t going to wake up, he left the room quietly to make arrangements to try the Encala Elders in front of the Council.

***

Emily sighed and rolled over in bed as the haze over her mind slowly cleared. She sat up and grabbed her head as the world began to spin. She felt someone sit on the bed beside her.

“Here, see if coffee helps,” Chevalier said, and handed her a steaming cup.

“I don’t feel so good,” she said, and sipped the coffee.

Chevalier smiled, “The doctor overdid the medication. You’ve been asleep for almost 24 hours.”

“Are we going back today?” Emily asked, and took another sip.

“Yes, after they give you a medal.”

Emily cringed, “Seriously?”

“Yes, it would mean a lot to them.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, then to the island?”

“We need to try the Encala Elders first, and we’ll need you to testify,” Chevalier explained.

Emily stood up slowly and grabbed her jeans out of the suitcase.

“Em?” Chevalier said, grinning.

Emily turned around “What now?”

“You’re receiving a medal as a Commander of this army.”

“Did you see that uniform?” Emily sighed.

Chevalier’s grin widened, “Yes, I did.”

“Why did they modify it? I don’t see the heku with heart cut-outs or skin showing,” Emily said, grabbing the uniform and disappearing into the bathroom.

Emily emerged brushing her hair, and Chevalier let his eyes follow down her body, appreciating the way the fitted uniform clung to her curves and accentuated her features.

“We should have made you a member of our Cavalry. I hadn’t thought of that,” Chevalier said.

“I think one Commander title is enough,” Emily said, and glanced in the mirror.

Emily fastened the cape, tossed the left side over her shoulder, and then turned around, “Let’s get this over with so we can go.”

Chevalier blurred to Emily and lifted her up so he could kiss her. She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips firmly against his.

After setting her back on her feet, he grabbed her .45 out of the dresser and handed it to her.

“Damn, forgot my gun,” Emily said, and holstered it. She followed Chevalier down to the banquet hallway and stopped at the doors.

“Go in,” Chevalier told her.

Emily sighed, “You go for me.”

“Come on, Killer,” Chevalier said, amused, and opened the door.

The room broke out in applause and Emily felt her stomach turn. Chevalier’s hand on her back was all that kept her from running as he gently pushed her down the aisle toward Lord and Lady Thukil.

As Emily approached them, the Lord stood up and quieted down the heku.

“It is with our greatest admiration that we bestow the Medal of Honor upon Commander Emily for her heroic act in protecting this coven from over 700 Encala warriors. She fought alone and with great bravery, and will forever be held in the highest regards by all of Thukil Coven,” Lord Thukil said.

Emily smiled politely, but her insides were turning and the desire to run was growing stronger.

Lord Thukil stepped forward and pinned a diamond and ruby ‘T’ to her collar below the Commander ranking. The decorated ‘T’ was surrounded by platinum fern leaves and had a tiny dangling Equites crest underneath it.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and winced when Lord Thukil again fell to one knee and bowed. She heard the rustling behind her and knew that all of the heku had done the same.

She reached out and hit Chevalier lightly on the arm when she heard him chuckle. She was relieved when Lord Thukil stood up again.

“Please, come visit us again soon,” Lord Thukil said. He smiled and took her hand and kissed it softly.

“I will… thank you,” Emily said, and took Chevalier’s hand. He led her out of the banquet hall and up to the Thukil’s helicopter where Kyle, Zohn, the doctor, Silas, and Alexis were waiting. She hopped in, still blushing, and buckled herself in. Three of the Thukil Cavalry Lieutenants joined them to help her in the trial.

“Nice, I don’t even have a medal of honor.” Kyle grinned.

The helicopter ride was short. It was only a few miles to the waiting jet, and soon they were at 32,000 feet and heading for Council City. Emily unbuckled her seat belt and crawled onto Chevalier’s lap. She was still feeling groggy and needed to feel his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and leaned his cheek against her as she slept.

“Ever held a Commander before?” Kyle chuckled.

“No, I think this is a first,” Chevalier said, laughing.

Zohn watched her, “It’s hard to believe that someone who desires to be held, has the ability to massively slaughter our species.”

“I’ve always found it hard to believe how that temper can come from such a tiny package,” Kyle added.

Chevalier winced, “Don’t let her hear you call her tiny.”

Kyle grinned, “Oh come on, Elder. You have to admit when she stands by some of the heku, she looks like a child.”

“Nope, I won’t admit to that,” Chevalier said, grinning.

“It’s hard to think of her as a child when she wears… well… we all saw that leather getup,” Zohn said. When Chevalier growled, he added, “All I’m saying, is she’s a bit curvy to be thought of as a child, and if the Elder did, surely they wouldn’t be bonded.”

“Change the subject,” Chevalier said, irritated.

The Thukil Cavalry members that were on the plane shifted nervously in their chairs. The conversation wasn’t one they wanted to be present for.

Kyle grinned, “Calm down Elder. We won’t touch her, but we’re still men and it’s our nature to notice things.”

“It’s a compliment to you that we notice some of her feminine features,” Zohn said matter-of-factly. “She looks delicate and fragile, in harsh contrast to the heku women, so we can’t help but see it.”

“Enough,” Chevalier hissed.

Kyle and Zohn glanced at each other and then the both turned to look out the window.

Chevalier was suddenly aware of the strip of skin showing above the belt on her pants and pulled her cape to cover her better. He also hadn’t noticed before how the diamond cut-out on her shirt showed the slightest hint of cleavage, so he pulled her a little closer to him.

Emily groaned slightly in her sleep and her hand grasped Chevalier’s shirt. Zohn and Kyle turned to look at her, concerned.

“Nightmare,” Chevalier said to them.

“Can you see those?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, they appear like a movie to me. I have to be touching her though, if I’m not, all I get are the emotions from it.”

“Is it about the Encala attack?” Kyle asked.

“No, it’s about… well…” Chevalier hesitated.

Emily sat up suddenly and yelled, “No, Damon!”

Chevalier pulled her back to his chest, and she laid her head against his shoulder and her eyes slowly shut again.

“Still having nightmares about him?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“Once it’s in her dreams, it stays. She still has nightmares about her ex-husband,” Chevalier said, brushing the hair away from her face.

The jet landed, and they all piled into the Blackhawk helicopter for the ride to Council City. Emily watched out the window as the city she had grown to hate came into view. The pilot circled twice and then landed softly on the roof. When he cut the engines, the palace doors opened and members of the Equites Cavalry opened the helicopter door and stood at attention.

“The Council is ready for you, Sir,” Mark said as Chevalier stepped out. Chevalier nodded and blurred away to the council chambers with Kyle and Zohn.

Mark looked up to help Emily out and froze, surprised. He couldn’t help but run his eyes down her and the modified guard uniform. He reached up and grabbed her around the waist and helped her down.

“Commander?” Mark chuckled.

Emily nodded and turned to make sure the Thukil guards were taken care of.

“The… erm… Council was told a Commander and three Lieutenants would be testifying, but I don’t think they knew that you were the Commander,” Mark said, grinning.

“Perfect,” Emily sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to the amused looks from the Council.

“They are waiting for you,” Mark said, and headed for the door. Emily followed him and felt the Thukil Cavalry close behind her. She had the sudden feeling she was now doubly guarded by no one’s order.

Emily tuned the guards out as they began to compare training and tactics, something that didn’t interest her. She had just stepped down onto the fifth floor when she was hit hard from the side. Her feet left the ground as she flew across the foyer and slammed into a door. The doorknob smashed painfully into her ribs and she fell to the floor.

As Emily leaned back against the door to wait out the pain, she heard the growls and sounds of tearing flesh as guards, both Equites and Thukil, violently dismembered her attackers. As the blur of fighting cleared, she saw the bodies of four dead heku, all wearing the symbol of the Equites guard. Members of both Cavalries stood up from crouches, their eyes fierce and furious as they looked around the foyer for any more attackers. They were covered in blood, more evident on the white shirts of the Equites than on the dark green of the Thukil Cavalry.

“What the hell was that?” Emily groaned.

“Attacked by Equites Palace Guards?” one of the Thukil Cavalry growled at Mark.

Mark just glared at him and knelt down beside Emily. She was clutching her side with her good hand, “Let me see.”

Emily raised the side of her shirt slightly, and Mark hissed at the dark bruise that was already forming and the small amount of blood seeping from around it.

“We should get the doctor,” Mark said. He stood up and helped Emily to her feet.

“No, no doctors. I’m ok.” Emily smiled and started down the stairs again, still grasping her side.

Derrick eyed the guards suspiciously and his eyes narrowed, “Were you attacked?”

“Yes, let’s get this over with so I can get to the island,” Emily said, irritated, and straightened up with her hands at her sides. She decided it would be better to put up with the pain, than be seen crouched over.

“Sir, the... ermm… Commander and the Lieutenants from Thukil are ready,” Derrick said to the Council. He eyed the two Encala Elders cautiously as they stood in front of the Council.

“Very well, bring them in,” Maleth said. He noticed Kyle grin at Zohn, but ignored them.

Derrick nodded and opened the door. Emily was the first to enter, followed by the Thukil Lieutenants. The council members all began to chat quickly when they realized that Emily was the Thukil Commander. Emily walked up and stood beside the Encala Elders. Chevalier was pleased when the Thukil guards stood in a formation between her and the enemy Elders.

Maleth smiled, “Lady Emily, congratulations on your… promotion, shall we call it?”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him.

Chevalier sighed and motioned for Emily to come up to him, “Commander… a moment, please.”

Emily walked up the stairs and over to the Elders. They turned their chairs to face her. They all noticed that the strip of skin visible on her side was slowly turning purple.

“Yes?” Emily asked, and knelt down to talk to them.

“Emily, you were away from me for 5 minutes… why do I smell blood?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

Emily grinned slightly, “You would be amazed how fast a heku can attack.”

Chevalier pulled her shirt up slightly and growled at the black bruise forming on her ribs. Emily laid her shirt back down, embarrassed.

“Who?” Chevalier hissed.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. They were torn to pieces before I could figure that out.”

“They?” Quinn asked.

Emily sighed, “Yes, four of them.”

“We’ll handle that later, please return to your place,” Maleth said. Emily nodded and stood up, wincing slightly. She walked back down and stood by the Thukil guards again.

“Commander, we were told you were the only witness to the impending attack,” Quinn said to her. Chevalier had to fight from grinning. Emily was over 18 inches shorter than the heku around her, and Kyle’s comment about her looking like a child flooded back to him.

Emily stepped forward, “Yes, I was.”

“What exactly did you see?”

“I was out in the woods… lost…” Emily ignored the way Chevalier sighed, “I heard voices, and when I got closer, I saw hundreds of Encala lined up. William, Koly, and Vaughn were giving them orders.”

“Please, tell us what was said, verbatim,” Quinn requested.

Emily looked at Chevalier with wide eyes. He smiled and turned to the Elders for a moment before turning back to the trial area.

“I apologize, please tell us what was said,” Quinn said, and smiled at her. He noticed how she tensed when he spoke to her, and it concerned him that she still viewed him as a threat.

“They were saying that because I was on the Island, they were going to attack Thukil first, and then move on to Council City. Valle’s Ingram and what’s his nuts were supposed…” Emily stopped when Maleth held up his hand.

“What’s his nuts?” Maleth asked, confused.

Kyle had to turn his chair around, so the Encala didn’t see him laughing.

Koly turned and glared at her, “His name is Selhman.”

Emily was still watching Maleth, “Ingram and Selhman, were supposed to be in either Council City or Thukil, so they were just going to stick with those two cities.”

“She’s lying!” William scowled. “We were running a training exercise, nothing more.”

“I am not lying.” Emily turned and glared at him.

“Emily!” Chevalier said sternly, when he saw her begin to concentrate on William.

William looked at her with wide eyes when she sighed and turned back to the Council.

“Zohn… impressions?” Quinn asked.

“The Encala is lying. I believe the Commander,” Zohn said, using her official title for the trial.

“We demand that you release the Valle prisoners immediately,” Koly said angrily.

Quinn ignored the Encala, “Lieutenants, what is your part of this?”

One of the Thukil Lieutenants stepped forward, “After we found the Commander in the woods, we set out in a search pattern. The three of us found a clearing in the trees with piles of ashes and scattered clothing from an Encala Army.”

“Was a count made?” Maleth asked.

“Yes, Sir, there were 718 individual piles of ash, all lined up in formation, and three more off from the others. They turned out to be the Elders,” he said.

“Have any of the Encala’s Army been revived?” Maleth asked.

The Lieutenant grinned, “No, Sir, they have all been banished per the Elder’s orders.”

“Very well, so we have the Commander’s word against those of the Encala Elders,” Quinn said.

Emily’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“She’s not a Commander! She’s just a mortal,” Koly said angrily.

“She is my Commander,” one of the Thukils said, glaring at him.

“Mine too,” the other two said together.

“As far as this court is concerned, she is a Commander with the Thukil Cavalry and will be addressed and respected as such,” Maleth said to the Encala.

“She is nothing but a girl. A power hungry child that should be punished for her crimes against the heku. If she ever falls into the Encala hands again, she will be, and it will be a pleasure to teach her submission and respect,” Koly growled.

The three Lieutenants crouched slightly toward him and ducked away just as Emily put a .45 into each of the Encala, clean shots to the head.

“Damn that felt good,” Emily said, grinning.

“Commander, please stop shooting the defendants,” Quinn chuckled.

The Lieutenants laughed and stood back up, watching the Elders heal and enjoying the pain the bullets caused.

Emily holstered her gun, “Sorry, won’t happen again.”

“Guards, take them to cells,” Quinn said, and as soon as the Encala could stand, they were escorted out of the trial area.

“Mark,” Chevalier said, and the Captain came into the trial area.

“Yes, Elder?” Mark asked, stepping up by Emily. His shirt was still covered in blood.

“Now… what happened to Emily in the 5 minutes that I was away from her?” Chevalier frowned.

“The entire 5^th floor guard staff attacked her,” Mark said, obviously angry still.

Maleth hissed, “The entire fifth-floor guard staff?”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark told him.

“She would be safer in Thukil,” one of the Lieutenants said.

“I’ll be safer when I get back to the island,” Emily told him. “So let’s end this and I’ll be on my way.”

Quinn nodded, “Very well, leave us while we decide on the Encala.”

Chevalier watched as Emily, the Thukil, and Mark left the trial area, “Damnit, there goes that idea.”

“Why did they have to do this now? I was sure we could get her to stay,” Maleth sighed.

“We’ll just have to let her go back to the island and try later,” Zohn said.

Kyle nodded, “I can stay with her there. Maybe I can talk her into it.”

“Yes, do that, we’ll see after things calm down,” Chevalier said.

“Impressive that she’s now a medaled Commander,” Quinn said, smiling.

Kyle chuckled, “We should have done that. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Let’s do it now and change the guard’s uniforms,” Zohn laughed.

Chevalier glared at him, “Enough with how she’s dressed.”

“I take it no one’s opposed to finding the Encala guilty of attacks on Thukil?” Quinn asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Now we need a punishment. We can only keep one of them though,” Zohn said.

Chevalier shrugged, “Keep Koly for 150 years and let William go with a warning.”

“It’s too bad we can’t kill all of them for being dumb enough to attack with all three Elders present,” Kyle said.

“Derrick, bring them all back,” Maleth said. The Council watched as Emily and the Thukil came in, again the Cavalry stood so they surrounded her. The Encala were brought in next and stood before the Council.

“We as the Equites Council find you both guilty of attacks on the Equites’ Thukil Coven,” Quinn said, standing. “As per wartime etiquette, we are releasing William as the sole Encala Elder, and sentencing Koly to 150 years for his crimes.”

“That’s preposterous! You can’t take a mortal’s word over ours,” Koly screamed. “It’s disgraceful how the Equites have fallen as strongest of the factions.”

“Fallen?” Chevalier asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes fallen! You have stooped to listening to mortals and…” Koly’s eyes widened and he gasped and clutched at his chest, falling to his knees.

The Thukil guards glanced nervously at each other as a burning smell filled the room. Emily was looking directly at the Council.

“Stop her!” William yelled, watching the suffering Elder.

Koly screamed and writhed on the floor in agony.

“Just don’t kill him, Commander,” Zohn said, not actually wanting her to stop.

William growled, “I said stop her!”

Koly fell silent as he went unconscious. The burning smell started to dissipate, and Emily smiled at the Thukils.

“We won’t stand for this,” William hissed.

“So much control, it’s impressive,” Quinn said to Emily.

“I demand you do something,” William roared.

Maleth looked at him calmly, “Do something about what?”

“You cannot allow her to torture a heku.”

Emily smiled, “That wasn’t torture. I’ve learned how to burn individual body parts.”

William’s face fell and his eyes grew wide, “You wouldn’t.”

“Thukil, you are free to go,” Maleth said quickly, before Emily took the challenge.

The Lieutenants left with Emily, and were laughing among themselves.

“You just let her walk out of here?” William asked, irritated.

Maleth looked at him curiously, “Would you rather her show us her new found talent?”

“Do you know if she can really do that?” Kyle asked Chevalier.

“Not a clue,” he said, chuckling.

Zohn laughed, “She was lying.”

“You may go,” Quinn said to William, and he stormed out of the room.

Guards came and carried Koly down to the prison as the Council began to leave the room.

“I’ll be ready to go to the island in 5 minutes,” Kyle said, heading into his room.

“Give us an hour,” Chevalier chuckled, and disappeared into the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and watched Emily for a few moments as she packed. He scanned the room quickly to make sure they were alone.

“I really like that uniform on you.” Chevalier grinned and appeared behind her.

Emily laughed, “Don’t get too used to it.”

“I figured,” he said, and unfastened her cape, then threw it onto a chair.

Emily turned around and smiled, “I’m a Commander, so you can’t just do with me as you will.”

Chevalier began to unbutton her shirt, “I still outrank you.”

***

Emily rested her head against Chevalier’s neck as she laid on top of him. He trailed his fingers lightly over her back.

“You could stay, you know,” Chevalier reminded her.

“No, I need to go back to the island.”

“We could make you a member of the Cavalry here.”

“I’m already a Commander, that’s enough.”

Chevalier kissed the top of her head, “I really wish you would stay. Is there anything I can say to convince you?”

“I hate this place, Chev,” Emily said, not looking at him. “It was proven today that some still hate me, too. I also can’t live with Zohn and Quinn, they drive me nuts.”

Chevalier sighed, “Zohn and Quinn are good heku, give them a chance.”

“Let me just see how things go on the island.”

“I’m afraid to even let you try. Things were always calmer there, and you seem to like it so much better.”

Emily smiled, “I do.”

“What about Allen? I’m worried about how he’ll react when you leave him again,” Chevalier said softly.

Emily looked up at him, “It kills me to leave him, you know that. He wants nothing to do with me though.”

“You need to trust me. He just thinks you’re weak, and in a predatory environment it’s natural for him to want to get rid of the weak link. You need to show him you aren’t.”

“I can’t ash my son.”

“Don’t ash him, just give him a little pain.”

“Chev! He’s only 6.”

“His body is 6, but his mind is fully adult,” Chevalier reminded her.

Emily sighed and rolled off of Chevalier. She wrapped the sheet around her and went into the bathroom.

Chevalier dressed quickly and called to Emily before leaving, “I’ll go get Allen, let him say good-bye.”

Emily dressed back in her jeans and t-shirt and folded her guard uniform up to put it in the suitcase. Silas brought Alexis in to her, and she took the baby in her arms and kissed her softly.

“You ready to go?” Emily asked, and sat her down on the bed.

“Si go,” Alexis said, pouting.

“Silas needs to stay here for now.”

Silas smiled slightly, “I can come visit, right?”

Emily nodded and smiled, “Any time.”

“Dad said I had to come say good-bye,” Allen said from the doorway, irritated.

Emily crossed her arms, “You know… I’m half tempted to make you go with us.”

“Like you could make me do anything,” Allen laughed.

Emily glanced at Chevalier, who stood behind Allen and he nodded.

“I’m your mother. I can make you do whatever I want. Drop the attitude with me,” Emily said angrily.

“I wish you weren’t.”

“You will show me some respect.” Emily’s body tensed. She hated the thought of what she was about to do.

Allen crouched, an evil grin on his face, “I don’t respect mortals.”

Emily shut her eyes and a tear fell as Allen dropped to his knees, screaming. The pain was only a few seconds, but Emily wanted to run to him and comfort him.

Allen got to his feet slowly and glared at her, “Don’t do that again.”

“If you’ll drop the attitude, I won’t have to,” Emily told him.

Allen crouched slightly, and a small scream escaped as he turned to ash.

“Emily!” Chevalier gasped, and looked down at his son.

Silas frowned, “That was harsh.”

Emily took a step back and spun suddenly toward Alexis, who was crying on the bed. She ran to the baby and knelt down by her, “No, no, Baby, we don’t do that.”

Chevalier looked over at them with wide eyes, “That wasn’t you?”

Emily shook her head and picked Alexis up, “He scared her.”

“Did you know she could do that?” Silas asked her.

“No,” Emily said, and held her tighter. “We have to go.”

Chevalier was in shock as Emily ran from the room with Alexis. When Kyle revived the 6-year-old, the sound of the helicopter taking off filled the upper halls of the palace.

“I thought I was supposed to go with them,” Kyle said, looking up.

“Take the other helicopter. She just wanted to get Alex out of here,” Chevalier said, and put a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“What happened?” Allen asked, his body shaking.

Chevalier glanced at Silas briefly, and then back to his son, “Your mother finally decided to show you who’s in charge.”

Allen frowned, “Mom did that?”

“Yes, she should have a long time ago,” Chevalier said. “She wouldn’t do it because she loves you, but you gave her no choice. Your life will be much easier if you show your Mom and Sister some respect.”

“Great!” Allen said, and stormed out of the room.

“Should we be sending the Chief Enforcer to the home with a temperamental toddler?” Silas asked.

Kyle laughed, “I should be ok if I don’t scare her.”

“Buy her something special tomorrow, chicks love that,” Silas grinned.

“Tomorrow?” Kyle asked.

Silas shook his head, “Tomorrow… she turns two.”

“Damn,” Chevalier hissed. “I always forget about birthdays.”

Kyle shrugged, “I don’t see what’s so special about them.”

“Yes, well… they aren’t special if you’ve had over 1500 of them… but on your second, and you have only limited amounts…” Silas said.

“Let’s go shopping, Kyle. We’ll both go over tomorrow,” Chevalier said, and headed out of the room.

“Great… shopping…” Kyle scowled and walked out after him.

“Elder!” one of the guards ran up just as Chevalier was getting into his car.

“What now?” Chevalier growled.

“There’s a problem at the farmhouse,” the guard said. The farmhouse held the official address for the entire city and was often used as a façade when mortals needed one of them.

Chevalier sighed and blurred to the farmhouse with Kyle behind him.

“Oh, here’s he is now,” the guard said to someone on the front porch. The guard was wearing jeans and a t-shirt to blend with the farmhouse cover.

Chevalier stepped onto the porch and frowned at the six police officers, “What’s the problem?”

“We’re looking for Emily Russo. This was the last address she used,” the leading officer said.

“She’s not here right now. What’s the problem?”

“How long have you known Ms. Russo?” an officer asked, grabbing a pen and paper.

“I’ve known her for 10 years.”

“So you would have known her husband, Keith?”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”

“Were you aware that he was killed and buried on the ranch Ms. Russo owned?” The Officer looked up at Chevalier suspiciously.

“No, I wasn’t aware he was dead,” Chevalier said.

The Officer handed him a card, “We have a warrant to bring Emily in for questioning. Have her call us when she gets in.”

Chevalier nodded and walked back into the farmhouse. He turned and glared at Kyle, “They found him.”

“I swear, I buried him out in the middle of the field… over six feet down,” Kyle said, shocked.

“Let’s go talk to the lawyer,” Chevalier said, and he and Kyle went into the city.