Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (102 page)

“
Are you ok?” the Encala
asked her.

“
You have no right to talk
to her,” Zohn yelled.

“
I’m fine, thank you,”
Emily said, ignoring Zohn.

The Encala laughed, “I
can’t believe you carried him. Looked like he would squish
you.”

Emily smiled, “I’m tougher than I
look.”

Zohn was infuriated and the Thukil
guards were uncomfortable with how she talked so freely with a
convicted murderer, wanted in all three factions.

“
You’re going to hurt
tomorrow though,” he told her.

“
I’m sure I will. How can I
repay you?” she asked.

“
Emily!” Zohn yelled, and
pulled her away from the Encala by her arm.

Emily cried out as he grabbed exactly
where Exavior had, “Stop, that hurts.”

The Encala growled, “Nice, and I’m the
one that’s wanted.”

“
Do not talk to him,” Zohn
growled at her.

“
You’re not my Elder and I
can do what I want.” Emily glared at him.

“
Feisty little thing,” the
Encala laughed, but was silenced by the looks from the Thukil
guards.

“
You’re pushing the
boundaries of being a traitor,” Zohn yelled.

“
You’re pushing the
boundaries of being an asshole,” Emily yelled back.

“
Sit,” Zohn growled, and
took his seat up with the pilot.

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled at
the Encala, “I’ll handle this.”

“
You really should just
drop it. I’m fine,” he said, and the Thukil guards nodded in
agreement.

“
What do the factions want
you for?” Emily asked.

The Encala shrugged,
“Murder.”

“
Heku or human?”

“
Both”

“
Why?” she
asked.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
You must have a reason,
right?”

The Encala smiled slightly, “They got
in my way.”

“
So even the Encala would
stick you in prison?”

“
Yes”

“
Where can you go that
you’d be safe?”

“
Banishment,” he said, and
shrugged.

“
Is that what you want
though?”

“
Yes, it is.”

Emily frowned, “If you’re sure, I can
try to get that.”

“
I’ve been in and out of
faction prisons for over six hundred years. I’m ready to be done
with it,” he said.

“
Have you tried going
straight?” Emily asked. “Maybe they’d let you go.”

“
Nope, can’t be
done.”

“
I’ll ask them to banish
you then.”

The Encala nodded, “Thank
you.”

“
Why did you help me? If
you’re so mean and dangerous, why help the lost mortal?”

The Encala smiled, “I have a lot of
respect for you.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
You’re the only one I know
that’s killed more than I have.”

Emily frowned, “I kill
defensively.”

“
It’s still an impressive
number,” he said, and turned to look out the window.

Darren moved over to sit by her and
took her arm in his hands, “Is this bruise the only
injury?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, not too bad. That
and the humiliation of being dressed up like a Barbie
doll.”

Darren grinned, “Ever feel like a
trophy that’s passed between factions?”

“
You have no
idea.”

The helicopters landed in
Council City. The one carrying the disabled members of the Council
landed on the roof, while the others landed along the lawn. Darren
helped Emily out of the helicopter, and she followed the Thukil
guards while they escorted the Encala down to the
prison.

“
Do you need anything?”
Emily asked, when he was locked in a cell.

“
No, I’m fine,” he said,
and sat down on the bed.

“
If you need anything, ask
specifically for me,” she said, and headed up the stairs with the
Thukil guards.

“
Where’s Chev?” Emily asked
one of the guards on the first floor.

“
The Elder and the Chief
Enforcer have been taken to the Elder’s room,” he said
officially.

Emily ran up the stairs and
into the bedroom. She frowned when she saw Chevalier lying
motionless on the bed and Kyle on the floor beside him, the rest of
the room was empty. She went into Kyle’s room and stole a blanket
and pillow off of the bed, then returned and knelt down beside him.
She put his head on the pillow and covered him with the
blanket.

“
Mark?” she called out, and
sat on the bed to wait for him.

“
Yes?” Mark asked, stepping
into the room.

“
Is someone going to help
them?” she asked, irritated.

“
No, they are doing ok on
their own,” Mark said, and glanced at the injured heku.

“
I’m slowly finding the
heku species, as a whole, to be just as fragile as mortals,” Emily
told him.

Mark grinned, “We’re not.”

“
Keep thinking that, but
I’m right,” Emily said, and disappeared into the bathroom for a
shower. She came out feeling a lot better without the dress and
crown. She tossed the tiara on top of the dresser and sat down by
Chevalier, taking his hand.

“
Don’t be mad at me,” Emily
said, and kissed him softly.

Chevalier’s eyes opened slowly and he
whispered, “Why?”

“
Just don’t,” she said, and
stood up to pack. He’d fallen back into a trance, so she was able
to pack and head out of the room.

“
Going somewhere?” Mark
asked when he saw Emily with a suitcase and Alexis following behind
her.

“
Yes, I’m
leaving.”

“
Shall I go?”

“
No, heading out alone. Is
the Council in session?”

“
Yes,” Mark said,
frowning.

Emily nodded and headed
down the stairs followed by Alexis, who clutched her doll tightly.
She stopped and dropped her suitcase, and then took Alexis’ hand
and walked into the council chambers.

“
Good to have you home,
Emily.” Quinn smiled and looked up at her.

“
I am leaving for a while,
but first I wanted to plead the case for the Encala that helped me
with Chevalier and Kyle,” Emily said.

Zohn turned and spoke to Quinn
quickly.

“
What exactly are you
pleading for?” Quinn asked.

“
His
banishment.”

Quinn looked at her,
surprised, “Odd that you want him banished after he helped
you.”

“
Nonetheless, that is my
request.”

“
We will take it into
consideration,” Quinn said.

“
Keep in mind… if I come
back to the palace, I do consider him a friend and will visit him
often,” Emily said, and watched the Council.

“
If you return?” Quinn
asked, suddenly serious.

“
Yes, if.”

“
Where are you
going?”

“
Somewhere where it’s just
Alex and I.”

“
Does Chevalier know?” Zohn
asked.

“
No, it’ll be easier if I
go now.”

“
But the baby…” Zohn said,
and the Council turned to her.

“
We will manage. Tell… tell
Chevalier I love him,” Emily said, and turned before the tear fell
from her eye.

Quinn blurred to her side, “Please,
stay.”

Emily shook her head, “No,
no more kidnappings, no more tortures and deceit. I’m done with it,
and I won’t put Alexis through that either.”

Quinn stepped back and let her go,
watching her with sorrow in his eyes.

Emily pushed her suitcase
into the back of the Jeep and locked Alexis into the car seat. She
sighed and looked around the garage, her eyes falling on the three
red Lamborghini’s. She slid into the driver’s seat of the Jeep and
was soon pulling out of Council City.

Derrick sighed and walked
into the Equites council chambers.

“
Yes, Derrick?” Quinn
asked.

“
We received a letter, from
Lady Emily,” he said, and glanced at Chevalier.

Chevalier straightened in
his chair, surprised. He hadn’t heard from her since she left a
month before, “Read it.”

Elders,

I come to you with a
challenge. While this may seem like a game, it’s to get your
attention and ultimately bring balance to the factions.

***

The Court Guard for the
Valle stood before them, cleared his throat, and continued to
read.

At the moment, I am
protected by no faction, in fact, all three factions will get this
exact same letter. Your challenge is to find me.

***

The Encala guard glanced nervously at
his Elders and then continued.

Why do this? Because I’m
going to call a meeting soon and to prove my point, you have to be
very much aware that, at will, I can disappear where no faction can
find me.

You have one
month,

Emily
Winchester

***

Chevalier narrowed his eyes, “What the
hell is she up to?”

“
There’s no use looking for
her, we already know that,” Kyle said sadly.

“
We have to. She’s out
there, and we know the Valle and Encala will look,” Zohn
growled.

“
You must know something,
Kyle?” Chevalier asked him.

“
She told me once that
Exavior bought her a place, so my concern is that he will tell the
Valle where she is,” Kyle said, and frowned. “If that’s where she
went.”

Chevalier shook his head,
“No, she wouldn’t go there. My guess is we will never know where
she is, but will get called to this meeting in a month. I just
worry about her health.”

“
Why would she pick now?
Why would she wait until now to do this?” Quinn asked,
concerned.

“
Find her,” voices from the
nine Elders echoed through the three council chambers, located far
apart across the United States.

***

Kyle unfolded the letter
and read it to the Council.

Dear Elders,

It’s been a month. As you
see, I can disappear from even your keen senses, keep that in mind.
I want to meet with you, and only you. No guards, no council
members, just the three Elders and all three must be in attendance.
I will be waiting for you in two days at the Denver Hilton’s
Conference room. Just ask for the Winchester conference. Be there
promptly at 11am, no sooner and no later.

Emily

Chevalier sighed, “How can we not find
her?”

“
We had everyone looking.
We had factions running into factions trying to find her and not a
sign,” Mark told them from the trial floor.

“
She’s pregnant for God’s
sake. We can smell her from miles away. How do we miss one small
mortal?” Zohn growled.

Quinn stood up, “Very well, we’ll
leave for Denver first thing in the morning.”

“
We’re going?” Zohn asked,
shocked.

Chevalier growled at him.

“
Fine,” Zohn hissed, and
walked out of the room.

***

“
Of course the three of us
are going,” Sotomar told the Council. “Do we have a choice? I’m
betting the other two factions have their own meeting times too. We
can’t be the one that misses out on whatever it is she has to
say.”

Elder Ryan sighed, “How did
she elude us? We’re far superior to her species.”

“
Yes, we are, but we’ve
been unable to even faintly catch her scent,” Exavior said. “I want
to go with you tomorrow.”

“
She specifically says
Elders only. I don’t want to risk scaring her off,” Sotomar
said.

***

Elder William sighed, “I
hate that she is dictating meetings and challenges. However, I
don’t see how we can miss this meeting.”

Another of the Encala
Elders turned to him, “We could make a point that we aren’t taking
orders from a mortal, and not attend.”

“
We have to go! What if we
miss something that the other factions will know,” William said.
“We leave first thing in the morning.”

***

Emily waited in the
conference room for the three sets of Elders. Alexis was playing on
the floor with her dolls, and Emily was pacing
nervously.

The Valle were the first to
arrive and Emily turned to them when they walked in,
“Welcome.”

Sotomar’s eyes fell on her,
and he glared, “We’re here, what now?”