Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (37 page)

The plane landed in view of the
Blackhawk helicopter known as Equites 1. Chevalier went into the
back to wake Emily, but found her sitting on the bed nursing the
baby. He sat down on the bed and watched.

“
She’s grown so much,”
Chevalier said, noticing the way her eyes turned to meet his when
he spoke.

Emily nodded, “Yeah, she
has.”

“
She doesn’t like me
much.”

“
She doesn’t really know
you.”

Chevalier nodded, “When you’re done,
the helicopter is waiting.”

“
I can go now,” Emily said,
and tossed a light blanket over her shoulder. Chevalier lifted her
into the tall helicopter and she buckled in, far away from
Damon.

Chevalier watched out the window as
the palace came into view. The pilot decided to land the Blackhawk
on the front lawn. Chevalier looked over at Emily and she was
watching out the window, frowning.

“
Why aren’t we landing on
the roof?” Emily asked Chevalier.

“
He’s taking off again
immediately. This will be faster,” he told her as the pilot cut the
engines.

The large doors opened and the Cavalry
jumped out easily, and looked across the gathered crowd. Kyle,
Mark, and Damon followed them, and Damon helped Allen down. The
crowd grew silent at the sight of the heku child, and they watched
him in awe.

Chevalier hopped out of the helicopter
and turned to help Emily. She was clinging tightly to Alexis and
watching the crowd of people. She had always hated crowds,
especially ones that were there to see her. She saw them all turn
and look at her, and felt the urge to run. Turning around, Emily
ducked under the helicopter to get away from them, but a strong
hand wrapped around her waist.

“
They won’t hurt you,”
Chevalier told her.

“
Give me your cape,” she
whispered, still facing away from the crowd. Without asking why, he
handed her his green cape, and she slipped it on and pulled the
hood up to cover her face.

Tucking the baby under the edge of the
cloak, Emily moved quickly past the gathered heku and into the
palace, not once slowing or looking up.

As they headed up the stairs, Emily
dropped the hood and looked over at Chevalier, “What was that all
about?”

Chevalier sighed, “It’s all out, Allen
and Alexis and their abilities. It’s pretty much made you… well…
famous.”

Emily turned and glared at him, “Do
what?”

“
It’ll pass, I promise.
It’s just that now, everyone fully understands why you are in the
palace. You’re the only one in the history of our species that has
reproduced an immortal. It’s fascinating to them, and they want to
see you.”

“
Perfect,” Emily said,
irritated, and walked up the stairs.

***

The morning after arriving back in the
palace, Alexis had Emily up early and she sat in bed and fed the
baby while she looked through the newspaper. She was going to call
the owner of the Montana ranch to see if it was still available,
but if not, she planned on finding another. More now than ever, she
felt the need for a secret place of her own. Somewhere she could go
to get some shred of normalcy back in her life, and somewhere she
could take the kids when it was time to get away.

Chevalier walked in as she was on the
phone.

“
Yes, I’m sorry about
that,” she said, and smiled at him.

Emily gasped, “No, that’s
awful.”

Suddenly her face lit up, “Yes! I can
be there tomorrow night.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed.

“
I’ll be ready to take the
keys from you at the signing.”

Chevalier sighed and sat down on the
bed.

“
Yes, yes, Ok, I will see
you tomorrow then.” Emily smiled and hung up the phone.

“
Leaving?” Chevalier
asked.

“
The owner of the ranch
passed away. He already had the papers filled out for me, so the
son is throwing in the estate. He just wants to get rid of it.” She
grinned and leaned over to kiss him.

“
I guess I figured you
would change your mind,” Chevalier told her.

Emily pulled the baby to her shoulder
and patted her back softly, “Why would I change my
mind?”

“
It’s more dangerous now
that the factions know about Allen and Alexis. They will want a…”
he sighed, “Set of their own.”

Emily frowned, “Then it’s more
important than ever that I have a place to go.”

“
Will you reconsider one
heku? He can help Sam with the ranch and keep an eye out,”
Chevalier asked pleadingly. “I could even order him never to
contact Council City. He could just be a free field
hand.”

“
No,” she said
bluntly.

Emily handed the baby to Chevalier and
started to pack a small bag. He looked at Alexis and she smiled up
at him, and then grabbed the collar of his shirt, sticking it into
her mouth.

“
Are you leaving right
now?” he asked her.

“
Pretty soon. I’ll take
Alexis and Sam, so I can leave Sam there. I’ll need to leave
Allen,” she said sadly. “I don’t have any way to feed
him.”

Chevalier nodded.

Emily looked over at him, “Can he
survive off of the blood of an animal?”

“
Yes, if you can get him to
drink it. It’s pretty nasty,” Chevalier told her.

“
Well what did you all
drink while you waited for the mortals to evolve?” She’d wondered
that often, but hadn’t bothered to ask.

Chevalier laughed, “They thought
animals were good back then. It wasn’t until we tried the blood of
a mortal, that we changed our ways.”

Chevalier turned away from her to hide
the anger in his face as she checked the clip of her 9mm and put it
into the bag. He hated the thought of her out in the world without
protection, and the gun reminded him that only part of the danger
could be stopped with it.

“
Kyle then… you trust Kyle,
take him,” Chevalier suggested.

Emily ignored him and grabbed her
purse and the bag, “I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone this trip.
I need to find a field hand or two and make sure everything’s ready
to go before I leave.”

Emily turned toward the bed and jumped
when Chevalier appeared suddenly right in front of her.

“
Please, don’t do this,” he
said, and gently touched her cheek.

Emily pulled him down to her and
kissed him softly. After a few moments, she smiled and pulled away
from him and took the baby. Emily laughed at Chevalier’s wet
collar, and pulled close to him for a hug. She knew this was
killing him, but it was something she had to do. She had enough
confidence in her abilities to protect herself and Alexis from
heku, and she trusted her aim and Sam’s protective nature to keep
her safe from the mortals.

“
Kyle?” Emily asked, and
turned to him when he walked in. “Get Sam please.”

Kyle frowned and glanced at Chevalier.
He hesitated and nodded, then watched as Kyle blurred
away.

Emily walked into Allen’s room. He was
sitting on the bed reading. She sat on the edge of the
bed.

“
I’m going to buy that
ranch. I’ll be gone for a few days,” she told him and kissed his
forehead.

“
Can I go?” he
asked.

Emily shook her head, “Not this time.
I need to learn how to feed you first, ok?”

Allen nodded, “I guess.”

Emily hugged him tightly. She knew how
badly he wanted to see the new ranch, and how he hated to be too
far from her. His protective nature was coming out strongly, and he
was most protective of Emily.

“
You called for me?” Sam
asked from the bedroom. His eyes narrowed when he saw her bruised
neck and black eye.

Emily cringed at his voice. She didn’t
trust him, or even like him, and wasn’t looking forward to the long
trip with her familiar.

“
We’re going away for a few
days. I am buying a ranch, and you’ll stay there as overseer,” she
said, and handed the baby’s bag to him.

Sam nodded, “As you wish.”

Chevalier kissed her though the open
window of the Durango, and watched as she drove off. His heart was
ready to explode as he saw her leave the protection of the palace
with a familiar that neither of them trusted. He knew he could have
her followed and she would never know it. He also knew that he
could force her to come back, but he had broken enough promises to
her and this one he intended to keep.

“
Can’t you make her stay?”
Allen asked from behind his Dad.

Chevalier nodded, “I can, but I
won’t.”

“
I don’t like
it.”

“
Neither do I, Son, neither
do I.”

“
You need to teach me how
to feed. That way I can go with her,” Allen said.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, let’s do that
now.”

Emily drove through the day and
stopped at a hotel for the night. Sam stayed in the car while Emily
and Alexis got some rest. Early the next morning, she emerged, and
they continued their drive to Montana. She pulled up to the ranch
and looked around excitedly.

“
It’s bigger than I thought
it would be,” Sam said as he looked around.

“
Yeah it is, and now we’re
getting the livestock.” Emily turned off the engine and reached
around to get Alexis.

“
We’re going to need two
field hands,” Sam said, stepping out of the Durango.

“
Emily?” she heard from
behind her and turned around. A young man was walking toward her
with his hand outstretched. He glanced nervously at the bruises,
and then turned back to the house.

“
Yes.” Emily smiled, and
shook his hand.

“
They are inside, ready for
the paperwork,” he told her, and looked over at Sam.

“
That’s my overseer. Can he
take a look around while we fill out forms?” Emily
asked.

“
Sure, it’s yours,” the man
said, and they stepped inside.

Emily glanced around the ranch house
between papers, and began to feel elated. She loved the quaint
wooden fixtures and the warm feel of the downstairs. Alexis was
playing on the floor in the living room, and she glanced over at
her and smiled when Alexis grinned at her.

“
I think that’s about it,”
the man said after two hours of signing papers. “Do you have any
questions?”

“
I’m interested in some
field hands. Any ideas where I can find some?” she asked, and took
the keys from him.

“
There’s an office in town
that hires out help. I can have them send some over tomorrow for
interviews if you would like.”

“
That would be great, thank
you,” Emily said. She saw the man look once more around the house
as she stepped into the living room.

“
It’ll be weird not seeing
him here anymore,” he said sadly.

Emily nodded and gave him a quick hug,
“Come back and see us.”

He smiled and walked out of the house
quickly. Emily looked around at her new ranch house. She picked
Alexis up off of the floor and went through the house again. It was
going to take a lot of work. The closets were still full of
clothing and there were boxes everywhere. She realized the old man
had been packing to move when he died. Emily went to the front door
when she heard a knock.

She opened the door, “Come on in,
Sam.”

“
Impressive ranch,” Sam
said, walking inside. “I threw my stuff into one of the bunkhouses.
It’s nearest to the barn.”

“
If I get you a list, will
you go into town and get some groceries?”

Sam nodded. Emily sat at the table and
wrote out a quick list, then handed it to him with some
money.

“
I’ll be back,” Sam said,
and drove off in an old Chevy pick-up they had just inherited with
the house.

“
What do you think?” Emily
asked Alexis. The baby smiled and then stuck her fingers in her
mouth.

After dinner, Sam headed out to the
bunkhouse and Emily locked up the ranch house. She picked up
Alexis, who was asleep in a swing, and took her up to the master
bedroom. It was a warm night and Emily stripped the heavy blankets
off of the bed, and crawled into the sheets. She listened to the
sounds of the cattle and the quietness of the house, and smiled,
soon falling asleep.

Emily’s phone rang while she was
making pancakes the next morning. She quickly grabbed a cup of
coffee and answered it.

“
Hello?”

“
Emily Russo, please,” a
voice said on the other end of the phone. The woman sounded annoyed
and tired.

“
This is she.”

“
This is Velma from the
employment agency. I heard you are looking for a field
hand.”

“
Two actually, ones that
can start immediately.”

“
I have quite a few. When
shall I send them over for interviews?”