Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (5 page)

Chevalier shook his head. He wasn’t
sure how to make her follow the doctor’s orders. He guessed there
was no way, and finally decided to just do the best he
could.

Emily was compliant through the first
three weeks. Any time she tried to move, her back caused enough
pain that she dutifully stayed in bed. Kyle kept up the injections
for a few days, and then backed off to only once or twice a day for
the next few weeks.

The part Emily fought the most, was
being fed. With one arm in a cast and the other’s fingers wrapped
up and too stiff to bend from the frostbite, Chevalier had to feed
her, and she found that humiliating and degrading.

“
What do you want for lunch
today?” Chevalier asked her after the movie ended.

“
A sandwich, that way I can
feed myself,” she said, and flexed her fingers. They were getting
less stiff every day.

He grinned, “Ok, though I don’t
mind.”

“
I bet you don’t,” she
said, looking around the room.

“
We even got a new chef.
I’m sure he’s going to love sandwiches, very easy,” Chevalier said,
knowing her order had already been heard.

“
How many more days until I
can try to stand up?” she asked, for the second time that
day.

“
It’s still six days away.”
Chevalier grinned.

“
It’s sooo boring,” she
said, frustrated.

Chevalier turned around and took the
tray from the heku, then sat it on the table. He lifted the dome
and handed Emily half of an egg salad sandwich. Emily ate slowly,
her stiff fingers held tightly to the sandwich. She finished the
half and ate the other half a little faster.

“
Drink?” Chevalier
asked.

Emily nodded.

Chevalier picked up the special cup
they used for Emily. It had a lid and straw, so she could drink
lying down.

Emily took a drink and then
immediately spit red liquid all over the bed. Chevalier gasped and
put the cup down quickly, and then grabbed a rag. Emily was gagging
as blood dripped down her chin.

“
Damon!” Chevalier
yelled.

Damon blurred into the room and
stifled a grin, “Problems?”

“
The new chef gave her
blood to drink,” Chevalier hissed, digging in a basket full of
chocolates high on a shelf.

“
And… you want some?” Damon
asked, confused.

Chevalier growled at him, “Punish him.
That is your job, is it not?”

Emily began stuffing chocolates into
her mouth to get rid of the taste of blood.

Damon grinned when she looked at him,
and then blurred from the room.

“
I’m sorry, Em. I should
have checked to see what he sent,” Chevalier said, stripping her
covers off and throwing them in a corner. Servants appeared and
threw a clean sheet and a blanket over her.

“
That is so nasty,” she
said, gagging a bit.

“
It’s infuriating that he
made such a stupid mistake,” Chevalier hissed.

“
It was gross, but no harm
done,” she said, eating another chocolate.

Damon appeared back in the room almost
an hour later, and Emily glared at him.

“
Cheer up, he’s been
punished.” Damon was rocking back and forth on his feet, his hands
clasped behind his back.

“
What did you do?” Emily
asked. The curiosity got to her.

“
I made him eat what he’s
making you for dinner,” Damon said, grinning.

“
That should work.”
Chevalier grimaced.

“
What’s he making?” Emily
asked skeptically.

“
I don’t know what it is…
red and stringy.” He shuddered. Damon looked around the room and
continued to rock on his feet.

“
Are you waiting for
something?” Emily asked.

Damon looked at her, “Waiting, in case
someone else tries to assault you.”

“
Like you’d care,” she
snapped at him.

“
I would, most definitely,”
Damon said, acting concerned. “I’d like to lessen the time we all
have to carry you around the palace.”

“
Get out,” Emily said,
throwing a chocolate at him and missing.

“
Nice shot.”

“
Get out!” Emily
screamed.

“
Damon,” Chevalier sighed,
and Damon blurred from the room.

“
He’s
infuriating!”

“
Yes he is. Can I get you
anything else?”

“
Don’t suppose there are
any popsicles in the place?” She asked.

“
Popsicle?”

“
Never mind,” she
sighed.

***

“
We all ready?” Chevalier
asked.

Emily nodded, her eyes suddenly
afraid.

The faction doctor was in the room
with pain medicine ready. Kyle had his hands under Emily’s injured
arm, and Chevalier was lifting under her good arm.

“
Ok, all on three…”
Chevalier said, and counted slowly to three.

At once, the doctor swung Emily’s legs
over the side of the bed, while Kyle and Chevalier lifted and
turned her body. She cried out slightly and then sat up on the edge
of the bed, breathing heavily.

“
Need to lie back down?”
Chevalier asked.

Emily shook her head. She didn’t want
to have to do that again.

After just a few moments, she raised
her head and looked out over the room.

“
How are you feeling?” the
doctor said.

“
Just dizzy, give me a
sec,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

They all watched her,
carefully.

“
Ok,” she said, and then
opened her eyes.

“
So?” Chevalier asked. He
and Kyle were both ready to catch her if she fell.

“
I’m sitting.” She
smiled.

“
Do you want to stand up?”
the doctor asked, and Emily nodded.

“
Ok, up you go,” he said as
Kyle and Chevalier lifted her up so she was standing on her one
good foot.

Chevalier braced under her casted arm,
and acted as a crutch as she maneuvered over to look out the
window. Her eyes scanned everything from the clouds in the sky to
the grass. She’d been staring at the ceiling for four long
weeks.

“
Did they give me
crutches?” she asked, looking around.

“
Just one, you can’t use a
crutch under your left arm,” the doctor told her, and handed her
the crutch. She slipped it under her arm, and Chevalier let go of
her. She hobbled slowly across the room as Chevalier stayed close
to her in case she fell.

“
Oh freedom,” she said,
grinning.

“
Great, now she’ll be
slipping guards and sneaking out in no time,” Damon said from the
door.

Emily frowned, “Why are you in my
room?”

“
I need to talk to the
Elder,” he said, watching her. “Getting fat lying around, aren’t
you?”

Emily grabbed a vase and hurled it at
his head. He ducked and it shattered against the wall behind
him.

“
Damon,” Chevalier said.
“Meet me in my office in ten minutes.”

Damon nodded, bowed to Emily, and
walked slowly down the hallway.

“
Ugh!” Emily
screamed.

Chevalier went down to his office and
stepped in. Damon was already waiting for him.

“
Why do you have to
irritate her like that?” Chevalier asked, sitting behind his large
desk.

“
Because it’s so easy,”
Damon said, grinning.

“
So what did you
need?”

Damon became serious, “The blood
drink… I don’t think that was an accident.”

Chevalier frowned,
“Explain.”

“
Did you happen to taste
it?”

“
No”

“
It wasn’t human blood, it
was heku.”

Chevalier growled, “Whose?”

“
I don’t know. I just got
curious and tasted a drop. Did she swallow any?”

“
I don’t think so,”
Chevalier said angrily.

“
I don’t know much about
those runes, but if it’s Vaughn’s blood…” Chevalier’s growl cut him
off.

“
Find out.”

“
Ok, might I suggest we
send Elder Quinn to ask? He has quite a talent for getting
information,” Damon smiled.

“
Yes, go ask him please,
and let me know.”

Damon nodded and walked out of
Chevalier’s office. He grabbed a stack of file folders, and was
about to go through them when he heard a council
summons.

Chevalier was the first to make it to
the council chambers, but the others soon followed. There was an
empty chair in the Chief Interrogator’s seat. No one had been
elected to fill that spot yet.

“
I’ve summoned you all
because a representative from the Valle has asked for an audience,”
Maleth said.

“
Great,” Damon
hissed.

“
Let them in,” Maleth said,
and all eyes turned toward the door. Exavior entered, followed by
four Valle Imperial Guards.

“
What can we do for you
today?” Quinn asked, his eyes narrowing.

“
We have come to ask for
the release of Sotomar,” Exavior said.

“
No,” Chevalier said
bluntly.

“
We call for diplomatic
immunity on his behalf.”

“
No”

Exavior frowned, “You won’t even
discuss conditions for his release?”

Quinn growled, “He led an attack on
our city. Come to think of it, so did you.”

“
An attack that was
warranted,” Exavior said.

“
Warranted? We returned the
Encala’s Elder, against my better judgment, mind you,” Chevalier
hissed.

“
That is only half of what
was taken from them,” Exavior reminded them. “So let’s discuss
Sotomar.”

Chevalier raised his eyebrow, “He is a
prisoner of war, and we aren’t letting him go.”

“
That remains to be seen. I
am also here to check on the welfare of the Winchester,” Exavior
said, looking directly at Chevalier.

His eyes narrowed, “She’s not doing
well, thanks to your infiltrator crashing her
helicopter.”

Exavior looked visibly shaken,
“What?”

“
Surely you realized you
haven’t heard from Frank lately?” Quinn said.

“
We…” Exavior looked at one
of the Valle with him. “We weren’t aware there was a
problem.”

“
How badly is the girl
injured?” one of the Valle asked.

“
She’s none of your
concern,” Quinn answered.

“
It is of our concern. The
Winchester’s welfare is important to all factions,” Exavior said,
irritated.

“
If it was so important to
you, then your faction wouldn’t have downed her helicopter,” Maleth
snapped.

“
I insist on seeing for
myself that she is alive,” Exavior said bluntly.

Damon eyed Chevalier, who
nodded.

“
I will take you, but only
you,” Damon said to Exavior.

The other Valle moved to stand around
Exavior, and one of the guards spoke, “We do not trust you to take
him alone.”

“
It’s ok, let me go,”
Exavior ordered them, and they fell back.

Damon hurdled the desk and landed in
front of Exavior, “Follow me, then.”

Damon led Exavior to Emily’s room and
stood outside of her door, “Wait here.”

Exavior nodded, and Damon disappeared
into Emily’s room.

“
What do you want?” she
asked, looking up from the bed.

“
You have company. I’m just
making sure you were decent,” he said seriously.

Emily frowned, “Who?”

“
Exavior, be careful what
you say to him, ok? I’ll be in here just in case.” His seriousness
made her nervous.

She nodded.

Damon walked over and opened the door.
Exavior walked in and stood by the door, looking over
Emily.

He frowned, “How are you?”

Emily glanced at Damon, and then back
to Exavior, “Alive.”

Exavior glanced nervously at Damon,
and walked over to the bed and knelt down, “I didn’t
know.”

“
You were too busy trying
to kill off my faction,” she said, irritated.

“
I had to.”

“
Ok”

“
Emily, I’ve been able to
keep factioning out of our friendship,” he said softly.

Emily nodded.

“
How are you?”

“
I’m ok.” She glanced at
Damon again, and then back to Exavior.

“
Will you leave for a
minute?” Exavior asked Damon.

“
No,” he said, crossing his
arms.

Exavior nodded and turned back to
Emily, “Have they hurt you?”