Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series (33 page)

“Five hundred and twenty five years,” he said to her. He was required to give her that small piece of information.

“So long? What have I done to deserve such a long sentence?” she asked, shocked.

“Five hundred and twenty five years,” he said again, and took a step toward her.

“You won’t get out of here alive, you know that,” she said in a panic.

“Maybe, but neither will you.”

“You’ll leave Emily and your son. How can you do that to them? Let me go and I won’t tell anyone. I’ll let you walk out of here and return to them.” Her eyes were pleading. Selest knew nothing could change the Chief Enforcer’s mind. That’s why he was such a strong force on the Council. She wasn’t surprised at all that he had been chosen to take her place.

“You underestimate me, Selest. That is one of the reasons why you need some time away.” He was surprised at how she froze as he approached her.

“Please, Chevalier, don’t do this. Emily will…” Her words were cut off by his hand around her neck.

“If I don’t, then someone else will,” he said, tightening his fingers.

Chevalier could feel her vertebrae crush under his fingers. Once she crumbled to the floor, he grabbed the dagger from his pocket and pricked his finger, then let a drop of blood fall onto the body of the Elder. Selest healed enough to gasp just as her body turned to ash.

He fell into a chair. He hated this part, the energy it took to turn a heku ceremoniously to ash was extreme. He sat on the chair and put his hands on his knees, grinning slightly at the thought of how easily Emily could turn a heku to ash. Though he felt weakened and tired, there was urgency. He had limited time to regain his strength enough to make it out alive. He looked around her office as he recovered. She had piles of papers waiting for her attention, papers that would never be signed, orders gone unanswered. The mortal laying on the ground looked up at him with unseeing eyes.

The few minutes it took Chevalier to regain his strength allowed him to study her room. He smelled incense in here, strongly, and thought it might have been a way to relieve stress. She’d had more than one donor today. The one he killed was the fifth mortal in that office in the past few hours.

It only took Chevalier a few minutes to move Selest’s ashes into the small leather draw-string bag. He slipped it into his pocket and pulled the hood back over his face. Just as he reached for the door handle, a knock sounded. He froze, unable to even breathe.

A second knock made his heart race.

He heard a man outside the door say, “Maybe she left for her room?”

“No, I checked in there and her guard said she’s in her office,” a female said.

“Ok, go see if she’s taken her donor to the bus,” the male suggested.

Chevalier waited until the voices disappeared to slowly open the door and look out into the hallway. He locked the door from the inside and then shut it softly behind him. He slowed his breathing and squared his shoulders after pulling the hood a little further over his face, then took the long way to the front door, going down past the kitchen façade and around through the library. He hoped by taking the back way to the door he wouldn’t be seen and identified as an intruder.

Chevalier could see the front door from the shadows under the stairs. He was just about to calmly walk to it, when an alarm sounded and the entire castle came alive. All of the robed figures were running toward the back of the castle. He took off with them, needing to blend in with others from the coven. He couldn’t risk be seen as the only robed heku going out the west doors.

In the mad rush to get to the meeting area, none of the panicked heku saw anything wrong with someone taking off into a side room. Chevalier shut the door softly behind him and opened the large window. He looked down and saw it was only ten feet to the grass. Hoisting himself into the window sill, he dropped into a crouch on the ground below.

The shrill alarm was still sounding as Chevalier ran through his mental image of the city and found a suitable location he could use to wait out the panic. He had no problems getting to the abandoned house. No windows were unlocked, but he was able to break one of the locks and slide the window open. The house was damaged on the inside, and he easily found a suitable hiding spot. One of the closets had caved in, leaving a small area that he was able to crawl into.

Chevalier waited and watched as the hours flew by. Two hours after the alarm sounded, it ended, but the rush of feet and angry voices in the streets continued. He could smell the tension and the terror. He heard voices yelling about the missing Elder and Valle Warriors attacking as he came face-to-face with several of Selest’s guards.

The job had been too easy, further proof that it was past time for Selest to be removed from office.

“Emily, wake up.” Kyle’s voice was in whispers, but urgent.

“What’s wrong?” Emily sat up and put her hand on Allen’s back. He was still asleep.

“Come on, we’re in lockdown,” he explained, and pulled the covers off of them before picking Allen up. A piercing alarm sounded through the island.

Emily followed Kyle through the secret wall and down the stairs to the cave bedroom, “Kyle, tell me what’s going on.”

“There’s been an attack on one of the Elders,” he said, lying Allen down on the bed. He turned to comfort Emily, but was surprised because she was smiling slightly.

“Is she dead?” Emily asked, watching his eyes.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed, “How did you know it was Selest?”

She sat down and rubbed Allen’s back as he began to wake up. They were both silent until he fell back asleep.

“My God, it’s Chevalier,” Kyle said, shocked.

Emily shrugged.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said sternly.

She frowned, “I’m not supposed to. I’ll be good and stay down here until the alert is over.”

Kyle leaned over and looked directly into her face, “What did he do, Emily?”

“You know I can’t say,” she told him, her hand still on Allen.

Kyle stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Gah, Kyle…” Emily hissed when Allen woke up. She rubbed his back softly and curled up next to him.

“Daddy?” Allen asked sleepily.

“He’ll be home soon,” she said, and kissed his cheek softly.

Emily drifted off to sleep curled up next to Allen.

***

Chevalier put the last of the dirt over the former Elder’s banishment sight and sat down to lean against a tree. As he watched the mound of dirt, his mind whirled. He’d done it. He killed an Elder, which in heku tradition, made him an Elder. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number.

“It’s done,” he said when he heard Leonid’s voice.

Leonid sighed, “Come back to Council City.”

“I need to go and get Emily first,” Chevalier replied. “Then I’ll be there.”

“No, come directly here. We’ll have Kyle bring her and the boy.” Leonid hung up, and Chevalier growled slightly. Leonid had no right to tell him what to do, at the moment of Selest’s burial, he became Leonid’s equal. He opted to go to Council City and wait until his coronation to begin exploring his new powers.

***

“Emily?” Kyle said, touching her shoulder. She woke up with a jerk.

“It’s ok, it’s just me,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I got word from the Elders. It’s time for us to go to Council City.”

She nodded and picked up Allen.

“Are you sure about this?” Kyle asked, unmoving.

She looked at him, “No, I’m not. In fact, I’m very much not sure about any of this, but tell me what my options are.”

He shook his head, “I can’t believe he did it.”

“It sounded like he didn’t have a choice to me.”

“Still… Chevalier’s an Elder now. That makes you part of the faction’s royalty, for lack of another word. I’m just shocked.”

“I promised Chev two months. If I don’t like it, then… I’m gone,” she said sadly as she watched Allen sleep in her arms.

“Then what?” Kyle asked anxiously. “Then you disappear and go back to being plagued with heku attacks? Running a ranch by yourself, being a single parent?”

“What am I supposed to do?” she hissed angrily.

“I could go with you,” he said, taking her hand.

“Kyle…” She didn’t know what else to say. He’d kissed her once, she hadn’t forgotten that, but since then they had been only friends.

He leaned toward her and pressed his lips to hers gently as his hand slipped behind her neck to hold her close. She was still able to pull away from him and look down. He stood up, shut his eyes, then opened them slowly, “Let’s get ready to leave.”

Emily nodded and carried Allen up the stairs. Anna was waiting for them in Emily’s bedroom.

“I’ll get him ready,” she said softly.

Emily nodded and then turned when she felt a hand on her arm, “The Chief Enforcer had me make this for you. You’ll need to wear it tonight,” said Margaret.

Margaret held up a simple, dark blue slip dress. She smiled when Emily took it and thanked her. Emily was surprised because her dresses were usually a lot more revealing. Margaret also handed her a box and hugged her.

“We’ll miss you, Child,” she said, then left quickly.

“So everyone knows now?” Emily asked Kyle.

Kyle nodded, “Official word came down from the Elders an hour ago.”

As Emily headed to the bathroom to change, she felt a hand on her shoulder, “Em?”

She turned and looked at Kyle, “Keep it in mind, ok?”

Emily nodded and went to change. The dress was elegant and beautiful, and she loved the feel of the satiny material against her skin. She was a little embarrassed at the way it clung to every curve of her body, but it was modest by Margaret’s standards. She pinned her hair up into a bun and let soft tendrils fall down to frame her face and cascade down her back.

Lastly, Emily opened the box Margaret gave her and gasped. Inside of the black box was a diamond necklace. She ran her fingers along the clusters of diamonds in a delicate platinum setting. She picked it up, almost afraid to touch it, she’d never seen anything so beautiful.

“Let me help you,” Kyle said from behind her. He reached around and took the necklace from her and gently laid it across her neck. He brushed her hair away from the clasp and fastened it. Emily pulled away from him when she felt the soft caress of his lips against her shoulder.

“Kyle, don’t,” she said, stepping away.

“You look amazing,” he said.

“Thanks,” Emily whispered, and then headed back out into the bedroom. It looked so empty. Her things were all packed in boxes that were stacked high in the corners. She picked up a blue scarf from the table and wrapped it around her shoulders, then wondered when she would be back. She already said her good-byes to Sam and to her horses, but at this moment, everything seemed so final.

“Come on, let’s go,” Kyle said, taking her arm.

Anna kissed Emily on the cheek and put Allen down on the ground. Emily took his hand, and they walked up to the roof where the helicopter was waiting. Kyle helped her crawl inside and then handed Allen up to her. They seat belted in, and Emily watched her beloved island slip out of view.

Emily drifted off to sleep, watching the terrain fly by, and only the sound of the pilot’s voice woke her up.

“The coronation has started, we’re right on time,” he said to Kyle.

“Thank you,” Kyle said, and smiled at Emily.

“It’s started already?”

Kyle nodded, “Yes, your arrival is toward the end. They will be done with the heku ceremony before we get there.”

“Why did I have to dress up if I’m going to miss it?”

“You have to be presented to the Elders.”

“What do you mean… presented?” she asked, wide eyed.

Kyle laughed, “It’s all ceremonial. The coronation will make Chevalier officially an Elder, but you still have to be accepted.”

Her eyes narrowed, “What do you mean accepted?”

“Don’t worry, you just walk in and take your place with Chevalier. It’s simple.” He watched her getting flustered and panicky.

“How many heku are we talking?” she asked nervously.

Kyle just grinned, “I’ll be behind you carrying Allen.”

“That didn’t answer my question.” She scowled at him.

Emily looked out over the city. The lights twinkled, and she thought the city was surprisingly beautiful. Finally, she saw the palace. It was enormous and stood ominously at the head of the large city. The helicopter circled once and then landed smoothly on the roof. She saw an army of guards form a line out from the door.

The pilot powered down the helicopter before Kyle opened the door. Allen reached for Kyle when he put his hands out. One of the guards stepped up and reached out to help Emily out of the helicopter. She blushed when he put his hands around her waist and easily lifted her out. The same guard then extended an arm to her.

She looked at Kyle and he chuckled, “It’s ok, I’ll be right behind you.”

The heku led her past the line of guards and into the door. Emily studied at the large palace. It was full of intricately carved statues and polished marble floors. She was looking around so intently that she barely noticed when the guard stopped at a set of double doors.

“One moment longer,” he said to Emily, though he never looked at her.

Emily checked behind her, and Kyle smiled. Allen reached for her, but Kyle whispered into his ear and he pulled his arms back.

When the guard opened the double doors, Emily turned quickly and pulled away from him as she caught sight of the massive room filled with thousands of heku in dark green robes. They all turned to her as she headed the other way. The guard looked at her, shocked, and reached out to take her arm again. He forcibly pulled her through the door. Emily turned and looked wide eyed at the room. She couldn’t breathe. The heku was cutting off the circulation to her arm and she wanted to run.

“Emily, breathe,” Kyle whispered and grinned. “Just walk to him.”

Emily’s eyes met Chevalier’s. He was sitting at the other end of the room, watching her. She focused on him as the guard escorted her through the room, then felt the eyes of thousands of heku on her and began to blush. She prayed silently that she wouldn’t trip over the floor-length dress and pulled the scarf tighter around her shoulders. As she walked, she felt the dress pressing against the curves of her body and she cursed Margaret silently.