Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series (25 page)

Chapter 8

“Pizza then,” Kralen said.

Emily was sitting in the bay window with a
book and just shook her head. She hadn’t been out of the palace
since the unfactioned attack a month prior, and the Council wanted
to see if her guards could get her out. No more attacks had
happened, and it was assumed that it was the unfactioned that were
behind them.

Mark thought, “Let’s go riding then. You
haven’t been out in a while.”

“I’m fine,” she said, and then went back to
reading her book.

Kralen watched her for a moment before
sighing, “You do realize that that attack wasn’t your fault.”

Irritated, she looked up, “You said they were
out to kidnap me.”

“Right, but not your fault.”

“Had I not been there…”

“Then we would have been obligated to destroy
them anyway. It’s still an outstanding order to kill all
unfactioned.”

“You wouldn’t have even been there if I
wasn’t craving Chinese food.”

“Which you are again,” Mark said. “So let’s
go.”

Emily looked over when she heard a knock on
the door, “Come in.”

Gifford, the member of the Cavalry from
Thukil, came in with a box, and the smell of egg rolls filled the
room, “As ordered.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed, “You went and got
Chinese food?”

“Yes, Sir. She asked for it.”

“Who approved that?”

“The Chief Enforcer, Sir.” Gifford waited for
more questions, and then finally put down the box and bowed before
walking out.

Emily dug through the box and pulled out an
egg roll before sitting back to eat.

“So you’re just going to stay in the palace
from now on?” Kralen asked her.

“No”

“It’s just…” He stopped speaking when her
phone rang.

Emily looked at the ID and then motioned for
the heku to leave before answering it, “Hi, Dain.”

“Hi, how are things going?” he asked.

“Ok, I guess.”

“Still not leaving the palace?”

“No. Where are you, Dain? Please tell
me.”

“If I tell you and then Dad touches you,
he’ll know.”

“That hasn’t worked in a long time.”

“Doesn’t mean it won’t come back.”

She sighed, “I miss you.”

“I know. This is good though. Time away from
Dad is just what I needed.”

“Oh! I forgot. I have a message from
Alexis.”

“What is it?” Dain asked. Emily wasn’t sure,
but he sounded reluctant.

“She said to tell you that she wants to help
you and wants to talk to you. Why don’t you call her?”

“I don’t want to call her.”

“Please. She’s really worried about you,
Dain.”

“Alex thinks she can patch things up, and
I’ll come back.”

“I want you back,” Emily said, and her voice
cracked slightly. “Call Alex, see what she can do.”

“Will you feel better if I talk to her?”

“Yes”

“She won’t involve Dad?”

“No, I promise. She cares about you.”

“Ok, I’ll call her when we’re done.”

“Are you sure you’re ok? You sound so tired,”
Emily said.

Dain sighed, “I’m fine, Mom.”

“Will you call tomorrow?”

“Yes”

“I love you, Dain.”

“I know, Mom. I’ll call Alex now.”

Emily nodded and hung up. Her heart ached and
she wanted to see Dain badly, but he hadn’t given any indication of
his location. She was still irritated that Chevalier didn’t really
seem to mind that Dain had taken off, and he had even made a
comment that he thought it would be good for the young heku.

***

“We’re just going to talk to him,” Alexis
said as she drove toward the city.

Allen watched out the window, “I thought we
were doing this to put a stop to his behavior.”

“First, we need to talk to him. He doesn’t
know you’re coming, and we don’t need an instant fight.”

“If we get the chance though…”

“Fine, we’ll need a signal.”

Allen smiled slightly, “If you see me attack
him, then turn him to ash.”

“Nice, Allen,” Alexis sighed.

“Seriously, we need to handle this. It’s been
too long.”

Alexis pulled into the warehouse district and
turned off the car in front of an abandoned warehouse.

Allen looked up at the dark face of the
building, “You sure he’s in there?”

“It’s where he said to meet him.”

“Let’s go then,” he said, and got out of the
car.

Alexis led the way into the cement building
and then smiled when she saw Dain waiting, “Hi.”

Dain nodded toward Allen, “You didn’t tell me
he was coming.”

“He cares about you too, Dain. He’s your
brother.”

“Yeah, well he’ll run to the Council.”

Allen shook his head, “I already know and
haven’t told them yet. Though I think they should know.”

“Why did you come then?” Dain asked, looking
at Alexis, though it was obvious he was avoiding her eyes.

“I care about you, and I want to help you get
out of this mess before you end up banished.”

“They can’t catch me to banish me.”

“Someday they may though.”

He shrugged, “I’m not coming back.”

“The Council has wrongly assumed that those
attacks were the work of unfactioned heku,” Allen explained. “If
you stop and come back, they’ll never know.”

Dain studied Allen, “You’re going to let me
walk free among the heku after knowing what I did?”

Alexis walked forward, “You’re our brother.
We love you and only want what’s best.”

“Allen won’t defy the Council.”

“I already have,” Allen said.

“Why, exactly?”

“You’re young and made a stupid mistake.”

“You blame this on youth?”

“Yes”

“Stop it,” Alexis said when she saw that both
Allen and Dain were getting defensive.

“I’m tired of being told how immature I am!”
Dain yelled.

“Then stop acting immature,” Allen told
him.

“Listen,” Alexis said, stepping between them.
“If word of this gets out, it threatens to tear apart this family.
Dad will want you banished. Mom will fight the punishment, and
eventually, Dad will win, which would cause an irreparable rift
between them.”

“Good, then maybe Mom will get away from
him,” Dain growled.

“You want Mom and Dad apart?” Allen
asked.

“Yes! She can do better.”

“That isn’t for us to decide,” Alexis said.
“What we’re here to do is see how we can help you.”

Dain leaned against the stone wall, “Then
what? Then I move back into the palace and keep getting treated
like an out of control toddler?”

“Why attack innocent mortals?” Allen asked.
“I don’t understand why all of the bites and why you are even doing
it.”

“It was an accident the first time, then I
found that their fear is intensely satisfying.”

Alexis gasped, “You do it because you like to
be feared?”

“They’re just mortals. As a heku, I have a
right to seek pleasure from them in any way I see fit. Their fear
intensifies the feeding experience.”

“Just mortals?!”

“Yes. We’re superior and all I do is express
that.”

Allen was speechless as he watched his
brother.

“Dain, how can you say that?” Alexis asked
breathlessly. “Mom and I…”

“Are immortals.”

“We’re mostly mortal and you know it.”

“No you’re not. You don’t age. You don’t die,
and you heal.”

“Still”

He shrugged, “I won’t do it forever, but it’s
my right. Each bite makes them panic more. When you bite a mortal,
they relax, and I don’t let it get to that point before I break
contact. It keeps their heart pounding, and the blood tastes
sweeter.”

“Dain,” Alexis whispered.

Allen moved slightly and Dain turned to him
in a crouch, “Don’t get all high and mighty, Allen. I’m not going
to let you take me down either.”

“What you are doing isn’t right!”

“It’s my birth right.”

“Not only are you risking our family falling
apart, but you’re putting the heku as a species in jeopardy.”

“What will the mortals do if they find out
about us? We can handle them.”

Allen stood up straight, “It’s over, Dain.
You need to come with us.”

Alexis frowned and watched them. She knew
Allen was right. What Dain said had proven to her how far his
thoughts had fallen and how imperative it was that he was put
away.

Dain laughed, “Who’s going to take me?
You?”

“If we have to. Alex and I are prepared to
bring you before the Council.”

“No!” Alexis yelled. “We can’t turn him over
for banishment. We have to think through this. There has to be a
way to safely fix this.”

“It’s too late,” Allen told her. “He’s done
too much.”

Dain chuckled, “Besides, I’m sure the Council
already knows that it wasn’t the unfactioned.”

“What did you do?” Alexis asked, shocked.

“I was thirsty…”

“Where is she?”

“She’s already been found.”

“So you’re doing this all on purpose?” Allen
said. “You’re attacking them and leaving them to be found.”

“Of course! I’m going to prove to the heku
that I’m a force to be reckoned with.”

“You mean prove to Dad,” Alexis said.

“Dad’s not worth it. If it wouldn’t hurt Mom,
I would have killed him long ago.”

“Where is this even coming from?”

“Years and years of being ignored and taken
for granted.”

“This isn’t the way to earn respect, Dain,”
Allen told him.

“You do it your way, and I’ll do it
mine.”

“Dain, this is insane! Do you know what this
is going to do to Mom?” Alexis asked.

Dain nodded, and for the first time, looked
upset, “I wish I could shield her from this.”

“Well you can’t. You know you’re going to get
caught, and she’s going to fight your punishment. Things are good
right now, calm.”

“For now! Mom needs out from under Dad before
he kills her.”

“Dad’s not going to hurt Mom.”

“He will eventually.”

“You have no idea what you’re even talking
about,” Allen said, irritated. “You weren’t around when those two
used to fight. Things have changed. They've grown, and their
relationship has evolved. Their bond is good for both of them.”

“No it’s not. It’s good for Dad and the
Equites. He doesn’t care about Mom. All he cares about is what she
does for the faction.”

“That’s not true.”

“He cares even less about us kids,” Dain
said.

“I’ll give you that,” Allen told him.
“However, that doesn’t give you the right to use your abilities to
harass mortals.”

“Dad and the Equites aside. How can you do
this to Mom?” Alexis asked. “What you’re doing is going to kill
her.”

“They aren’t going to catch me, and unless
Allen squeals, she won’t know.”

“Oh, I’m going to the Council now,” Allen
told him. “You have to be stopped.”

Dain snarled at him, “Why don’t you just stop
me now?”

“I’m not going to fight you.”

“Afraid?”

“It would save Mom some pain if you would
just come with us to the Council.”

“And give myself in? No way.”

When Dain suddenly disappeared from the
warehouse, Alexis turned to Allen, “You can’t tell them.”

“I damned well can, and I am going to.”

“We have to help him.”

“No, Alex. It’s gone too far. Dain needs
stopped, and you and I can’t do it.”

“I can’t take it! I can’t handle how mad Dad
is going to be or how hurt Mom is going to be.”

“We can’t allow him to keep attacking
innocents.”

“We just need to talk to…”

“No. Talking’s done. It’s time to enlist the
Council.”

“Listen to me! This is our family, our
responsibility. You and I need to handle Dain on our own.”

Allen sighed, “We can’t. He’s too
strong.”

“We can too. We have experience on our
side.”

“We do not. You’re trying to stall to keep
the Council out of this.”

“I don’t see why you’re so hell-bent on
telling them!”

“Because he’s attacking innocents, and we
can’t stop him alone.”

“Don’t do this,” Alexis begged. “Don’t tell
them yet. We have to handle this alone.”

“I’m not breaking heku laws any more. We have
to tell them.”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed, “Don’t tell them.”

“It’s too late. My mind is made up,” Allen
said, and then started out for the car.

Alexis stopped him, just as he got to the
car, “You go tell the Council if you feel it’s necessary. I’m going
to keep looking for Dain.”

“Suit yourself,” he said, and then drove off
angrily.

Once Allen sped off, Alexis returned to the
warehouse and called out, “Dain? Allen’s gone. Please, let me help
you.”

“You can’t help me,” Dain said from behind
her.

She turned to him, “We have to get you out of
here. Allen’s going to tell the Council.”

“I’m not afraid of the Council.”

“I am. If they find you, they will banish
you.”

“They can’t catch me though.”

“You know they will. Have you ever won a
fight against Dad?”

“Well… no,” Dain said as he sat down on an
old broken chair.

“That’s because he’s an Old One. He’s
stronger and faster, and that’s strengthened when he’s mad.”

“So?”

“So you need to get out of here before he
finds you.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Alexis thought for a moment and then sighed,
“Garrett and I have a house you can stay in, until I can figure out
how to fix this.”

“Can I tell you something in secret?” Dain
asked.

Alexis nodded.

“It got out of hand. The first was an
accident, and I just couldn’t stop. Now I’m afraid of being
banished. I can’t handle that long in the ground, Alex.”

Her heart sunk, “Then stop, Dain. Stop
attacking them and let me figure out how to help you.”