Encala (22 page)

“
What?” he asked her,
softly.

“
I don’t want to. It’ll be
easier when I leave if I don’t love you,” she said
painfully.

“
Then don’t
leave.”

“
I have to.”

“
No you don’t. Give us
another chance. We’ll make things better,” he promised.

Emily laid her head down on his shoulder,
“My head hurts so badly, I can’t think.”

“
Let the doctor come in and
give you something.”

“
I can’t be knocked
out.”

“
Yes you can. We’ll be here
with you.”

Emily turned when the doctor walked back in
with his mask on, “I’m so sorry, Emily.”

She shrugged and watched the needle in his
hand.

“
What is that?” she asked,
wide eyed.

“
Pain medicine. You have a
concussion from the car wreck, and I still don’t know what all the
other did,” he said, coming closer.

Emily tensed, “Go away.”

The doctor stopped. He’d felt the burning
pain of her abilities, and didn’t plan on having a repeat.

“
It’s up to you, Emily. I
won’t force you, but we know you’re hurting.”

“
No medicine,” she said,
and the doctor bowed and left. She was surprised. Normally,
Chevalier told them to just do it quickly. This time, he followed
her wishes.

“
I just want to sleep,” she
said, lying down.

“
Eat first, I’ll get you
something.” Chevalier stood up and gave an order to one of the
guards, and when he returned, she was fast asleep.

Emily sat up in bed and looked around the
room. Chevalier was sitting on one of the chairs, looking into the
fireplace. She saw a domed tray by him and her stomach turned. She
was suddenly feeling exceptionally hungry. She slid out of bed and
took a few steps before the world moved out from under her. She saw
blackness creeping into her vision and felt herself falling. Strong
arms wrapped around her and put her in bed.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, “Don’t
go.”

He smiled and sat down, pulling her onto his
lap as he cradled her, “You shouldn’t get up. The doctor says you
have a concussion.”

“
Just don’t let go,” she
said, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“
How are you feeling?” he
asked, kissing the top of her head.

“
My head hurts,” she
whispered, and tightened her grip on him.

“
I’m not going anywhere,
Em.”

“
Are the heku I ashed going
to be ok?” she whispered.

She felt him chuckle, “Yes, they have a new
respect for you now though.”

“
I feel bad about
that.”

“
Don’t, it was our fault. I
didn’t think what that would look like when you woke up.” He
sounded partly amused.

“
Where’s Allen?”

“
He’s down with Sam eating
breakfast… which reminds me, you need to eat.” He tried to let go,
but she tightened her grip.

“
I can eat later,” she told
him, and tightened her grip.

“
I can hold you later, too.
You need to eat,” he said, grinning.

“
I’m still leaving,” she
whispered, and his face grew serious.

“
Will you stay if you set
the rules?” he asked, looking down at her.

“
That won’t change things.”
She sat up and looked into his eyes. He studied the intensity of
the green in hers.

“
What will change
things?”

“
Nothing can change it.
It’s been this way for too long.” She laid her forehead against his
chest.

“
Give us a shot, Em,
please.”

“
There will always be
someone out to feed off of me, and what if this baby is a girl?
What if she ashes half the staff and gets fed off of herself?”
Emily leaned her head up to look at him again.

“
It’s going to be that way
anywhere. At least here, we can try to protect you.”

“
By putting us under lock
and key?”

“
No, I won’t do that again.
I see now, that all we did was drive you stronger to get away.” He
smiled and kissed her.

“
The Ancient is still out
there?” she asked.

Chevalier nodded, “We’ve taken
precautions.”

“
Like what?”

“
Like that,” he said,
nodding to the shadows in the corner.

Emily looked over and gasped, “There’s
someone over there?”

“
No one, not even I, can be
alone with you. The Ancient can only control one of us at a time,
and Elder or not, he has permission to stop me if I try to hurt
you.”

Emily looked toward the shadows, “Come
here.”

Chevalier nodded and a heku stepped out,
wearing a mask. Emily frowned, “I don’t like the masks.”

“
We didn’t know what else
to do,” he said.

“
Who are you?” she asked
the masked heku.

“
It’s Mark, Ma’am,” he
said, bowing slightly.

She nodded, and he moved back into the
shadows. She pulled her nightgown down to cover her thighs. She
hadn’t worried about it when it was just Chevalier, she thought
they were alone.

Chevalier tried to kiss her, but she dodged
him, “We’re not alone,” she whispered.

He chuckled, “Mark will be discreet,
Em.”

“
I don’t care,” she said,
and crawled off of his lap.

He growled and grabbed for her, but she
slipped out from under his fingers and ran for the bathroom.
Chevalier and Mark sat waiting for her for a while before Chevalier
got up and went to the bathroom.

“
Em?” he said,
knocking.

“
Go away,” she told him,
strained.

He sighed, “Sprite and crackers?”

“
Please,” she
whispered.

Chevalier ordered to the air, and within
seconds, cold Sprite and a box of crackers were on the table. He
took the glass and some crackers, and knocked on the door.

“
Go away.”

He grinned and opened the door. Emily was
lying beside the toilet with her eyes closed. Chevalier sat down
beside her and leaned against the wall.

“
I said, go
away.”

“
I heard you… try a
cracker,” he said, holding it out. She snatched it from his hand
and put it on the floor beside her.

She clutched her stomach, “Leave.”

“
Emily, this doesn’t bother
me,” he said, and held her hair for her as she leaned over the
toilet. When she was done, she laid on the floor, pressing her
cheek against the cold tiles.

“
How long did this last
before?” he asked, handing her the glass of Sprite.

“
I don’t know. I never knew
what day it was,” she said, taking the glass and setting it down
beside her.

“
Those work better if you
eat them,” he chuckled.

“
You first.” She handed the
glass to him.

He raised an eyebrow, “If I drink some, will
you?”

She looked over at him and smiled,
“Sure.”

Chevalier winced and smelled the contents of
the glass, and then braced himself. He heard Emily giggle as he
took a long drink. He immediately spit it out over the bathroom
floor, and wiped his tongue with a towel, sputtering. The door flew
open and Mark looked in, frowning.

“
What’s going on?” he
asked.

Emily grinned and took a bite of
cracker.

“
I wasn’t abusing her… this
time she was abusing me,” Chevalier said, still
grimacing.

“
I don’t think that’s
against the rules.” Mark was watching him, cautiously.

“
Try this,” Chevalier said,
handing Mark the Sprite.

Mark looked down into the glass.

“
Seriously, try it,”
Chevalier said again.

Mark took the glass, unsure if that was a
serious order. He smelled the contents and Emily giggled again when
he made the same face Chevalier made when he smelled it.

“
Go, Boy,” Chevalier
encouraged, grinning.

Mark put the glass to his lips and
hesitantly tipped it back and immediately began to gag. He dropped
the glass and it shattered on the floor, sending Sprite and shards
of glass across the bathroom. He ran for the door, and Emily heard
it open and slam.

“
That was mean,” she said
to Chevalier, taking another bite.

“
I need to go,” Chevalier
said, getting to his feet.

“
Are you going to be sick?”
she asked, slightly amused.

He groaned and ran from the bathroom. Emily
crawled to the door just in time to see him disappear. She turned
to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, then began sweeping up the
glass.

“
Ma’am?” she heard from
behind her. She turned to see two heku in masks watching her, “We
have someone coming to clean that up.”

“
Who are you?” she asked,
kneeling by the broken glass.

“
You don’t know us… we’re
just here until your personal guards can be summoned. The… erm…
Elder and Mark needed to go feed,” he stammered,
nervously.

“
Because of Sprite!?” she
gasped, and suddenly found that incredibly funny. She sat down on
the floor and laughed as the heku watched her curiously.

Emily went to stand up and cut her palm on a
piece of glass. As her blood hit the floor, she looked up
fearfully.

One of the guards had his hand out to help
her up, “Can’t smell a thing, you’re ok,” he said.

She took his hand and stood up, grabbing her
crackers on the way out. There was already a glass of Sprite on the
table. She headed for it, but felt the world begin to spin again
and soon found herself in the arms of a strange heku.

He sat her down in bed and moved away from
her quickly. The other guard came up and handed her the glass of
Sprite, “The... erm... Elder… he said… that you… um… owe him some…
of that.”

She nodded and drank a sip, “That I do.”

Emily put the glass down suddenly and
pressed her hands into her temples, moaning.

“
Ma’am?” one of the guards
said, nervously.

When she didn’t answer, she heard them
summon the doctor. She couldn’t complain. The pounding in her head
made the voices sound funny, and she couldn’t focus her eyes. The
world began to spin and she screamed when the pain intensified. Her
scream echoed through the walls of the palace, and guards from all
stations blurred to her room. The first to arrive was Kyle.

“
Emily?” he said, sitting
down by her and looking at the guards. “What happened?”

“
She was just drinking and
she started screaming. I swear, nothing happened,” he stammered
out.

“
Emily?” he asked again,
but she was writhing with pain and moaning.

“
Where’s that doctor?” one
of the guards yelled.

“
I’m here,” he said. “Clear
this room.”

All of the guards except Kyle and the two
from earlier left the room. The doctor looked into her eyes with
his flashlight and felt along her neck and spine. He frowned as she
fell silent onto the bed.

“
What’s wrong?” Kyle
asked.

The doctor shook his head, “Do you really
want to know?”

Kyle frowned, “Of course I do.”

“
She has multiple
concussions, one recent, from the car wreck, and a few… a few that
are older.” He looked over at the wall.

Kyle sighed, “From the Ancient?”

The doctor nodded, “She has to have had a
headache for weeks, but I’m guessing didn’t tell anyone or thought
it was the pregnancy. It’s going to take a while before it can heal
all the way. The pain shouldn’t be this bad, though. I need to do
some research.”

“
What do we do?”

“
I need to get an I.V. in
her. She’s not getting enough fluid. I would feel better if she’d
take pain meds, too.” He looked over at Emily as she
slept.

“
Do it, I’ll make sure the
I.V stays, and I’ll take the blame for the medicine,” Kyle said.
Within five minutes, she had an I.V. in and fluid was dripping
quickly into her vein. The doctor left just as Kyle sat by her side
and wrapped a strong hand around the I.V. sight.

Kyle sat motionless for hours as he watched
her sleep. He smelled the acrid medicine coming from her, but
ignored it. She was sleeping soundly and the I.V. was putting color
back into her.

“
What happened?” Chevalier
asked, blurring into the room.

“
She got a headache and
passed out again,” Kyle explained. “The medicine was my idea, she
can get mad at me for that. The doctor said her concussion is
really bad. It’s going to take time and sleep to heal. He also said
something else is going on, but he can’t tell what.”

“
Is he trying to find
out?”

“
Yes, but he said it can
take time.”

Chevalier just nodded and saw Kyle’s hand
wrapped tightly around her arm at the I.V.

“
Did she really make you
drink Sprite?” Kyle asked, and wrinkled his nose.

“
That stuff should be
banned. It’s awful,” he said, sitting down. A rustling in the
corner made him look up.