Encala (32 page)

Allen shrugged, “My firemen quit talking.
They are broken.”

“
I’m sure they will talk
again when Mommy gets back,” Chevalier said, kissing Allen on the
cheek.

“
She’s not coming back
though.”

“
Yes she is. She’s just
upset right now,” Kyle said, trying to fight the feeling something
was wrong.

“
Yeah I guess,” Allen
sighed, and put his firemen on the floor when Chevalier sat him
down.

“
Good night, Son,”
Chevalier said, mussing his hair.

“
What will he do to Mommy?”
Allen asked Chevalier.

“
What will who do to
her?”

“
The bad man.”

“
The bad man doesn’t have
Mommy,” Chevalier said, but the first pangs of panic
began.

“
Yes he does, that’s where
she went. To get the bad man.”

Chevalier knelt down by Allen and took his
shoulders in his hands, “What do you mean?”

“
The bad man, the one I
told you about. She went to him,” Allen said, looking into
Chevalier’s eyes.

“
How do you
know?”

“
He said so. He was
laughing, and then the firemen quit talking,” Allen said. Sam took
him into the bedroom.

Chevalier turned to Kyle, “She
wouldn’t.”

Kyle sighed, “Yes, she would.”

The two guards who left with Emily appeared
beside Chevalier, “Sir, she left.”

Chevalier growled, “You let her go?”

“
She used her powers on us…
took our cell phones and wallets and then drove off. We got here as
fast as we could,” one of them stammered, afraid of the Elder’s
wrath.

***

Two days passed before Emily was taken out
of the cell. Her stomach growled angrily, as they hadn’t fed
her.

“
Where to?” someone asked,
taking her arm.

“
He wants her prepared for
the swearing in,” someone answered. Emily was pulled forward
again.

“
Stay here,” someone
ordered her, and she felt the hand leave her arm. She listened
carefully, but couldn’t hear anyone. She jumped when the door
behind her opened, and she could hear voices.

“
Just as long as you don’t
take her blindfold off. She can’t see you or she will kill you,” a
female said.

“
It’s about time we get
this Child. The Elder had me make this dress months ago,” another
female said.

“
Yes, Vaughn is going to
love it.”

The heku pulled her clothes off. Emily
didn’t talk to them, and didn’t fight them. They ended up cutting
her shirt off because they were afraid it would pull the blind off,
and they also weren’t sure how to get it off without freeing her
hands.

Emily winced slightly when the cold hands
touched her as they slipped a piece of soft velvet around her chest
and fastened it behind her. It felt like no more than a strapless
bra, but again, she didn’t complain. The skirt was also soft, like
velvet, and fit obscenely low on her hips. She could tell it was no
more than two strips of material, and could feel the air against
her exposed thighs.

Someone began to tug her hair into a bun,
while another placed a coiled arm band on both of her upper arms.
The heku women talked, irritatingly, about nothing important the
entire time they got Emily ready for the swearing in, and she said
nothing to them.

***

“
Finally, we meet again,”
the Ancient said when he was alone with Emily.

She stood still, not answering. She felt his
dry, rough hands trail down her face, and finally rest under her
chin, “You look so much like my Elizabeth.”

“
You killed my baby,” she
hissed at him.

“
It was a male child, of no
use to us,” he said coldly. “Besides, you killed my mortal. He was
to be a general when he turned immortal.”

She listened carefully as he walked around
her.

“
You’re shorter than your
mother, more muscular though.” She felt his hands move across the
contours of her abdomen. Emily jumped slightly when she felt a
light scratching on her thigh.

“
I expect full obedience
from you, Child,” he said, and she could feel his breath on her
face. “You cannot turn enough of the Encala to ash to make it worth
your pain if you try. Obedience will be enforced through
punishment. Do you understand?”

Emily nodded.

“
You turned me to ash once…
as a child, you were two,” he said, still walking around her
slowly. “Quite painful, I assure you. Luckily, I wasn’t alone, and
the Encala were able to revive me.”

Emily heard the door open and the Ancient
speak, “Ahhh, Vaughn, I was waiting for you.”

“
I’m sorry to have kept you
waiting,” a deep voice replied.

“
This is my daughter,
Emily,” the Ancient said.

“
Let me look at her,”
Vaughn said. Emily’s skin crawled as she felt his eyes on
her.

“
She is beautiful,” Vaughn
hissed, and Emily felt his hands run from her waist down to her
exposed thighs, “She’s just a little thing though.”

“
Do not underestimate the
Winchesters though, Vaughn,” the Ancient said, amused.

Emily fought the urge to pull away when she
felt Vaughn run his nose along her chin to her neck and inhale
deeply, “Mmmm, soon you will be mine, Child.”

“
We will be expecting a
female child soon,” the Ancient said, pleased.

“
I don’t think that will be
a problem,” Vaughn replied, and then kissed her roughly. His hand
wound around the back of her neck. Emily didn’t fight, didn’t try
to get away, but she also didn’t return the kiss.

“
You’ll have to wait until
after the ceremony,” the Ancient laughed.

“
I’ll have that ring off of
her finger by midnight,” Vaughn said, and his hands followed down
the curve of her back.

Emily felt the blindfold loosening and the
sudden brightness made her squeeze her eyes shut. She opened them
and let them adjust to the light. The Ancient was still in the
room. His skin was pale and cracked with age. He smiled at her, and
his blackened teeth shone. Vaughn was a hulking heku. Emily didn’t
even come to his sternum. He was extremely muscular, and only
wearing a kilt and cape. He was looking over her body and
smiling.

“
Behave, Child, and this
will go easier,” the Ancient reminded her.

“
Release my hands,” she
said softly.

Emily’s feet left the ground as Vaughn put
his hands under her arms, and lifted her up so she was even with
him.

“
Look at those eyes,” he
said, grinning at her. His breath smelled like decaying flesh, and
Emily’s stomach turned.

“
Yes, I always loved her
mother’s eyes,” the Ancient said, sadly.

Vaughn moved his face to her neck and ran
his tongue along the pounding vein.

“
Tonight, Child,” he said,
and set her back down. “Can we release her hands?”

“
Yes, yes, it’s her eyes we
have to worry about,” the Ancient chuckled.

Vaughn moved behind her and released her
hands, and then wound his arms around her shoulders. Emily’s
injured shoulder screamed, but she forced the pain down.

“
It’s time,” the Ancient
said. “I will see you in there.” He left quickly, leaving Emily and
Vaughn alone.

Vaughn began to kiss Emily’s neck and
shoulders as his hands ran lightly across her exposed skin, “Mmm
you will love me, Child. I promise you that.”

“
Not now, not now! Get
going, Vaughn,” she heard a female heku say. Vaughn chuckled and
pulled away from her, leaving the room quickly.

Emily was left alone, and she looked around
the room. There was a single empty closet, but the door had a
mirror on it so she stepped in front of it. She was right about the
feel of velvet. Her outfit was blood-red and stitched with tiny,
sparkling jewels. She tried to pull the skirt up higher. It felt
like at any minute, it could fall off of her, but it wouldn’t
move.

“
You can do this, Emily,”
she said to herself, and then moved away from the
mirror.

“
Come, Child,” someone
said, and she turned to the heku at the door. He was a stern
looking older man, balding and withered.

Emily stepped toward him and he led the way.
She followed silently, watching the hallways as she walked past. He
stopped in front of two large stone doors.

“
You walk down the aisle to
Vaughn. He’s been sworn in, now you just need presented to the
Council,” he said to her.

Emily nodded. She’d done this once before,
and was dreading the judgmental eyes on her.

As the doors opened, the great hall fell
silent and all eyes turned to Emily. She saw Vaughn standing on the
platform at the other end of the room. Emily began the slow walk
toward him. The hisses and inhales from the crowd made her want to
run, but she held her course, focusing on the Ancient, her ultimate
target.

Vaughn smiled broadly as she approached him,
and he reached out and touched her waist, “I present to the
Council, Emily Winchester.”

There were more gasps and soft muffled
voices as the news shocked the gathered Encala.

“
Step forward, Child,” one
of the Encala Elders said. Emily stepped up onto the stairs,
ignoring the empty Elder’s chair.

“
Are you, in fact, one of
the fabled Winchesters?” he asked her.

“
I am.”

“
And do you hold their
powers?”

“
Yes”

Again, a murmur ran through the hundreds of
heku in the audience.

“
Will you show
us?”

“
Yes,” she said to
him.

He smiled, “Turn around, Child, pick
one.”

Emily turned to face the heku. They avoided
her eyes, and began to shift uncomfortably. She didn’t care who she
picked, tonight she hoped to turn most of them to ash before she
was killed.

“
You,” she said, pointing
to an Encala that looked a lot like Vaughn. He stepped forward and
bowed at the Elders.

“
Do it, Child,” the Elder
said, leaning forward.

Emily looked at him and the heku turned to
ash in an instant. She ignored the panic that started in the
audience, and turned back to the Elder.

“
Impressive, Emily, your
mother never could do that,” the Ancient said, smiling
proudly.

“
Calm… calm…” the Elder
said, motioning for the audience to be quiet.

“
Do you then, Emily
Winchester, agree to take Vaughn as your mate, and to break the
bond you have with the Equites?” he asked, smiling.

“
I do not,” she said,
turning her eyes to the Ancient. Suddenly, a blindfold was placed
over her eyes, and her hands were bound in front of her.

“
You do not have to agree,
Child, for it to happen,” the Elder told her.

“
A blindfold?” she asked,
smiling.

“
It’s merely a precaution.
We cannot have you attempting to kill one of us,” she heard the
Ancient say.

“
So the blindfold will keep
you safe?” she asked.

“
We have studied the
Winchesters carefully. We know of your weaknesses,” she heard
Vaughn say at her side.

Emily was pushed roughly to a velvet wall,
and her hands were pulled up. The binds were attached to something
far above her head. She felt a hand on her back, and then hard lips
pressed against hers. She fought to keep her anger at bay. She
would need it soon enough.

“
I expect none of this
attitude tonight,” Vaughn said, pulling away from her.

“
Now for the last bit of
news…” Vaughn said. “Tonight I make Emily my mate.”

“
You are so wrong,” she
said, smiling, and she suddenly felt the eyes on her
again.

“
Obey, Child,” she heard
the Ancient hiss.

“
You were wrong about
something, though,” Emily said. Her skin broke into goose bumps at
the thought of what she was about to do. Her heart also sank. She
knew that tonight, she would die. She only hoped that Chevalier and
Allen could someday forgive her.

“
How dare you speak to us
like this!” she heard Vaughn say sternly.

“
Blindfolds?” Emily asked,
ignoring him. “What are blindfolds to the daughter of an
ancient?”

Everyone grew quiet, and Emily smiled.

The fury, the rage, the pain, every emotion
Emily felt was suddenly pushed outward. Images flashed through her
mind of her father, of Chevalier, and little Allen. She could hear
the screams echoing off the walls, and the feeling of exhilaration
flew through her, making her stronger. She felt the world begin to
spin, and a trickle of blood dripped onto her lips. The pain of the
last few months and the loss of the baby re-energized her, and she
sent the emotions it brought toward the audience again.

Emily had no idea if what she was doing was
working. She waited for the pain of her limbs being torn from her
body, but it hadn’t happened yet. She could feel the terror and
fear in the room, and the screams were growing fainter. She pushed
the fear, the horror, and the anger outward, wave after wave. Her
ears began to ring so loudly it drowned out the sound of the heku’s
pleas for the burning to stop. Her legs grew weak, but she
continued to push as her heart beat so hard it felt like it would
jump out of her chest.