Encala (57 page)

“
You’re at least 4500 years
older than she is, act it,” Maleth snapped at him.

“
Suck me?” Quinn asked,
amused, as they walked toward the reception hall.

Chevalier shrugged and they stepped into the
reception hall.

Kyle walked up to Chevalier, “I hate Elder
induction nights. The guards make me nervous.”

Chevalier slapped him on the shoulder, “The
one night they can all party together, let them have their fun. At
least they take it out of the city.”

Emily stripped off the gown and tossed her
shoes into the corner as soon as she got into her room, and then
pulled the pins from her hair. She threw on jeans and a t-shirt,
then dug through her closet and found her cowboy boots and pulled
them on. Grabbing her Stetson and riding gloves, she walked down to
the stables and put a bridle and saddle on Patra. She could hear
the music from the reception hall as she hoisted herself up on the
mare and took off into the night, still fuming over Damon.

Emily soon made it to the rolling hills
outside of Council City and pulled Patra to a stop. She looked out
over the quiet city, and then turned to the trees off to the east.
She’d never quite ventured that far out, so she decided to go
tonight. She kicked Patra into a canter and turned her for the tree
line.

Emily felt exhilarated as Patra stepped into
the dark trees. Something about the freedom of being out of the
palace, away from the city, and out where no one knew where she was
made her smile. She loved the sound the wind made through the trees
and the rhythmic hoofbeats on the forest floor.

The full moon emerged from behind a dark
cloud and she could see things better. The trees were thinner
ahead, and Emily could see a faint light. She slowed Patra down to
a slow walk and moved toward it. As she got closer, she started to
hear voices. Emily pulled her rifle out of the saddlebag and
stepped the mare out into the clearing. She gasped, and Patra
reared back as hundreds of heku eyes fell on them.

Emily pulled the reins in for control and
turned Patra around, but found herself surrounded by heku guards.
The rifle in her hands gave her little comfort as her path back to
the trees was blocked.

“
What have we here?” she
heard a strange voice say.

Emily turned and looked at the heku walking
toward her. There was a strong smell of alcohol in the air.

“
Let the mortal out for the
night did they?” he asked, sarcastically.

“
They don’t ‘let’ me out,”
she said. Her mind was telling her to ash them and run, but her
stubborn streak won out.

“
Planning on turning us to
ash then?” he asked, and the guards all laughed.

Emily’s eyes scanned the guards. She didn’t
recognize any of them and she wondered where the Cavalry was. The
rifle was ripped out of her hands by a heku, who blurred to her and
away, too fast for her to respond.

“
Going to run back to the
Elder and tell him we were picking on you?” he asked her,
smiling.

“
Wasn’t planning on it,
just as I wasn’t planning on telling Kyle that you are all
drinking,” she said, watching him.

His smug expression became more serious, “We
aren’t drinking.”

Emily smirked, “Whatever, I may not have a
heku’s sense of smell, but I sure as hell can smell that.”

His eyes narrowed, “Well now we have a
problem, mortal. We can’t risk you running off and telling the
Council.”

Emily felt his hands on her waist as he
pulled her down off of the mare. She was glad there was a strong
wind. She hoped they wouldn’t pick up her scent. He set her down a
few feet from her horse and looked down at her.

“
So what are we going to do
with you now?” he asked, looking at the other guards.

“
Now you’ve touched her
too, you moron,” a voice said from the group of guards.

The heku laughed, “Oh that’s right, hands
off the Elder’s property.”

Emily pushed him hard on the chest and he
jerked his head back to her.

“
You seem to be under the
mistaken impression that I’m afraid of you,” she scowled at him,
and put her hands on her hips.

He grinned, “You should be.”

She took a step toward him, “You’re also
under the mistaken impression that I let Chevalier fight my battles
for me.”

“
Are you trying to pick a
fight?” he asked her as another guard clapped him on the shoulder,
laughing.

“
Maybe”

“
You are an exquisite
creature,” he said, running his eyes down her body.

“
Oh? I was under the
impression you all liked boys.” she said, grinning.

His face fell for a split second and then he
leaned his head back and laughed, “You are spirited, aren’t
you?”

Emily turned and walked through the heku
guards toward where they were partying earlier. They split, unsure
if she was as happy to ash guards as the rumors told. The
boisterous heku guard followed her. She went over to a log that had
bottles of liquor sitting on top of it and bent down to the CD
player sitting on the ground by it. She hit the play button,
cringing at the rap music, and then grabbed two bottles of vodka.
She turned and handed one to the heku behind her.

“
Here’s to breaking all the
rules,” she said, and brought the bottle to her lips and took a
long drink. She lowered it and eyed the guard, who was watching her
with a smirk.

He grinned and took a drink from his
bottle.

“
There, now we’d both be in
trouble,” she said, and sat the vodka down.

The heku guards watched them both,
curiously.

The guard she was talking to took another
long drink, then looked at her, “Why wouldn’t you be allowed to
drink? According to Frank, you can put them down.”

She smiled, “I’m pregnant.”

He laughed, “Damn, Child, you would be in
more trouble with the Elder than we would.”

“
Then lighten up, would
you? I’m disappointed… mortals can put on a better party than
this.”

He grinned and the heku broke apart. Emily
laughed as she watched their idea of a party. There were bloody,
violent fights, and someone turned up the music while others began
to drink heavily.

“
Come on, Tiny,” the heku
said to her, and took her hand, spinning her out into an open area.
He brought her against him and pressed a hand against her lower
back. Emily was amazed at how well he danced as they moved
gracefully with the music.

“
Why is it you can dance?”
she asked him.

“
You have to do something
when you’re alive for hundreds of years,” he said, and dipped her,
looking into her eyes, and then stood her backup quickly. She saw
his face change and she knew he had caught her scent.

“
Hundreds? So you’re just a
young pup.” She smiled, trying to distract him.

Emily’s body tensed as he shut his eyes and
inhaled. His hands pulled her tighter against him. She watched his
face as he opened his eyes and smiled.

“
Young pup? Compared to
you, I’m archaic,” he said, dancing again.

Emily jumped when she heard the crash of
glass and the guard she was dancing with laughed.

“
You always so jumpy?” he
asked, and she caught sight of some of the guards smashing empty
liquor bottles against a tree as he spun her again.

“
I’m not jumpy,” she said
to him.

“
You’re not very smart
either, you shouldn’t be out here,” he whispered into her
ear.

“
You’re seriously going to
tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing?” She
frowned.

He laughed, “Not at all.”

“
Cutting in,” she heard
from behind her, and she was turned quickly into another guard’s
arms.

As the night drew on, Emily started having
fun. The guards loosened up around her and she was able to see them
have fun and enjoy themselves. When she saw them, they were
normally at full attention and watched her, loathingly. Now they
were talking to her and she danced so much, her feet were hurting.
The few times a real fight broke out, she would move to another
part of the clearing.

Suddenly, someone cut the music and the
silence was eerie.

Emily looked around and the guards were all
staring off to the end of the clearing. The guard she’d been
dancing with pushed her behind his back with one hand. Emily
glanced at the remaining bottles of alcohol and ran to the log. She
poured some into her hands and rubbed them on her jeans, then
dumped the contents out and tucked the bottles under the log. A few
of the heku standing by the log watched her, suspiciously.

Emily headed quickly for where all of the
heku were staring. She could hear familiar yelling.

“
Where is it? Where’s the
alcohol,” she heard Kyle yell. She took a bottle of whiskey from a
heku as she walked by, and then stepped out in front. Kyle was
standing in front of four of the guard commanders, and they looked
angrily at their guards.

“
I have it, it’s mine,” she
said.

Kyle turned to her with wide, furious
eyes.

“
What in God’s name are you
doing here?” he scowled.

“
I crashed their party,”
she said, watching him.

“
Get back to the palace,”
he demanded.

Emily crossed her arms, “No, I brought a
drink. I’m the only one drinking. I’m not going to let you punish
them for my indulgences.”

“
Emily, I’m not in the mood
for your games. Either get back to the palace or I’ll have you
dragged there,” he snapped.

“
I’ll go back if you’ll let
the guards finish their harmless little party. Nothing is going on
here that’s breaking any rules,” she told him. The guards behind
her were quiet and motionless as they watched her.

Kyle took a step towards her, “You’re
telling me not one rule has been broken?”

“
I am,” she stood her
ground.

“
No guards were
drinking?”

“
No”

“
Not one of them touched
you?”

“
No,” she said again,
glaring at him.

Chevalier blurred to Kyle’s side and Emily
recoiled a bit at his anger.

“
Snitch,” she growled at
Kyle.

Emily stepped back by the crowd of
guards.

“
Come… here…” Chevalier
hissed at her.

“
No, whatever their
punishment is, I have, too.”

“
Don’t do this, go with
them quietly. We can take it,” one of the guards whispered to
her.

“
You know I can smell you
on them, Emily. If they’ve touched you, I’ll know it,” Kyle snarled
at her.

Emily spun on her heels and walked through
the guards, running her hands along as many as she could before she
felt hands on her waist lift her and carry her back toward the
palace.

“
Let me go,” she yelled at
the strange guard commander carrying her.

As they passed Patra, Emily kicked hard at
the Commander’s knee and he stumbled to the ground, dropping her.
She ran and hoisted herself up onto Patra. The Commander healed and
stood up just as she kicked the mare into a gallop through the
trees. She saw him heading back to the clearing as she cleared the
trees.

Emily pulled Patra out of the gallop and
stopped her. She was back on the hills overlooking Council City.
Her mind whirled. She was in over her head this time. Now all of
the commanding officers and Chevalier were angry with her, and she
wasn’t sure how badly the guards would be in trouble for
drinking.

Emily kicked Patra into a gallop and headed
for the stables. The smell of alcohol was making her stomach turn.
She pulled the saddle off and grabbed a brush, anything to keep her
from having to walk into the palace. She peered out of Patra’s
stall when she heard voices pass by the stables. Kyle and his
commanders came into view and she ducked back into the stall as
their voices trailed off.

Emily crouched down in the corner behind
Patra when she heard loud footsteps approaching. She saw his boots
as he stopped on the other side of the mare.

“
Want to explain that?”
Chevalier asked her. She was surprised that his voice wasn’t angry,
more irritated.

“
No,” she said.

“
Are you drunk?” he asked,
kneeling to look under Patra.

“
No,” she said,
again.

He sighed and sat down on the straw, “We had
a spy out there, and we know it all.”

She frowned, “You spied on your own
guards?”

He nodded.

“
That’s… that’s
awful.”

“
That’s necessary for just
such occasions,” he said, and smiled slightly. “Course, the guards
probably won’t hate you so badly now, sounds like you made quite
the impression.”

“
You aren’t mad?” she
asked, looking over at him.

“
Me? No… but I’ll deny that
if you tell the guard commanders. They are pretty livid over this,”
he told her. “Not the drinking even as much as the…
dancing.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “I wasn’t
forced.”

“
No, we know that. Our
informant made it clear that you were having fun.”

“
So why aren’t you mad?”
she asked, suspiciously.

“
You needed some time away.
I wish it hadn’t come so close to going badly though. They weren’t
that happy when you first showed up.” He frowned slightly. This was
hard for him, he was ready to kill every one of those guards and
lock Emily up in her room. The thought of them dancing with her
sent his jealous tendencies raging.