Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (93 page)

“
Good morning,” he said,
and sat the tray down on the table.

Emily nodded, “All sniffed I take
it.”

Mark chuckled, “Yes, all
sniffed. It’s poison free.”

Emily sat down at the table and looked
up when Mark left for the door.

“
Mark?”

“
Yes?” he asked, and turned
around.

“
Will you stay?”

He frowned slightly and then nodded
and smiled. Mark sat down at the table across from her.

Emily took a bite of the
scrambled eggs and looked up at Mark, “What’s your last
name?”

A shocked expression
crossed Mark’s face, “Excuse me?”

“
You know… Chev is Chev,
Kyle is Kyle… why don’t any of you have last names?” Emily asked,
and took another bite.

“
That’s part of our mortal
selves we leave behind,” he explained.

“
What if there’s another
Mark in the faction.”

“
There are
many.”

“
So what was
yours?”

Mark thought for a moment, “I don’t
really remember.”

“
Don’t remember or just
don’t want to tell me?” Emily took another bite of eggs and then
leaned back with a cup of coffee.

“
I honestly don’t remember.
I haven’t thought about that in a long time. The perfect memory
starts after turning, things before that time fade.”

Emily watched him for a moment,
“Where’s Chev?”

“
There’s a problem with the
coronation. He and Quinn have been in meetings all
morning.”

Emily sighed, “Great, so much for our
day alone.”

“
He’s sorry. He mentioned
it several times. Oh, there’s a letter here for you. The guard at
the farmhouse signed for it,” Mark said, and pulled a letter out of
his back pocket.

Emily sat back with her
coffee and opened it. Mark watched her carefully as she looked at
the paper and fell into a deep thought.

“
Well I’m going to go out
for a bit,” Emily said, and went into the bathroom to get
dressed.

When Emily came back out,
Mark was in civilian clothing and waiting for her.

“
Oh no, I’m going alone,”
Emily said, and grabbed her purse.

“
I don’t mind going,” Mark
said, shifting uncomfortably.

“
Seriously, Mark, I need
time by myself and you have a party to attend,” Emily said, and
walked out of the room. She heard the guards behind her until she
crawled into the Durango. She smiled at them as she pulled out of
the garage and headed to the nearby city.

After calling information,
she pulled into the City office building and went inside. She made
it through security easily and then waited in line at the
desk.

“
Next,” an elderly man
said, looking at her sternly.

“
My husband died, and I
want to change my last name,” Emily said, and handed over the death
certificate she had just received in the mail. “Can I change the
surname of my children also?”

Without a word, the man
handed her several forms and yelled for the next person in line.
Emily spent the next hour filling out paperwork and double-checking
everything to make sure it was all in order before going to the
next window.

Four hours later, she was
no longer Emily Russo, and she felt like a weight had been lifted
off of her shoulders. She slipped into the Durango and sat back,
reveling in it. Something across the street caught her eye and she
grinned, and then drove to the small building across from the city
offices. She parked out front and went inside.

Emily inhaled the soft,
warm scent of apple pie and walked up to the woman at the desk. She
was very pretty and smiled when she saw Emily.

“
May we help you?” she
asked.

“
Your sign says you take
walk-ins?” Emily looked around the room. The inviting peach décor
was subtle and comfortable with the soft plush couches and rocking
recliners.

“
Oh yes, what can we get
for you?”

“
I’ll take it all.” Emily
smiled. This was something she had always wanted to do.

“
Right away, please come
back here with me,” the woman said, and led Emily into a room with
dim lights and soft music. “Here’s a robe, slip into it and I’ll
wait for you.”

Emily nodded and stepped
into a dressing room. She stripped and pulled on the soft pink
robe. When she stepped out, the woman had acquired a small
tray.

“
Have a seat while I get
your technician,” she said, and sat out frozen grapes and a warm
tea for Emily. Emily watched her leave and then grinned and leaned
back in the chair. She thought about how this was so perfect, no
heku, no kids, and no guards. There was just her, and she was about
to get pampered.

“
I’m ready for you,”
another woman said when she came into the room. Emily followed her
back for a manicure and pedicure.

***

“
He at least could have
told us he was considering it,” Chevalier growled.

“
I agree, maybe this is a
ruse, but if he doesn’t go into retirement soon, we may have to
banish him for insubordination,” Quinn said, obviously
irritated.

“
Then this decision is
made… again,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“
I’m sorry about your day
off. Tell Emily it’s my fault,” Quinn said, standing.

Chevalier grinned, “Not a
chance. She’s just barely getting over her dislike for you. It’s
easier for us all if we keep it that way.”

The Elders walked out of
the Council’s conference room and stopped when they saw Emily’s
guards shifting nervously, Mark included.

“
What’d she do now?” Quinn
asked, amused.

“
She got a registered
letter in the mail, and then she read it and took off,” Mark
said.

Chevalier sighed, “Was she
mad?”

“
No, not at all, but she
wouldn’t let us go.”

“
Guess you get the
afternoon off. I know you will all party tonight after the
coronation, might as well get a head start,” Chevalier said, and
patted Mark on the shoulder.

Mark relaxed and grinned, “Don’t have
to tell us twice.”

The Elders laughed as the guards
blurred away.

***

Emily walked on her heels to the next
room, trying not to smudge her recently painted
toenails.

“
Your facial will be in
here,” the woman said, and Emily sat down in a soft recliner to
wait.

“
Ahh, my dear, are you
ready?” Emily nodded, and the woman leaned the chair back and put a
warm towel over Emily’s face.

“
I’m Selma, by the way,”
she said, and started mixing some oils in a small dish.

“
Nice to meet you,” Emily
said, relaxed.

“
Your accent, it’s not from
around here.”

“
I grew up in Montana,”
Emily explained. She found it refreshing to have small talk with
someone not trying to kill or kidnap her.

“
Oh Montana! What a pretty
place,” she said, and pulled the towel off. She began rubbing fruit
and lavender scented oil gently into Emily’s face and then massaged
her temples. Emily felt herself relaxing further and was almost
asleep when the woman spoke again.

“
Ok, Dear, time for your
massage,” Selma said, and helped Emily to her feet. She took her
into a small, dark room that had a waterfall flowing down the wall
and scented candles on high shelves.

“
Pull off your robe and get
under the sheet, face down, I will send in Charles.” Selma bowed
slightly and walked off.

Emily laughed, it seemed an
odd gesture to bow, but she slipped off the plush pink robe and
crawled under the sheet, placing her face in the hole on the head
rest.

Emily started to sleep
slightly as she waited for her masseuse. When he came in, he said
nothing, but pulled the sheet down off of her back and began
working the knots in her neck with warm, scented oil.

“
That’s a unique smell,
what is it?” Emily asked.

Charles laughed softly, “It’s a blend
I make, to help you relax.”

“
Mmm, it’s working.” Emily
could feel her neck and back calming as he gently massaged the
knots. The scent was soothing and she felt herself relaxing
more.

Charles moved onto her arms and
massaged down to her fingers, “That’s a lovely ring.”

“
Thanks,” Emily said, her
words slightly slurred. She felt a slight tug on the
ring.

Charles covered Emily’s
back and uncovered her legs. She wasn’t sure why, but she began to
feel uncomfortable as he massaged the sweet smelling oil into her
thighs.

“
Why so tense all of a
sudden?” Charles asked her.

Emily shrugged. She still
felt relaxed and sluggish from the massage and all of the scents.
She felt like hours had passed, even though she had only signed up
for an hour-long massage. The room was quiet as Charles worked on
her feet and the scents were growing stronger.

“
Turn over, Dear,” Charles
said to her.

She held the sheet while
she rolled over and he immediately put a warm rag over her eyes.
She heard him sit in a chair by her head and began to massage her
scalp, face, and neck. He slowly moved down to massage the oil into
her shoulders and upper chest, and Emily felt something brush her
lips. It happened so fast she began to think she’d imagined
it.

All at once, she felt lips
press against hers as hands slid lower down her chest and lightly
brushed her breast. She pushed the face away from her and sat up,
clutching the sheet close to her. She pulled the washcloth off of
her eyes and stared at the masseuse while her eyes adjusted to the
dark.

Emily’s eyes narrowed,
“Sotomar?”

Sotomar smiled, “You remember
me.”

“
Oh, my God!” she screamed,
and stood up. “What the hell?”

“
Don’t panic, I’m a trained
masseuse,” he said, and raised an eyebrow.

Emily put on the robe,
keeping a close eye on Sotomar, and cinched it closed with the
belt, “What the hell do you want?”

“
Only to help you relax.
You are quite tense. Seems the Equites aren’t doing enough to keep
you comfortable.”

Emily glared at him, “Why
can’t you just leave me alone? I haven’t attacked anyone in a long
time. I’m tired of it.”

“
This isn’t an attack, the
Valle own this little place. I was called when you came in the
door. It’s nothing more than a business,” he said, clearly
amused.

Emily glanced at the
massage oil and picked it up when she saw its crimson color, “Is
this blood?”

“
Some of it, it’s a special
blend of oils like ochun and elegua.” He took the bottle from her,
“It’s mine though, you’d need to make your own.”

“
You! You rubbed blood into
my back? That’s so… nasty!” Emily said, and tried to open the door,
but it was locked. She turned around, angrily, “Open
it.”

“
It’s customary to lock the
door during a massage,” Sotomar said, watching her.

Emily glared at Sotomar and
watched him fall to his knees, clutching his chest and the familiar
smell of burning filled the room. She frowned when he didn’t turn
to ash, and tried again. His screams filled the room, but he never
fell.

“
Can’t do it can you?”
Sotomar asked, his voice strained as he stood up.

Emily began to panic, “What did you
do?”

“
Just a precaution, sadly
temporary though,” he said, and smiled. “Now come, finish your
massage.”

“
Let me out of here,” she
glared.

“
Answer me a question
first.”

“
What?” Emily asked,
crossing her arms.

“
When are you planning on
producing another child?” Sotomar asked, and sat down. The burn was
lingering in his chest.

“
What kind of question is
that?”

“
A valid one.”

“
One that’s none of your
damn business, now let me out,” she said again.

“
As a show of good faith, I
will,” Sotomar said, and unlocked the door.

Emily grabbed her purse and
ran out of the building, still in the robe, and got into the
Durango. She pulled quickly into traffic to head back to Council
City.

Emily glanced into her
rear-view mirror and saw three identical red Lamborghini Reventon’s
right behind her. They spanned the three lanes of the Interstate
and were quickly closing the distance. She pegged the Durango at
100 mph and kept a close eye on the approaching cars. She grabbed
for her cell phone, but it wasn’t in her purse anymore. She turned
off onto the small road that went to Council City.

“
Damnit,” Emily yelled when
one of the Reventon’s quickly passed her on the median. She was now
surrounded by the red cars. They were approaching the woods that
eventually led to the west side of the palace, when the car in
front of her began to slow, just as the sun set and it started to
get dark.