Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (42 page)

While Dr. Cook looked over
the boy, Chevalier filled Quinn and Zohn in on what happened on the
ranch.

Dustin came into the room
and looked down at Dain, “I wouldn’t have recognized
him.”

Emily nodded, but didn’t
speak. She was concentrating on the doctor and could feel the old
hatred for the Powan flooding back into her.

“What’s he been fed?” Dr.
Cook asked, and looked over at her.

“Why?”

“I need to ascertain if
outside influences are causing this. Maybe bad blood
or…”

Emily readied herself and
then pulled off a thick black leather bracelet, revealing the bite
marks, “I feed him.”

Dr. Cook quickly looked
down at Dain and began to listen to his heart.

“Em, you can’t supply a
full grown heku,” Chevalier said, and touched her
shoulder.

“I sure as hell can, and I
have been,” she snapped at him, and brushed his hand off of
her.

“He’s not fully grown. I
know he’s big, but he’ll get bigger.”

“It’s no concern of yours.”

“It is though. I care
about you.”

She couldn’t answer. She
felt like there was a lump in her throat.

Dr. Cook looked over at
her, “How often are these attacks.”

“At first they were months apart, now
they are only a week or so between.”

“Then when he wakes up he is
taller?”

“Taller, heavier, even more
intellectually advanced,” she explained.

“I hate to call them
growing pains, but that’s what they are, just extremely bad ones.
I’d like to try medication when he has the next attack. I hope he
has enough mortal blood in him that it can dull the pain,” Dr. Cook
said.

Emily shook her head, “No, we’re not
staying that long.”

“Emily?” Chevalier said
from behind her. She turned and gasped, and then stood up when she
saw two identical Chevaliers, “This is what I was trying to tell
you.”

The doppelganger looked at her,
scowling, “Run away, Princess.”

Emily simply turned and
sat down beside her son and took his hand.

“How long has he been
asleep this time?” Dr. Cook asked.

“It’s been just about 12
hours.”

“Can you wait until he
wakes up? Stay at least until then so I can study him
further?”

She nodded, “Yeah, I
guess.”

Dr. Cook turned to face
her, “I want to talk about you now.”

“What about?”

“You were vomiting blood.”

“I had a bleeding ulcer, surgery fixed
it.”

“Just the blood though, not the
pain?”

She shrugged, “I have pills that
help.”

“And your weight?”

She frowned, “What about
it?”

“You’ve lost a lot. You
look unhealthy and pale.”

“Why thank you. You look
like hell too.”

Dr. Cook smiled, “I just
want to make sure you’re well.”

“I am.”

“Did your doctor say how to solve the
stomach pains?”

“Yes, alleviate stress was his
solution.”

Dr. Cook chuckled, “I see…
so it’s just gotten worse.”

“I’d say so. I’m ok
though, just fix Dain so I can go.”

“Emily, you saw the
doppelganger. None of that was Chevalier,” Quinn told
her.

Emily turned to Zohn, “Thank you for
stopping him from hitting me.”

Zohn nodded slightly,
“We’re ashamed about the rest. We watched it happen and planned in
secret to stop it, but we were too late.”

“How did you break your
wrist?” Dr. Cook asked.

Emily looked down at her
cast and then back up to the doctor, “I was attacked.”

She ignored the soft hiss from behind
her.

“A mortal?”

“Yes”

“How was he stopped?”

“Tucker stopped him. He’s
been watching over us.”

Dr. Cook smiled, “I’m glad
he was there.”

“Mom!” Allen yelled and
ran into the room. He picked her up off the bed and spun her,
“You’re back!”

Emily smiled and wrapped her arms
around his neck, “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. Never
take off again!”

He sat her down and smiled down at
her.

“I’m not staying, Allen.”

His face fell and he
glanced at Chevalier before talking, “But you saw the doppelganger.
You saw who did it.”

She shrugged and took his
hand, “One doppelganger and everyone else just let it happen. I’m
safer out of the palace and I have a job offer that I fully plan on
taking.”

Zohn spun suddenly and
stormed out of the room.

“Come live with Miri and
me then.”

She laughed softly, “No,
no newlyweds need their mother around.”

“The castle then. Stay
there where I can see you every day. I’ll help with Dain… and
Grayson was a professor at Duke. He can teach Alex and
Dain.”

She shook her head and reached up to
kiss his cheek, “No, I’m ok on my own with them.”

Allen looked over at his brother,
“He’s huge, Mom.”

Emily looked over and
smiled, “He’s a good boy. He doesn’t mean to hurt
anyone.”

“Why is there a dog loose
in the pa…” the Chief Interrogator started, then stopped when he
walked in. “My God, it’s Emily.”

She smiled, “Hello,
Richard.”

He smiled broadly, “It’s so good to
have you back.”

“I’m not back though,” she
told him, and then sat down by Dain. “As soon as he wakes up we’ll
go.”

“Hey, Mom, can I go
swimming?” Alexis asked. Emily looked over and she was already in
her swimming suit.

“No, Alex, stay in my
sight.”

“Then you come, too.
You’ve been complaining that there was no pool in town.”

Emily smiled slightly, “I don’t
know…”

“Go swimming, Em. We’ll
clear the out-building,” Chevalier told her.

“I don’t even have a
swimming suit anymore,” she said, and brushed the hair away from
Dain’s forehead.

Chevalier moved to her dresser and
pulled out a bikini, “You mean this?”

“There’s an entire Council
here to watch over Dain. Go swimming, take a break,” Kyle said, and
handed her a towel.

She looked at Alexis, “I really do
want to swim.”

“Come on, Mom. It’ll be
fun.”

Emily sighed and then nodded and took
the bikini from Chevalier, “One comment about my looks…”

“I wouldn’t,” Chevalier
said, and then frowned, insulted.

She disappeared into the
bathroom and Alexis waited anxiously with the heku. When Emily
stepped out, Chevalier turned away from her suddenly as rage passed
over his face. Quinn gasped. She was too thin, and her ribs poked
out of pale, bruise covered skin. There were bruises of varying
depths across her torso, some as old as a month, some as new as
within the last day. Emily took Alexis’ hand and walked out,
assuming the quietness of the heku was to keep from saying anything
that might upset her.

When she was gone, Dr.
Cook turned to Chevalier, “Do you realize that too much bruising
can cause liver problems?”

Chevalier shut his eyes and then
opened them slowly, “Those were fist and hand bruises.”

“I suspect Dain did them in his
pain.”

“She’s so thin,” Quinn
whispered.

“She’s had two years full
of stress. It causes ulcers, a weak appetite, and weight loss. I
would imagine she’s sicker than she knows,” the doctor said, and
turned back to Dain. “Has she mentioned if she was
pregnant?”

“No, she just told Kralen
that there was no baby in the house,” Kyle said.

“What did you make of
Tucker and Pelton?” Chevalier asked.

Kyle glanced at the door,
“Good men. They care a lot about Emily and watched over
her.”

“Just care?”

“Ok, so Tucker loves her,
but that’s a common mortal emotion around her.”

“And Pelton?”

“He’s more like a brother to her. He
cares a lot about her and has helped her over the past
year.”

“No attraction?” Chevalier asked,
surprised.

Mark shook his head, “No, Allen was
right. Pelton’s more infatuated with Tucker.”

“I’m glad they were
there.”

“Yeah, well, Mark and I
have been considering approaching Tucker.”

Chevalier looked over at Kyle, “You
are?”

Kyle nodded, “He has the
kind of instincts you can’t teach. He’s protective and
strict.”

“Emily would kill you.”

“If she’s not around, then she won’t
know.”

Quinn looked over at Kyle, “You think
he would be interested?”

Kyle smiled, “I know he
would. I know the type… I’ve found three in my life that I thought
had heku qualities, and each has joined and become a strong
leader.”

Emily’s Border collie ran
into the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. He looked over
at Dain and his tail began to wag.

“What is his name?” Quinn
asked.

“Devia,” Kyle replied, and
then smiled.

“I wonder who named him
that.”

“I don’t know. Emily might
have found it on her Internet, or Alexis might have suggested
it.”

“Alex speaks
Native?”

Kyle nodded, “Yes, both she and Allen
are fluent.”

“It seems odd, a dog named
Lonely,” Dr. Cook mentioned.

“My guess is Alex named
him, and Em doesn’t know the meaning,” Chevalier said.

“I’m worried about her
health,” the doctor said, and looked over at the Elder.

“I am too, but she won’t let us look
at her.”

“Do we know who her doctor
is?”

Kyle glanced around the
room and then opened up Emily’s bag. He pulled out a bottle of
pills and tossed it to Dr. Cook, who quickly memorized the
information and gave it back to Kyle to put away.

“I’ll contact him,” Dr.
Cook said, and blurred away.

“I still can’t believe how
big he’s gotten,” Kyle said, and looked down at the massive
7-year-old.

“I know, faster than even Allen,”
Chevalier said.

“When he wakes up, they’ll
disappear.”

Chevalier nodded.

“I thought seeing your doppelganger
would help.”

“I did too.”

***

Alexis swam up to Emily, who was
floating on her back and letting the warm water wash over
her.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Alexis
asked.

Emily nodded, “Very much
so.”

“Did you know you’re covered in
bruises?”

“I forgot about that. No
wonder the heku were so quiet,” she said, and grinned.

“Did Dain do that all?”

“Some are from
Rod.”

“That guy… he was creepy from the
start.”

“I know. I didn’t hire him
though.”

“Tucker was furious,”
Alexis said, and rolled over to float by her Mom.

“I know.”

“He likes you.”

Emily smiled, “I know
that, too.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah”

“I want to stay here.”

Emily began to tread water and looked
over at her, “You do?”

“Yes, I miss it. I missed
Dad and my teachers.”

“It’s not safe here.”

“It is too. You saw the
guy that looked like Dad. Dad’s the same Dad I’ve had for 14 years,
that wasn’t him.”

Emily started to get choked up, “You
really want to stay here?”

Alexis nodded, “Badly,
this is my home. It’s where I belong.”

“We’ll… talk to your Dad when we get
inside.”

“Stay with me.”

“No, I know you think you
belong here, but I know for certain that I don’t.”

“You can’t stay in one
place in the mortal world. You’ll be moving for
eternity.”

“As opposed to being afraid
here?”

Alexis shrugged, “You
loved it here. One little incident and off you go forever? Think
about the amount of good times as opposed to the bad.”

“Alex…”

“Also consider how nervous
you were on the ranch. Getting attacked from the shadows, always
having to look over your shoulder, always having to check and make
sure no one was there.”

“You’ll understand when
you’re older,” Emily said, and swam over to the ladder. She climbed
out of the warm water and slipped on a soft pink robe.