Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (59 page)

He growled and then
started off with the Cavalry. Silas and Kralen started after them,
but turned and walked back to Emily.

“You have to come too,” Silas told
her.

“No I don’t.”

“You encountered him
first. The Council will need a report,” Kralen said.

“The Council can figure it
out on their own. I’m going swimming,” Emily said, and started for
the out-building. She stopped and sighed when she felt a hand on
her shoulder.

“Seriously, Em. They need
to talk to you,” Silas said.

“Where are your guards, anyway?”
Kralen asked, scanning the area.

“I didn’t have any.”

“Then you should have called for
us.”

Emily grinned slightly, “That’s what
the front door guard said, so I assured him I wasn’t going to get
attacked between the palace and the pool.”

“Yeah? How’d that go for you?” Kralen
chuckled.

“Well I wasn’t attacked.”

“Close enough.”

Emily glanced toward the doors, and
then whispered, “Please don’t make me talk to the
Council.”

“What’s wrong?” Kralen asked, watching
her closely.

“I just… I just don’t want
to.”

“Ok… ok… I’ll go talk to
them for you,” Silas said. “Kralen can stay with you while we find
out who’s on the roster to guard you.”

She nodded and then left
for the pool, followed by Kralen. They both got into the steamy
pool room and Emily sat down on a chaise. Kralen hesitated and then
sat down beside her.

“Not swimming?” he asked.

“No, I just don’t want to face the
Council.”

“Why is that exactly?”

Emily looked over at him, “They let it
all happen.”

“Do you realize how bad they feel
about that?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Zohn and Quinn mainly.”

“It’s just hard to trust them is
all.”

“They are trying really hard right now
to help you feel welcome again.”

“I can’t let myself become
that meshed with the Council again,” Emily explained. “It made the
year alone that much harder.”

“How so?”

“You can’t tell anyone…”

“I won’t.”

“I’m safe here… or was at
least,” she started, and then cut Kralen off when he started to
argue. “When I was out on my own, I wasn’t just alone, I was a
target and I knew it. When the Encala started to attack, I realized
just how dangerous my life is.”

“There’s a reason we guard
you. We already know how dangerous it is just to be
you.”

“Yeah… well it took months
before I could even breathe. Months before I could stop double
checking every shadow and could answer the phone without being
afraid.”

Kralen nodded, “So if you get
comfortable here again, in our protection, then next time you’re
alone you’ll have to do it all again.”

“Right… if I just keep my distance,
then it won’t be so hard.”

“Why does there have to be a next
time?”

“Why should I assume there isn’t going
to be?” she asked, watching him closely.

“The Council isn’t going to fall for
that again.”

“Not that, no, but there
are always other methods. Next time I’m alone, I probably won’t
have my kids with me.”

“Is there anything I can do to change
your views?”

“No, not really.”

Kralen glanced at the
door, “The Council is asking for you again.”

Emily bent her knees and pulled them
close to her chest, “They’ll live.”

She could tell his lips were moving
quickly, but couldn’t hear what was being said.

Finally, Kralen turned back to her,
“Did the Encala touch you at all?”

“No”

“What did he say?”

“He cowered and begged
that I ask the Council to leave the Encala alone. Then when I
refused, he tried to bully me.”

“Did he say how he got in?”

“He said he waited until the gate
guards were busy.”

Kralen again turned toward the door
and Emily grinned.

He looked over at her,
“What’s so funny?”

“The Council, using you to get
information from me because I refuse to come in.”

“It would be a lot more efficient if
you’d go tell them yourself.”

“I don’t want to.”

He sighed, “What do you want,
exactly?”

“Let’s go for a ride.”

“Where?” he asked, standing when she
did.

“You and I… out alone.”

“Why?”

“Stop being so paranoid,
let’s go,” she said, and started for the garage. Before she got
there, Silas and Mark joined them.

“We going somewhere?” Mark
asked.

“Kralen and I are going out,” Emily
told him, and slid into the driver’s seat of the old beat-up Chevy
pickup.

“We’re not taking Silas and Mark?”
Kralen asked, looking into the passenger window.

“Nope, get in.”

Kralen glanced at Mark
and, after he nodded, got in. Emily grinned and drove out of
Council City.

“You just love driving them insane,
don’t you?” Kralen asked, buckling his seat belt.

“I do, it’s the small
joys…”

“You’re so female.”

“What?” she asked, glancing at
him.

“You were just saying how
comfortable you felt in our protection, yet all you do is struggle
to get out of it,” he told her, and then grinned.

“This trip is a necessity.”

“Oh? So where are we
going?” he asked as she pulled onto the Interstate.

“Away”

“That’s it?”

“I don’t want to say. I
wouldn’t put it past the Council to bug my truck.”

Kralen grinned, “Good to know you
aren’t paranoid or anything.”

“I’m not paranoid.”

“Ok”

Kralen jerked slightly and looked out
his window.

“What?” Emily asked, looking over at
him.

“Nothing”

“Then stop being jumpy, we’re not
breaking any laws.”

“I am”

“How so?”

“Per Elder’s orders, you’re to have no
less than 3 guards with you at all times.”

“Well… it feels good to be
bad.”

“I’m sure it does… but you won’t be
banished for it.”

“You’re not going to be banished by
coming with me to get coffee.”

Kralen looked over at her.

Emily sighed, “There, I said it… we’re
going for coffee.”

“So it’s two rules I’m
breaking.”

“No one will know.”

“Why are we in this truck?” Kralen
asked when the old Chevy pickup backfired.

“There’s nothing wrong with this
truck.”

“Have you had one of our
mechanics look at it? It doesn’t sound right.”

“No, I did an oil change a few weeks
ago and it’s fine.”

They drove the rest of the way in
silence until Emily pulled up at the small coffee shop, “I can
smell it from here.”

Kralen chuckled, “I didn’t realize you
savor also.”

“Oh… I do,” she said, and
got out of the truck. She grabbed her purse and they headed
inside.

They waited in line and Emily was
getting excited for a taste of her favorite drink.

“Yeah?” the teenage boy behind the
counter asked.

“I’ll have a double, half
caf, skinny quad with legs and extra whip,” Emily told him, and
pulled out her purse.

“Is that even English?” Kralen asked,
frowning.

“And for the virgin?” the boy asked,
looking with irritation at Kralen.

“The what?” Kralen gasped.

“He’ll have the same,”
Emily told the boy, and then paid him. She pulled Kralen’s arm
until he quit glaring at the tiny boy behind the counter, and they
sat and waited for the drinks.

“I’m not drinking that,” Kralen told
her.

“I didn’t think you would.
I’ll drink one here and there’s one for the road.”

“Why does it sound like you just
ordered two thin minotaurs with a knout?”

“A what?” she asked, and took the
drinks from the server.

“Never mind,” Kralen said
and looked at her. “You’re really going to do it.”

“Do what?” she asked, blowing on her
drink to cool it.

“Drink coffee… you know what that’ll
do.”

“But it’ll be soooo worth
it,” she said, and removed the lid. As she brought the drink to her
lips, it was torn from her hands, “Hey!”

Kralen grinned when she looked over at
him, but he didn’t have her drink.

“Why?” Dustin asked from the
doorway.

Emily glared at him, “Just give me my
drink.”

“You know we can’t let you do
that.”

She looked over at Kralen, “You called
him?”

“Nope”

“Then how did he
know?”

“I suspected it when you left,” Dustin
said, pouring her drink into the trash.

“Don’t make me ash you,” Emily
whispered.

Dustin grinned and held up the keys to
the truck, “Get in, I’ll drive back.”

“No”

Kralen sighed, “Em, I’m in enough
trouble as it is without you staying here.”

“Tell me again why he’s in
trouble,” she told Dustin.

“He not only left without
sufficient guards for you, but allowed you to have something
expressly forbidden by the Elders,” Dustin explained.

“He can’t get in trouble
for that. If he hadn’t come, then I would be alone.”

“Still…” Dustin held the
door open. Emily finally walked out with Kralen, glancing once more
at the coffee left on their table. Most of the drive was silent,
until Dustin spoke again, “I find it hard to believe that you
didn’t realize that by taking one of the Cavalry, they would have
to be punished.”

Emily leaned up from the
backseat and whispered quietly into Kralen’s ear, “Take the
wheel.”

“What?” Dustin asked, just
as he turned to ash. Kralen quickly grabbed the wheel and he pulled
over to the side of the road.

“Damnit, Em. Are you
trying to get me banished?” he asked, and scooped Dustin’s ashes
into a cup.

“No, but he needs to
chill. You did nothing wrong,” she told him, and crawled into the
front seat of the truck.

Kralen slid into the
driver’s side and started back for Council City, “Well the Council
is going to want to know why we’re returning with a pile of ash
instead of their Coven Liaison Officer, don’t you
think?”

“They can figure it out on
their own. I’m not talking to them about it.”

“You have to!”

“No, I don’t.”

Kralen growled slightly
and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. Emily sat back and
they drove the rest of the way in silence.

They walked into the
palace together, but when Kralen stopped at the fourth floor, Emily
turned and walked back down to her office. He sighed and then
entered the council chambers when Derrick let him in.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,”
Zohn growled.

Kralen nodded, “I would imagine I do…
first though, we need to have the Coven Liaison Officer
revived.”

Kyle sighed, “Bring him up
here.”

Kralen walked up and
placed the large cup of ashes in front of Kyle. It was only a few
minutes later when Dustin was sitting back in his chair, furious at
having been turned to ash yet again.

“What made you think it was ok to
leave with Emily?” the Chief of Defense asked Kralen.

“I know the look on her
face. Had I insisted on more guards, she would have gone alone,”
Kralen explained.

Chevalier nodded, “I know that
look.”

“Very well… and we are
aware that Mark knew you left with her,” the Chief of Staff told
him. “However, there is a direct rule that Emily is not to drink
coffee…”

Kralen sighed, “That I can
be punished for. She’s an adult and I didn’t feel as if she needed
anything more than a reminder of what it would cause.”

“So you felt you could do what you
wanted, in contrast to Council orders?”

“More like… she’s an adult
and again, had I tried to stop her, then she would have simply
turned me to ash and did it anyway. I saw the Coven Liaison Officer
pass us on the Interstate and knew he would intervene.”

“Bring Emily here,” the Chief
Investigator called out.

Kralen looked over at him, “She won’t
come before the Council.”