Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (64 page)

“Come on,” Emily said, and led Alexis
out of the council chambers.

Zohn sighed, “I didn’t realize how bad
she was.”

“She can heal from this though,
right?” the Chief Interrogator asked.

“I would assume so,”
Chevalier told him. “First though, we have to stop it.”

Kyle returned through the
back doors and sat down, “I’ve revived Silas.”

Chevalier nodded, “Do a
systematic search of the area. Find any coven, any faction, and get
dates of all turnings for the last year.”

Quinn looked over at him, “I thought
none were close enough for it to affect her.”

“We don’t really know that… I suspect
when she had the ritual performed on her, it made her more
susceptible and maybe the proximity is larger.”

Kyle nodded and
disappeared with the Chief of Defense. After an hour of
deliberation by the Council on an upcoming trial, the doors again
opened and this time Emily came in, followed closely by
Dain.

Quinn smiled, “Hello,
Dear.”

She limped up to the Council and spoke
softly, “I suggest we ban Alexis from here until she has calmed
down.”

“That isn’t a bad
suggestion,” the Chief Interrogator said. “It would behoove us to
protect the Council until she’s no longer a threat.”

“Thank you, Emily,” Zohn
said. “We will do that immediately.”

“I also… have a question,” she
whispered, still fighting to clear her speech.

“What, Em?” Chevalier
asked.

She sighed, “I want to
know from the Council what will be done to control Chevalier when I
die.”

“What!?” Chevalier gasped.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Zohn
said, barely above a whisper.

Emily glanced up at Chevalier and then
to Zohn, “I think that question explained itself.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”
Chevalier asked.

“That I think I may be
dying. I want to ensure you don’t end up getting killed because of
your temper.”

“You aren’t dying… you will heal from
this.”

She shrugged slightly,
“Maybe. I want a promise from the Council that neither Chevalier,
nor Kyle, will be allowed to go on an enraged rampage if I
die.”

Quinn frowned slightly, “If that were
to happen, I’m not sure the Council could stop it.”

“You can stop them, I know
you can. I want a promise,” she said, and looked up at
them.

“We cannot promise that,” the Chief of
Staff told her.

Chevalier began to panic.
For the first time since the strokes began, he started to wonder if
this was something she may not be able to heal from, “Emily… what
aren’t you telling us?”

“I don’t know what’s
causing them. I just know that I’m not doing it on purpose and I
can’t stop it. My Dad died of a stroke, I know the signs, and I’m
heading in that direction.”

“You are not dying!” Chevalier
growled.

“You won’t promise me?” Emily asked,
looking up at Quinn.

“I cannot.”

A stray tear fell from her
eye, “I’m dying, I can feel it. I will leave behind children that
need a father and the only way I know to protect that need is if
he’s restrained and not allowed to go on a killing
spree.”

Zohn swallowed hard. The
slowness and strain of her words became more evident as she
proclaimed her impending death, “We cannot promise
that.”

“Kyle will need protected too, from
himself.”

“Em…” Kyle whispered.

“I’m not sad that I’m
dying,” Emily whispered, watching Chevalier. “You gave me a
wonderful life, gave me children, and friends, and a family. I
couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m just afraid of how you are
going to react when I die.”

“You are not dying,” Chevalier told
her.

She looked over at Quinn and Zohn, “Is
that your final say then? You won’t grant me this one
request?”

“Emily, they can’t keep us from
avenging your death,” Kyle told her.

“We can’t, please don’t ask us,” Zohn
whispered.

She turned slowly and limped out of
the room.

Dain hissed and his hands balled into
tight fists, “You cannot grant her that one wish, just to ease her
mind?”

“No, we can’t,” Quinn told
him.

“She’s not dying… I won’t
allow it. Yet you could lessen her stress by lying and telling her
that Dad and Kyle will be kept safe!”

“We won’t lie to her.”

“Do it!” Dain
screamed.

“Dain, no,” Chevalier
said. “She’s not dying, and we’re not going to give in to the
notion that she is.”

Dain turned suddenly when he heard
Emily’s Rubicon leave the garage.

“Let her go and think,”
Zohn sighed. “For now, leave her be.”

***

“Sir,” one of the Imperial
Guards said to Sotomar. “The Winchester is here and wishes to speak
to you.”

Sotomar frowned, “Emily is here,
now?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Let her in,” he said, and
then smiled. The Valle were always pleased when Emily paid them a
visit. They had heard she was ill and wanted to see for themselves
how bad.

Emily limped in slowly.
She was tired from the long drive and with half of her body no
longer fully under her control, everything was tiring.

Sotomar watched her, too
shocked to speak. It was immediately obvious to the heku that she
was significantly weak on her left side and she looked pale and
drawn.

“Emily…” Elder Ryan
whispered.

Emily stopped in front of
them and looked up at the enemy Council. She formed the words
carefully in her mind and spoke slowly so they would understand, “I
have a request of the Valle Council.”

Her slurred and distorted
speech shocked the Valle Council, and it was a few moments before
anyone could speak.

“What is it you ask?” Elder Randall
asked.

She swallowed, “I want promised, by
the Valle Council, that when I die… Chevalier and Kyle will be
imprisoned until they are in their right minds and in control of
their tempers.”

“Are you dying?” Sotomar
gasped.

Emily nodded, “Yes, I think I
am.”

“But you can heal.”

“Whatever is going on
isn’t stopping. I can’t heal, and I’m so tired.”

“But…”

“I’m not afraid of death.
The Equites have given me a wonderful life… but I’m afraid of how
Chevalier and Kyle will react when the time comes, and I need you
to help me protect them.”

“You cannot die…” Sotomar said,
finding it hard to speak.

“I am, I’m sure of it.
Please, promise me… grant me this one request.”

Elder Ryan took a deep breath to calm
himself, “We cannot imprison two members of the Equites
Council.”

“For me… forget about
factions… forget about rank and Councils. Help me, please,” Emily
said slowly.

“If you were to die,”
Sotomar said, picking his words carefully. “It would not be our
place to deny them vengeance. It’s our way.”

“I’m not asking to stop
them from seeking revenge… I only ask that you stop it long enough
for them to think clearly. I will leave my children without a
mother. I cannot risk leaving them without a father,
too.”

“This entire conversation
is a moot point,” the Valle’s Chief Interrogator said. “You aren’t
dying… you are immortal.”

Emily shook her head, “No,
not immortal. Just not aging… I’m dying and I need someone to
assure me that my children won’t be left alone.”

The Chief Investigator and Chief of
Staff appeared beside Emily when she swayed slightly.

“Please, rest here,”
Sotomar said softly. “We will discuss things when you feel
better.”

She nodded. The drive to
the Valle’s main city was exhausting and she wanted nothing more
than to sleep.

While two of the Imperial Guards
showed Emily to her room, Sotomar called the Equites
Council.

“Zohn here.”

“It’s Sotomar, may I speak to
Chevalier?”

“He’s busy. What can I do
for you?”

“We really need to speak to him
personally.”

Zohn sighed, “He’s out looking for
Emily.”

“She’s here,” Sotomar told
him.

There were whispers heard
from the Equites, though it was too softly for the Valle to hear
over the speakerphone. It was only a few minutes before Zohn spoke,
“I’ll call him back and have him contact you.”

“Very well,” Sotomar said,
and disconnected. He quietly left the council chambers and silently
slid into Emily’s room to watch her sleep. He studied how silently
she slept and how peaceful she looked in her sleep. His heart sank
at her desperate plea to save her husband and friend, and he
wondered if his world would ever again be this intertwined by
another mortal.

Three hours later, he
returned to the council chambers when he was alerted that Chevalier
had called.

“Is she still there?” Chevalier asked
him.

“Yes, she’s sleeping. It
seems the drive wore her out,” Sotomar explained. He knew how
furious the enemy Elder would be that he watched Emily sleep, but
his instincts were telling him that something was severely wrong
with her.

“I can come get her.”

“Let her sleep for a
while. She’s well protected here.”

“Very well.”

“We will have her call when she
wakes.”

“Did she ask you, then?” Chevalier
asked.

Sotomar sighed, “Yes.”

“I wonder if she’ll go to the Encala
next.”

“That would be my guess, as we denied
being able to assist her.”

“We can’t let her go
there. Frederick is still angry with her and I’m not sure how they
would react to an impromptu visit.”

Sotomar thought for a moment, “Maybe
we should go there instead.”

“The Valle?”

“No, you and I.”

“They are more likely to
break tradition and agree to help her though,” Chevalier said. “If
we go there first, it may even make their decision
easier.”

Sotomar smiled slightly,
“That is true… They will agree to help her if for nothing else than
to make us mad.”

“I would like to come and get Emily… I
will bring someone to return her Jeep.”

“Why don’t you let her
stay here for a bit?” Sotomar suggested. “Give you some time to
further investigate what is going on, and it will take more time to
help Alexis with her newest problem.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Damn that got
around fast.”

“Things do.”

“Have her call me when she wakes up
then… I’ll suggest she take a vacation.”

“We will,” Sotomar promised, and then
hung up.

“You’re cheating!” Emily yelled, and
then started to laugh.

“I am not… just because
you’re losing, doesn’t mean that I must be cheating,” the General
for the Imperial Guard said to her. He nervously glanced at Dain
and then turned his attention back to the TV.

The Equites had good leads
on the whereabouts of the serial killer known as Heartbreaker, and
were also still searching every coven within a 12-hour drive of
Council City. During the last month that Emily had spent with the
Valle, her condition was improving and her speech was beginning to
clear. Dain insisted on being with her in the enemy palace, and was
flown over during her second week with them.

“Damn… that’s 4 out of 5 wins for
you,” Emily said, and set the game controller down.

The General grinned, “Yes, that
is.”

Emily looked over when a
familiar heku spoke, “Are you ready, Lady Emily?”

She sighed, “Do we have to do this
today?”

“Yes, Elder Sotomar ordered
it.”

“I’d like to know when I
started taking orders from Sotomar,” Emily said, and then stood up
to leave. Her limp was markedly improved as she followed the
Physical Therapist out of the game room. Dain was close behind her
and scrutinized every heku that came near her.

The Imperial Guards smiled and bowed
when Emily walked past, ignoring the growls from the young heku
that was bigger than most of them.

They walked into a room
the Valle made especially for Emily, and she sat down at a table
across from the Physical Therapist.

“Ok, today we’re working on eating
again,” he said, and set out a plate and fork.

“Which makes no sense to
me,” Emily said, and took the fork in her right hand. “I don’t eat
with my left hand.”

“It doesn’t matter, we’re not training
your left hand to hold and use a fork… we’re training it to simply
do as it’s told.”