Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (9 page)

“I thought they would be
mad.”

“So? What’s the worst that can happen?
We yell a bit and…”

“Lock me in the dark prison where heku
yell at me and it’s cold and damp,” she whispered.

“We didn’t do that though,
the Council didn’t,” Kyle reminded her.

“Someone on the Council
did.”

“Not with approval.”

“What are you going to do
with him?” Chevalier asked, and motioned for the door.

“As soon as he’s well,
I’ll take him home,” she told him.

“Be careful what you tell
him.”

“I will be. I’m not
stupid.”

“I know… just be careful.
You’re very trusting.”

“What do you want done with Dustin?”
Kyle asked, changing the subject.

“Does it matter what I want?” Emily
answered.

“We will take it into
consideration.”

“Nothing then… as long as he leaves me
the hell alone.”

“Nothing? Keep him on the
Council?”

Emily sighed, “Yes.”

“We’ll pass that on and use it in our
decision.”

“He’s awake,” Chevalier
said, and glanced at the door.

Emily stood up and quickly
went into the room. The man looked at her with dazed and confused
eyes. She sat down beside him on the bed and put the cool rag back
on his forehead.

“Where am I?” he asked,
and shut his eyes.

“You’re in my home, you’re safe
here.”

“Vampires…”

“There are no vampires
here, I promise.”

“For now, they’re
everywhere.”

“Not here.”

He sighed and started to go back to
sleep.

“What’s your name?” Emily
asked, and touched his cheek lightly.

“Robert,” he whispered,
just before falling asleep.

Emily covered him up with
another blanket and then moved out into the hallway with the
heku.

“He’s sleeping,” she said,
and shut his door.

“Normally when this
happens, we bring a doctor to look at them and then send them home
to rest. We just tell them they have the flu and shingles,” Kyle
said.

“That’s awful,” Emily said,
frowning.

“It works, there’s
actually no such thing as shingles. Keeps the heku from being
implicated.”

“I’ll keep him here until he’s
better.”

Chevalier nodded, “You can
stay here tonight to watch over him. I’ll send Silas and Kralen
over.”

“We need to go punish
these heku,” Kyle said, and held up four little leather
bags.

“Thanks,” she whispered,
and looked back at the door.

“He’ll sleep for a while.
Get some rest and have Silas tell you when he wakes up.”

“Have them bring Dain
over, will you?” Emily asked, and stood up.

Chevalier kissed her
softly and then left with Kyle. Emily made some quick dinner and
then checked on Robert before coming out to talk to Kralen and
Silas.

Dain was hissing slightly in Kralen’s
arms when she came out.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, stepping
back from him.

“He smells blood,” Kralen
explained, and tightened his grip on Dain.

Emily took Dain from him and started
for the stairs, “If he wakes up, come get me ok?”

Silas nodded and looked over at the
door.

***

Emily knocked lightly on
the door and entered when Robert called out. She smiled and came
in, shutting the door behind her.

“I thought you might be
hungry,” she told him, and set down a tray.

“Starving, thanks,” he
said, and grabbed one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.

“Sorry it’s nothing more
elaborate. I have steak out for tonight though.”

“No, this is fine.”

Emily sat down on a chair beside him,
“You’re about ready to go home I think.”

“How long have I been
here?” he asked, and looked around the small room.

“Two weeks.”

“Wow, that long?”

“Yes”

“I appreciate you letting me stay here
while I got over that vampire attack.”

Emily smiled, “There’s no such thing
as vampires.”

He looked over at her, “You saw the
bites.”

“I saw something… not sure
they were bites though.”

“Of course they are.”

“Vampires are a myth. They
don’t exist.”

“That’s a dangerous way to think,
living in this city.”

“It’s true.”

“Then what happened to
me?”

“I’m not sure exactly.”

Robert nodded slightly and finished
his sandwich.

“Well, anyway, I can take you home
this afternoon.”

Robert took the other
sandwich and started to eat, “Nowhere to go. I’ll just
walk.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have a home. I
live on the streets.”

She sighed, “What do you do for a
living?”

“I used to be a
bodyguard.”

“Anyone I know?”

“No, just politicians
mainly.”

“Is that why you’ve been shot?” she
asked, trying not to pry too much.

“Yes”

“You used to bodyguard,
what now?”

“Now, I’m a vampire
hunter,” he told her, and set down the empty glass.

“Do you need more?”

“No, I’m fine,” he said,
and slowly turned to sit up at the side of the bed.

“Oh, let me get you
something to wear,” Emily said, and ran up the stairs to Exavior’s
room. She pulled out a set of clothes from the closet and took them
down to Robert.

He held up the clothes and grinned,
“How big is your husband? Damn.”

“Kinda big,” she said.
“Come out when you’re dressed, so we can talk more.”

He nodded and she shut the door behind
her.

“Is he coming out then?” Kralen asked
from the hallway.

“Yes, just keep out of
sight, ok?”

“Will do… vampire hunter
though?”

“Yeah… well…” she said,
and sat down on a couch in the main foyer.

Kralen disappeared just as Robert
opened the door and looked around, “Wow, nice house.”

“Thank you.”

“What does your husband do
again?”

“He’s… military, kind of,”
she said, and grinned slightly when she saw him holding his pants
up. “Do you need a belt?”

“Yes please… He knows I’m
here, right?”

“Of course he does,” Emily
said, and ran up the stairs. She came back down and handed him a
belt.

Robert slipped it on and kept looking
around, “I just don’t want to tangle with him if he’s this
big.”

“Don’t worry about Chev. He’s all bark
and no bite,” Emily said, stifling a laugh.

“Good to know.”

“Would you like something
to drink? We can talk in the library where it’s more
comfortable.”

“Sure, more Coke please.”

Emily went into the
kitchen and came back out a few minutes later. She handed him a
glass and they went into the library and sat down.

“Military, you say?” he asked, looking
over at the towering shelves full of books.

“Sort of.”

“I’ve never seen military with a house
this big is all.”

“More about you, my life
is boring. You said you’re a vampire hunter?”

He sat back on the chair and looked
over at her, “Yes, I’ve made it my life’s work.”

“Why?”

“Private
reasons.”

She frowned slightly, “So you hunt
down the undead even though they attacked you and left you in an
alley.”

“They wouldn’t have left
me,” he said, and took a drink.

“You were alone in that alley when I
found you.”

“I’ve been thinking about that and I
wonder what scared them off.”

“No one was around you.”

“Which reminds me, what were you doing
in an alley in the middle of the night by yourself?”

“I like to drive around at night when
I need to think.”

“It’s not safe. You
shouldn’t be out by yourself.”

She smiled, “I can take care of
myself.”

“This town is riddled with
vampires. You can’t possibly defend yourself against them
though.”

“I told you, there’s no such thing as
vampires.”

“Live here long enough and you’ll
see.”

“So you have nowhere to
go?” she asked, setting down her drink.

“No, vampire hunting
doesn’t pay well… I do ok though. I pick up handyman jobs once in a
while to buy food, and I stay under the Clock Street Bridge to stay
dry.”

“Don’t you have family?”

“Nope”

“I don’t like that you’re staying
under a bridge.”

He smiled, “It’s just my way of life
right now.”

She sighed, “Well, stay here
then.”

“I can’t move in with you.”

“Why not? Chev’s gone for
a while, and I work a lot. You’d be here alone most of the
time.”

He looked over at her and sighed, “You
have no sense of danger do you?”

“Why do you say that? You sound like
my husband.”

“You pick up a beaten and
bloodied stranger, bring him to your home, nurse him back to
health, and then offer to let him stay. Does that not seem
dangerous at all to you?”

“I told you… I can take
care of myself.”

“I’m half tempted to stay here just to
watch over you,” he chuckled.

“I don’t need a
bodyguard.”

“Not right now. You got
lucky, and I don’t plan on hurting you… but you have to admit,
you’re a pretty girl, and small. I’m sure you could land yourself
into trouble without even trying.”

Emily blushed and grabbed
a blanket, “Do you not have any friends you can stay
with?”

“Nope, none at all.”

“Why did you stop
bodyguarding and go into vampire hunting?”

“I lost a charge to a
vampire. I never looked back,” he said, and watched out the
window.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Bloody undead. They keep
eluding me, and it’s pissing me off.”

“Maybe they aren’t worth
pursuing.”

“Oh they are.”

Emily grinned and grabbed
her glass. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and
screamed when she saw a mouse, and then quickly scrambled to her
feet on the couch. Kralen and Silas both burst in, crouched and
ready to attack. Robert stood up to face them and his eyes
narrowed.

“Mouse, Silas, get it!”
Emily screamed, and pointed toward the wall.

Silas walked over to
appear human, and once he bent out of sight of the mortal, he
blurred and caught the mouse easily in his fingers. When he stood
up and walked out of the room, Emily got down off the couch and
smiled slightly at Robert.

“Sorry… um… this is
Kralen. He’s a friend of my husband,” Emily said, and Kralen nodded
at Robert.

“Friend or bodyguard?”
Robert asked, and eyed Silas when he returned.

“What do you mean
bodyguard?” Emily asked, and sat back down.

“I spent enough years as a
bodyguard to spot one from a mile away. Both these guys are here to
protect you, that’s obvious,” Robert said, and stayed standing,
facing Silas and Kralen.

“They are just friends. I
don’t need bodyguards… sit down, please.”

Robert sat down, but kept
a close eye on the heku, “They are bodyguards, damned good ones I’d
gather, and very protective of you.”

Kralen smiled slightly and then he and
Silas left, shutting the door behind him.

“You sticking with the military
story?” he asked her.

“It’s true.”

“Military wives don’t need
bodyguards, and military paychecks don’t buy houses like
this.”

“I said military, sort
of,” she reminded him.

“Oh, that’s right. So what
are they protecting you from?”

“I have no idea. They just
hang around and do nothing all day.”

She heard Kralen chuckle from outside
of the door.

Robert stood up and
stretched, “Again, I appreciate all you’ve done, but I should be
going now that I’ve healed.”

“The offer still stands
for you to stay. It’s cold enough out there that I don’t really
want you sleeping under a bridge.”

“I won’t stay and take advantage of
your hospitality.”