Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (73 page)

Emily cupped the coffee in her hands and
sipped it slowly.

“
Mark wants to come in,”
Chevalier told her, and looked at the door.

Emily scrambled out of bed and stumbled into
the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

“
Come in,” Chevalier called
out, adjusting the blankets at his waist.

“
Sorry to interrupt, Damon
is asking to speak to you,” Mark said, standing by the
door.

“
Tell him I’m
busy.”

Mark grinned slightly, “I think he already
knows. We couldn’t help but hear.”

“
Just don’t tell her that,”
Chevalier told him, and glanced at the bathroom door. “I’ll be down
in a twenty minutes.”

Mark nodded and left the room, shutting the
door behind him.

Emily came out a few minutes later, fully
dressed and looking at the scratches on her arms, “Gravel
burns.”

“
How bad?” Chevalier asked,
taking her hands in his and looking at her forearms.

“
Not too bad,” Emily said,
and noticed he was back in official uniform. “Let me guess… going
to play with Damon?”

Chevalier grinned, “Of course.”

“
Can I go to the island?”
Emily asked him.

“
He can’t get out of
prison,” Chevalier told her softly.

Emily sighed, “I’m not worried about Damon…
I just… want to go.”

Chevalier grinned, “Because of last
night?”

Emily shrugged and walked over to look out
the window.

“
We have children. I’m
pretty sure they already knew,” he said, and wrapped his arms
around her.

“
Yes, well… I didn’t have
to show them.”

Chevalier fought to keep from grinning by
kissing the top of her head, “I need you here where the Council can
watch over you.”

“
I better stay sober then,
no reason giving them all a show,” she said, cringing.

“
Good idea. I’ll be back in
a bit. Li is your council member today, and he’s out in the hallway
with the guards.”

“
What does he do,
anyway?”

“
He’s the Chief of
Defense.”

“
Joy,” Emily sighed and sat
in the bay window as Chevalier laughed. He stepped out into the
hallway and the guards looked over at him.

“
She won’t be a problem
today. She’s too embarrassed to step out of her room,” Chevalier
told them, grinning slightly.

“
Hmm, interesting,” Li
said, and glanced down the hallway.

Chevalier walked down the stairs and into
the council chambers. He took his seat beside Quinn and leaned back
in his chair, “What’s been decided?”

“
We want to start with
Selest in the interrogation chamber,” Zohn said. “Richard’s already
down there with her.”

“
I would imagine that
Exavior realizes she’s the weak link,” Chevalier said. “I’d get two
out of three agreeing on his location before we send in the
forces.”

“
True,” Quinn said. “I’m
assuming you would like a go at Damon?”

“
Oh yes, I do,” Chevalier
said, grinning maliciously.

“
We got reports from Lord
Taylor,” Zohn said. “He sent word that everything is now running
smoothly. His new officers have taken care of any loose cannons,
and they have pledged their support as a coven.”

Quinn nodded, “Good to hear. It’s too bad
she won’t help again with that.”

Chevalier chuckled, “How much did she drink
last night?”

“
Quite a bit,” Zohn told
him. “I wouldn’t expect someone her size to be able to survive
after that much alcohol.”

“
She is Irish, is she not?”
Dustin asked.

“
That she is,” Chevalier
said. “I’ve only seen her drunk a few times though.”

The Council all turned suddenly when
whispers blew across the palace, “He’s on her phone.”

The Elders blurred into the bedroom and saw
Emily on her knees in front of the window. The phone was against
her ear and she was pale, “Please…”

Emily looked up at Chevalier with terror in
her eyes, and she whispered, “I understand.”

As Exavior spoke, the keen hearing of the
heku picked up his words and the sound of screaming coming from
behind him, “Do that and he will live.”

“
Please, Exavior, don’t do
this,” Emily said pleadingly.

“
I’ll take nothing less
than your compliance. Bring Damon and Samuel with you, and I’ll let
your boyfriend out of excruciating pain,” he told her
angrily.

“
I can’t get away,” Emily
told him, and Chevalier growled.

“
You, of all people, can
find a way to get free,” Exavior said. “Meet me where I told
you.”

Emily dropped the phone when the line
disconnected, but stayed on her knees and watched the phone.

“
No,” Chevalier
hissed.

“
Did you hear Kyle?” Emily
asked softly. She was finding it hard to speak.

“
Yes, but I promise you, if
Kyle could talk, he would tell you to stay here,” Chevalier told
her.

“
Where’s the rendezvous
point?” Zohn asked.

Emily shook her head, “I can’t tell
you.”

“
Tell us,” Chevalier said
softly, and gently pulled her to her feet.

“
No”

“
Damnit, Em! You are not
going after him, and especially not with Samuel and Damon,”
Chevalier hissed.

Emily looked into his eyes, “I can turn them
all to ash, just let me go.”

“
He would have thought of
that,” Quinn said. “Exavior is smarter than to let you waltz into
the middle of his new faction unprotected.”

Emily sighed and shut her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them, the Elders all glanced around, confused.

“
How did we get in here?”
Quinn asked, frowning.

Chevalier turned to Emily, “What did you
wipe?”

“
Nothing important. I just
need to step into the prison for a sec,” Emily said calmly, and
walked toward the door.

“
Who’s in the prison you
need to see?” Zohn asked her suspiciously.

“
David,” Emily said. “I
just need to ask him a question.”

Zohn watched her, “She’s not lying.”

“
Yes, she is,” Mark said
from the door. “I’m not letting you go.”

Emily glared at him, “Move, Mark.”

“
If they had their memory,
they wouldn’t let you go talk to Damon, Selest, or Samuel,” Mark
told her, blocking the door.

“
Wait… they are in our
prison?” Chevalier growled angrily.

“
Yes, you know that. It’ll
come back,” Mark told him, and blocked Emily as she tried to duck
under his arm.

“
What are you up to?”
Chevalier asked, looking at Emily, “And why do you have bruises on
our neck again?”

“
Don’t do this, Mark,”
Emily said angrily. “Let me by.”

“
When the Elders regain
their memory and agree to let you speak to them, then I’ll let you
go,” Mark said, standing his ground.

Richard, the Chief Interrogator, appeared
behind Mark. His shirt covered in blood, “I’m done with Selest… I
accidentally killed her though.”

Mark let him through, making sure Emily
stayed in the bedroom.

Chevalier frowned, “Damnit, what are you
talking about?”

Richard glanced at Mark and then nodded and
turned back to Chevalier, “I’ll give my report as soon as your
memory comes back.”

“
Fine,” Emily said,
crossing her arms.

Mark glanced around the room, “Am… I? Did
you call me?”

Quinn looked at him, “How did I get in
here?”

“
Emily, what did you wipe?”
Chevalier asked, looking around.

“
Nothing important,” she
said, and walked out of the bedroom. The confused guards fell in
behind her, and she quickly went down into the prison.

“
Damnit, how far back did
she take us?” Chevalier growled.

“
I was… in my office,” Zohn
said, trying to remember what happened.

Kralen came into the room, looking angry,
“Did you give permission for Emily to talk to Damon?”

Chevalier turned to the guard, “Damon!?”

Kralen growled, and whispered something to
Silas before turning back to the Elders, “She wiped your memory,
didn’t she?”

“
How is Damon back?” Mark
asked, confused.

Kralen sighed, “Exavior brought Damon,
Selest, and Samuel back from banishment. They attacked Zohn and
Emily on the roof last night. There was some type of phone call
from Exavior and, as far as I can tell, Emily is trying to escape
with Samuel and Damon.”

“
Stop her,” Chevalier
growled, and then looked up when Silas came in with Emily thrown
over his shoulder, unmoving.

“
Is she injured?” Mark
asked, watching Silas lay her down on the bed.

“
No, I knocked her ass out
with a sedative as she was letting Damon out of his cell,” Silas
told them, and held up the empty syringe.

“
She let Damon out?”
Chevalier asked.

“
It’s ok, we got him back
in his cell,” Silas said.

“
Why would Emily ever let
Damon free?” Zohn asked, confused.

Silas sat down, “No use trying to explain
all of this. Your memory will be back soon.

The heku all sat silently in the bedroom,
waiting for Mark and the Elders to remember the happenings of the
last 24 hours. After almost two hours, their memories came flooding
back to them.

“
Ok, Richard, what did you
get out of Selest?” Chevalier asked, looking over at their Chief
Interrogator.

“
She said that she’s not
seen Exavior, but knows he’s the one that brought her out of
banishment,” Richard explained. “Their orders were to bring Emily
to an address in Philadelphia; however, when I asked Damon and
Samuel about those orders, they lied and said the orders were
true.”

Zohn frowned, “So Selest was told something
different?”

Richard nodded, “I suspect she was expected
to be caught and tortured, and they knew she would give up the
information.”

“
So she was fed a lie,”
Chevalier said, sighing. “We need to get the information out of
Damon and Samuel.”

“
They’re next on my list,
starting with Damon,” Richard said.

“
I want in on that one,”
Chevalier told him, and stood up. “How long will she be
sedated?”

Silas shrugged, “Another few hours.”

“
Damnit, she’s not leaving
me a choice,” Chevalier said, and pulled the leather restraints
from a hidden compartment in the closet. He and Mark restrained her
to the bed and then stood back.

“
There’s something else,”
Richard said, frowning. “Selest kept saying something about Emily’s
age.”

Chevalier shrugged, “What about her
age?”

“
She wouldn’t tell me until
I let her go.”

“
Damon said something to
Emily about that last night,” Zohn told them. “He said…
‘Interesting about your age, too. I didn’t see
that coming.’
”

“
I have no idea,” Chevalier
said, and turned to watch Emily sleep.

“
Write yourselves a note,”
Mark said. “Keep it in your hand. If she wipes your memory, you’ll
have to know why she’s there and not to let her out.”

Silas nodded and began writing.

“
Let’s go,” Chevalier said,
and headed down to the prison with Richard and Mark. They rounded
the corner to Damon’s cell, and he looked up at the
Equites.

“
Your little whore came
close to letting me out. I see you’re all slipping further,” Damon
said, grinning.

“
Yup, we are,” Chevalier
said, and opened the door. “Come have a chat.”

Damon smiled, “I’m not afraid of your little
interrogation room. I put most of that stuff in there.”

“
Good, then we won’t have
to listen to you whine,” Mark said, grinning.

“
I’m surprised you didn’t
bring the faction Bitch along,” Damon said, stepping into the
interrogation room. “Or were you afraid she’d get herself stuck in
the foot restraints… again?”

Richard glanced at Chevalier and he grinned,
“Maybe.”

“
Foot restraints sounds
like a good place to start,” Mark said, and forced Damon into them
with Richard’s help.

Mark sat on the rack and looked down at
Damon, “Why don’t you just save yourself the pain and tell us where
we can find Exavior.”

Damon grinned, “Like I would betray him. He
saved me from the hell you created.”

Chevalier lit the fire, and the entire room
came to life, “The hell we created?”

“
Yes, putting your loyalty
into a mortal instead of your own council member. I consider that a
hell,” Damon said, relaxing on the ground.

Chevalier looked over when Allen came in the
door, “May I watch?”

“
Yes, just don’t tell your
Mom,” Chevalier said, proud that his 11-year-old son was
there.

“
Oh, look, little mortal
spawn,” Damon said to Allen. “How awful it must be to crave blood
yet not be able to feed by yourself… pathetic if you ask
me.”

Allen smiled broadly, “I haven’t had a
problem feeding myself.”