Encala (17 page)

“
Tell me what I want and
I’ll let you go.”

“
They have an ancient,”
Chevalier heard from beside him. He turned to the cell by the
Elder.

“
Shut up,” the Encala Elder
hissed toward the cell.

“
An ancient did this?”
Chevalier asked, stepping toward the cell.

“
Please, let me feed,” he
begged.

“
Open the door,” Chevalier
told the guard.

“
You are a traitor!” the
Elder yelled to his now former faction member.

The guards opened the door and Chevalier
wrapped his hand around the back of the Encala’s neck, leading him
upstairs. They stepped into the Council’s conference room, and he
sat down as Chevalier sat by Damon, the only other one there.

“
He said the Encala have an
ancient,” Chevalier told Damon.

“
A mind controlling
ancient?” Damon asked.

“
Please, let me feed,” the
Encala said.

“
When we are done, you’ll
get your thirst quenched,” Damon told him.

“
Yes, the Ancient can
control minds,” the Encala said, licking his lips.

“
How does he control us?”
Chevalier asked.

“
I don’t think they’ve
asked him.”

“
How do they know he’s not
controlling him then?”

“
It takes a mortal. There
are no mortals in the Encala palace,” he said, proudly.

Chevalier frowned, “How does it take a
mortal?”

“
I don’t know. I just know
that it takes a mortal in the area before the Ancient can control a
heku. So they sent Tim, knowing he’d be thrown in the palace
prison,” he explained. He seemed proud that he knew all of the
information.

“
Why not use
Emily?”

“
We knew she would leave,
and we still needed control.”

“
How is it you know all of
this?” Chevalier asked him.

“
I’m on the Council… or
was… now I’m thinking I’m a free heku,” he said, frowning
slightly.

Damon blurred to the Encala and tore his
head off in one swift movement, “Do you think he was telling the
truth?”

“
One way to find out… we’ll
ask for an exchange, their Elder for the Ancient,” Chevalier said,
stepping over the mess on the floor.

Damon walked out with him, “That also means
that it’s not safe for her to come back until we get that Ancient.
They can use her to get to us.”

“
I’m not sure she will come
back,” Chevalier said, walking toward the foyer.

“
We’ll find her, I’m sure
of it. If you can just talk to her...” he suggested, and then fell
silent.

***

“
You go and check it out.
I’m not sure I can leave the house yet,” Emily said, making
lunch.

“
I can’t leave you and
Allen alone,” Sam said.

“
I’m pretty sure that was
an order. Make sure the house is nice and the stables are in good
order. Also, check their farm logs and make sure they’ve been
putting out good crops,” she said.

“
I can’t believe he left us
enough money for that large of a place.”

“
I know,” she said, staring
out the window.

“
I’ll go in the morning
then,” he told her, and disappeared.

“
Where’s he going?” Allen
asked, as Emily spooned him some stew.

“
To Texas. He’s going to
check on a new house for us.”

“
With Daddy?”

“
No, Baby, not with Daddy.”
She sat down, but couldn’t eat. Her stomach was still turning
circles, and her diet now consisted of 7up and crackers.

Emily curled up with Allen to sleep. She
hated to sleep alone and Allen started sleeping with her. She
watched as he slept and she felt her heart ache. She ran her
fingers through his black hair and lightly kissed his forehead.
Emily woke up a bit when Sam left the house for Texas, and then
fell right back asleep. This baby was making her more tired than
Allen had.

Emily sat up quickly when she heard a truck
approaching. She pulled the covers over Allen and ran to the front
door. She stepped out, still wearing one of Kyle’s old shirts, and
waited for the truck to stop. The windows were tinted too darkly
for her to see who it was. She gasped when Kyle stepped out. He
stood by the truck and looked at her.

“
Hello,” he said, unsure of
how she would react.

“
I would tell you to go
away, but it’s your house,” she said, crossing her arms. It was
cold outside with just the thin shirt.

“
I just want to talk to
you,” he said, stepping up toward her.

“
Are you alone?”

“
Yes”

“
But I suppose they know
where you are.”

“
No, they don’t.” He
stopped a few yards away from her.

“
You didn’t tell
them?”

“
No,” he said, watching her
eyes. “I didn’t want to scare you away. I’ve had a feeling for a
few weeks that you were here.”

“
I’m not going back, and if
you’ll let me stay here for another week, I’ll be out of your
hair,” she told him.

“
Please, let me talk to
you.”

“
Start talking.” She was
afraid of letting him too close to her. She wasn’t sure how strong
the pregnancy scent was yet.

“
At least let’s go inside
where it’s warmer.”

“
I’m fine.”

Kyle sighed, “He’s miserable, Em. Actually,
we all are. The three of us… myself, Maleth, and Chevalier are all
devastated by what we did to you. It was a mind controlling
ancient.”

“
That doesn’t change
anything.”

“
It should, you’re safer
with us.”

“
Oh? You know… since I’ve
been in this house, I’ve not been attacked or bitten. Seems to me
like I’m safer here.”

“
For now, but the Encala
and the Valle are looking for you… and they will find you.” He took
another step towards her.

“
I can take care of them
myself,” she said.

“
Only small groups of them.
They know that, and I’m sure they’ll send hundreds.” He took one
step closer.

“
Stay back,” she said,
taking a step back.

“
I hadn’t planned on going
back without you,” he said.

“
That’s fine, as I said, in
a week you can have the place to yourself.”

“
Just think about it. Let
me spend that week with you,” he asked.

“
No, stay back,” she said
again, and started to panic when he advanced on her and wrapped his
arms around her tightly.

“
We’ve missed you,” he told
her, and then his body froze and he pulled back from her, his eyes
wide.

“
Go away,” she said, and
opened the door.

“
Emily, does he
know?”

She stopped and lowered her head, “No.”

“
He needs to know. This
changes everything,” Kyle said, putting a hand on her
shoulder.

She pulled away from him, “No it doesn’t. It
makes things worse if I go back. I can do this alone, and that’s
what I plan to do.”

Kyle stepped into the house and winced
slightly. He turned toward the door and smelled the fresh air. He
hated the feeling her pregnant scent gave him, the primal urge to
drink, “I’ll stay with you this week.”

“
See, the heku have a hard
time doing as I wish,” she said, shutting the door behind
them.

“
Give me one week. Just one
week.”

“
You’ll leave if I tell you
to?”

“
Yes, even though it’s my
house.”

“
Kyle!” Allen yelled,
running for him. Kyle scooped Allen up in his arms and hugged
him.

Emily fought it for as long as she could,
but finally ran for the bathroom.

“
Mommy’s sick,” Allen told
Kyle.

“
Yeah I see.” Kyle put
Allen down and poured a glass of 7up. He went to the bathroom door
and knocked.

“
Go away,” she said to
him.

“
I have some 7up for
you.”

She thought for a moment, “Ok.”

Kyle opened the door and handed the glass
over to her. She was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the
wall.

“
Do you need anything
else?”

She shut the door with her foot and heard a
phone ring.

Kyle answered, “Yes?”

“
I’m in Colorado.” Emily
cringed and listened.

“
No sign yet. I checked at
your house up by Buford, but no one’s been there.”

“
I guess maybe Nevada after
I check out one more thing here.”

“
Yes, I will, as soon as I
find anything.” He hung up the phone.

“
You lied to him,” Emily
said from the doorway.

“
Right now, my main concern
is you,” he told her, sliding the phone back into his
pocket.

“
I’m ok, Kyle. I’ve made up
my mind. Moving Allen and I back into the human world is what’s
right for us,” she said, sitting down with a box of
crackers.

“
He’ll go into stasis, you
know that.”

“
I figured as much, but I
have to look after Allen and… all of us,” she said, biting a
cracker.

“
What will you do if the
Encala or Valle find you?”

“
Fight back. I’ll do the
best I can to take them out,” she said, starting to feel sick
again.

“
It’s not a matter of if.
It’s a matter of when.”

“
I know… but I have to take
my chances.”

“
Was it that
bad?”

“
Yes, being watched and
babysat was humiliating, and I refuse to raise my son confined and
trapped. Boys need to run, and play, and climb trees. They need to
skin their knees and break bones,” she said to him.

“
We know that, and we’ve
discussed how things can be different if you’ll come
back.”

“
I can’t come back. I’ve
been attacked more since I moved in with the heku than before,” she
reminded him.

He nodded, “We realize that. We also realize
that the more we pushed you under our protective thumb, the more
you put yourself in harm’s way to get away.”

“
I’m going to take a nap.
Will you watch Allen?” she asked, standing up and wobbling
slightly.

“
Emily, you don’t look
well,” he said, steadying her with his hand.

“
I’m fine,” she told him,
disappearing through the foyer and upstairs to the
bedroom.

“
She’s stubborn,” Kyle
said, and smiled at Allen.

“
Where’s Daddy?”

“
He’s at the
palace.”

“
Call him!” Allen asked,
handing Kyle Emily’s cell phone.

“
Let’s not, he’s busy at
work.”

Allen frowned and crawled down from the
table to play with a toy fire truck. Kyle watched him and listened
to Emily cry in her room. After twenty minutes, she finally fell
asleep. Kyle put Allen down for a nap and then went into his
office. He glanced a few times at his phone, and then let his mind
fall into a trance. The sound of footsteps brought him out, but he
hadn’t made any decisions yet.

He walked toward the living room and saw
Emily lying on the couch. He sat down next to her and looked at her
pale face.

“
Emily, honestly, let’s
take you to a doctor.”

“
No, I can’t leave the
house,” she said, watching the TV.

“
You don’t look
well.”

“
Funny, I don’t feel all
that hot either, but I’m not leaving.” She flipped through
channels.

Kyle moved over and sat in his recliner and
watched the TV as she flipped through the channels repeatedly. He
looked over when Emily’s phone rang, then stood up and handed it to
her.

“
Thanks,” she said, and
flipped it open. “What?”

“
I’m so sorry I don’t sound
well.” She rolled her eyes and Kyle smiled.

“
No, actually I
don’t.”

“
No, I haven’t gone to a
doctor, but wow, I’m hearing an echo in here.”

Kyle chuckled and turned back to the TV.

“
Why did you
call?”

“
I’m perfectly aware that
the Valle and Encala are looking for me.”

“
Won’t matter, I’m moving
soon,” she said, and hung up the phone.

“
How’s Chevalier?” Kyle
asked, smiling.

“
Irritated, as usual,” she
answered, and he saw her eyes fill up with tears, so he looked
away.

They were both quiet for a few minutes while
they watched the news.

“
I’m going to take a nap,”
she said, standing up slowly and grabbing her 7up.

“
You just woke up 30
minutes ago.”

“
Yeah and I’m still tired,”
she snapped, and went back to bed.

Kyle watched Allen, then fed him dinner, and
put him to bed in a spare room. He snuck into Emily’s room and
watched her all night as she slept. He still didn’t like her color,
or the way she slept without moving. He’d seen her sleep enough to
know she was naturally a restless sleeper, usually plagued by
nightmares.