Encala (21 page)

Walking back out into the living room, he
saw Kyle arriving, “Did you see there’s a pool? Should I take Allen
swimming? I bet I can wear him out.”

“
No, I’ll take him.” Sam
said, taking Allen’s hand and heading back into the
elevator.

“
Have you considered how
the palace heku are going to handle her scent?” Kyle
asked.

“
I hadn’t thought of that.
I’ll alert the other Elders.” Chevalier pulled out his
phone.

“
Telling them isn’t going
to help.”

“
What do you suggest
then?”

“
What was it the Valle did?
Menthol and hospital masks?” Kyle asked, and shrugged.

“
Maybe we should, at least
until they get used to her,” Chevalier said, then disappeared into
the spare room to talk to the Elders in private.

Kyle stepped into Emily’s doorway and
watched her sleep. He picked up a menu from the table and called
room service, ordering one of everything from the menu.

Chevalier stepped out of the spare room,
“Backup is coming, just in case.”

Kyle nodded and turned away from Emily,
“Should she still be asleep?”

“
I don’t know,” Chevalier
sighed.

“
I ordered some food. I
thought maybe we could wake her up long enough to eat.”

“
Good idea.”

The heku sat in silence and watched Emily
sleep until they heard the bell, alerting them someone was waiting
in the elevator for them. Chevalier stood in front of Emily’s door
while Kyle opened the elevator and stepped aside. Four trolley’s
full of domed trays were wheeled in, and Chevalier chuckled as Kyle
tipped the delivery boys exceptionally well.

“
What did you order?”
Chevalier asked, grinning.

“
All of it… I have no idea
what she wants,” he said, and walked into Emily’s room. He sat on
the edge of her bed and touched her shoulder, “Em?”

“
Emily,” he said a little
louder, and touched her face. When she didn’t respond, he looked at
Chevalier.

Chevalier frowned and sat down by her other
side, “Emily.”

He reached an arm under her and pulled her
up to sitting. Her head rolled back against his arm, so he laid her
back down gently, “That didn’t work.”

“
She has to eat,” Kyle
said, worried.

“
Well, we can’t force it
down her.”

The room phone rang and Kyle answered it,
“Yes?”

“
Yes they are with us. They
may land,” he said, and hung up.

Chevalier looked at him.

Kyle moved to look out the window, “A
helicopter was asking to land… it’s our backup.”

Chevalier nodded and tried again, in vain,
to wake Emily up.

“
Go meet them. They can’t
just walk in here while she’s sleeping… it’s stronger when she’s
asleep,” Chevalier said to Kyle, and he bowed and blurred
out.

Chevalier shut the bedroom door and sat down
beside Emily. He curled up next to her and pulled her against him,
“Emily, I love you,” he whispered, and kissed her forehead.

He heard Kyle come in with the heku and he
walked out of the room to greet them. He froze and looked around at
them, his eyes narrowed. Maleth had come and was at an open window.
Mark was bent over with his hands against his knees. Four other
cavalry members were scattered around the room in various positions
trying to smell anything but the scent in the room.

“
I know it’s hard,”
Chevalier said to them.

Mark nodded and breathed shallowly, “It’s…
my God.”

Chevalier clapped him on the back, “It gets
easier.”

“
I had forgotten…” Maleth
said softly from the window, “How compelling she is.”

“
It’s stronger when she’s
asleep, and Chevalier is right, it gets easier,” Kyle said,
checking on Emily.

“
Why don’t we take Emily
back now and they can follow us in the Humvee?” Chevalier
suggested.

“
It’s going to take tonight
to get the palace ready for… for her,” Maleth said, turning
finally, though his voice was strained.

“
Masks and menthol as we
discussed?”

“
Yes, it sounded like as
good a plan as any.”

“
And the Ancient?”
Chevalier asked, and turned to watch Maleth.

“
No answer yet on the
exchange.”

“
We can’t take her back to
the palace then,” Kyle said, frowning.

“
We have nowhere else to
go,” Maleth told him.

“
What if we attack her?”
Chevalier asked.

“
From what we can tell,
only one of us at a time can… well… be controlled. We’ll just never
be alone with her,” Maleth explained.

Chevalier nodded, “She’s going to make some
changes though… she doesn’t know she’s going back to the
palace.”

Mark frowned, “Where does she think she’s
going?”

When Chevalier disappeared into Emily’s
room, Kyle answered, “She hasn’t been awake since the Encala
attack.”

“
Is that normal?” Maleth
asked, concerned.

“
We don’t know,” Kyle
glanced toward the door. “She killed dozens of them in a matter of
minutes.”

“
Kralen!” Allen yelled,
before running from the elevator. He was scooped up by the heku.
Allen wrapped his arms around his former guard.

“
I can’t wake her up,”
Chevalier said, leaning against the door jam.

Kyle sighed, “Maybe it’s time we take her to
the hospital.”

“
What do we tell them? She
killed vampires with her mind and now she’s unconscious?” Sam
asked.

Maleth walked past Chevalier into Emily’s
room, and watched her for a moment before sitting down beside her,
“Child?”

He touched her forehead lightly and ran his
hand along the side of her face, “Emily?”

“
Mommy!” Allen said,
climbing up on the bed. “Mommy wake up,” he said, and landed right
on her stomach.

Maleth pulled him off gently, “No,
Baby.”

It didn’t pass his notice that even Allen
hadn’t made her stir.

Kralen took Allen’s hand and led him out of
the bedroom. Maleth joined them in the living area and sighed, “I
don’t know what we can do, other than get her back to the palace
and have the doctor look at her there.”

Chevalier nodded, “First thing in the
morning, we’ll take the helicopter back.”

The night was long. Emily continued to sleep
and Allen took a long time to go to sleep. The heku patrolled the
windows, watching everything that was happening down on the ground
around the hotel. No one spoke as they used all senses to keep an
eye out for attacks.

Just as the sun was rising, Chevalier
carried Emily to the helicopter on the roof of the hotel. Kyle,
Maleth, Sam, Mark, and Allen went with them, while the other guards
drove the Humvee.

“
Why can’t I read her
anymore?” Chevalier asked Sam finally.

“
I’ve been thinking about
that. I think… you broke part of the bond,” Sam said, hoping not to
infuriate the Elder.

“
Explain that,” Chevalier
hissed.

“
The three methods of
breaking a marriage bond… infidelity, betrayal, and
death.”

“
Yes, so?”

“
Don’t you see how beating
her was a betrayal?” Sam asked.

Chevalier growled, “That wasn’t me.”

“
Yes, well, she doesn’t
fully believe that, does she?”

“
She still thinks I hit
her?” Maleth asked, horrified.

Sam nodded, not looking over at him.

Mark’s face was expressionless as he watched
out the window. He couldn’t get the images out of his mind. Images
of Chevalier slamming her repeatedly into the bedroom wall, and
then Maleth backhanding her across the room. He exhaled slowly.

“
We didn’t do it,” Maleth
said to him, angrily.

Mark turned to them, “I stood there and let
it happen.”

Chevalier looked at him, “You had to. We are
your superiors.”

“
Yes, but she was my
charge,” Mark said, looking back out the window. His self-loathing
was strong.

“
We all just need to get
over what happened,” Maleth said, softly.

“
I can’t get it out of my
head. It constantly replays in slow motion,” Mark whispered. “I
kept waiting for her to turn you to ash, but she didn’t. She was in
much pain, and was so afraid. Her screams echo through my
head.”

“
Coming up on Council
City,” the pilot said, pulling the helicopter around the palace and
landing gently on the helipad. Guards ran out from the doors and
made a path into the palace for them.

Mark and Maleth were out of the helicopter
first, and checked to make sure the guards had masks. When each was
checked, Chevalier brought Emily out and carried her close to him.
Mark walked closely in front of them, and listened for even the
slightest hint of danger. Sam and Allen brought up the rear, and
Allen was pointing excitedly at the familiar surroundings.

“
The doctor is waiting in
their bedroom,” a guard said, and handed a clipboard to Kyle, who
signed something and handed it back to him.

Chevalier carried Emily into their room and
laid her down on the bed. The doctor was there wearing the required
mask and menthol.

“
What’s the problem?” he
asked, pulling a stethoscope from his bag.

“
She killed a few dozen
Encala and hasn’t woken up since,” Chevalier whispered.

“
How long ago was
that?”

Chevalier looked at Kyle, “About 32
hours.”

The doctor frowned and listened to her
heart, and then looked up, “I’m sorry, Elder Chevalier, Elder
Maleth, and Kyle, you will need to leave.”

Chevalier growled, “Why?”

“
Does she fully trust you
three now?” the doctor asked.

Kyle sighed and followed Mark, Maleth, and
Chevalier out of the room. Four of the Cavalry moved into the room,
as she was no longer to be alone with a heku.

The Cavalry members watched the doctor
suspiciously as he listened to Emily’s heart and lungs, then shined
a bright light into her eyes and ears. He pulled out an I.V. bag
and swiftly put in the needle.

“
Why are you doing that?”
one of them asked, angrily.

“
She needs fluid, she’s
dehydrated,” the doctor said, adjusting the rate of
fluid.

He turned to look at Emily when she mumbled
something.

“
Emily?” he asked, leaning
over her. The menthol masked her smell nicely, and he was
comfortable being closer to her.

Emily’s eyes flew open and she sat up
quickly, looking at the masked figures. She screamed and quickly
turned the five heku in the room to ash. Before she could swing her
legs out of bed, Chevalier, Kyle, Mark, and Maleth appeared in her
room, ready to fight. She turned on them and stopped when she saw
who it was.

“
Emily,” Chevalier said,
standing up out of a crouch and moving to her, “It’s
us.”

She pointed at the ash piles on the floor,
“The Valle.”

Chevalier looked at them and cringed, “Well…
no… damnit. We should have thought of that.”

Kyle shrugged, “I didn’t think of it
either.”

“
Think of what?” Emily
asked, wiping a trail of blood from her nose.

“
Those are Equites. The
masks were to help with your… well… scent,” Chevalier
explained.

She looked horrified, “I ashed friends?”

“
It’s ok!” Maleth said,
trying to smile. “Damon!”

“
Yes, Elder?” he asked,
looking around, his mask securely in place.

“
Revive those,” he told
him, pointing to the ash on the floor.

Damon frowned, “Was she attacked?”

“
I killed them,” Emily
whispered, and struggled to get out of bed, but Chevalier held her
down.

“
He can get them back, Em,”
Kyle said, and nodded to Damon.

Emily reached down and pulled the I.V. out
of her arm.

“
Damnit, Em,” Chevalier
said, grabbing her hands. “How is it you keep doing
that?”

Chevalier glanced quickly at Damon, and
pulled Emily’s face toward him, “Look at me.”

She tried to turn her head when she heard
screams from behind her, but he held her, “What’s going on?”

“
Damon is bringing them
back, it’s ok.”

“
I’m back, aren’t
I?”

He nodded, “We had to. I’ll explain it
later.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, “You promised
to let me go.”

He nodded, “I know… and you can as soon as
you believe me.”

Chevalier heard a hiss from behind Emily,
and he glared.

“
Get them out of here,” he
ordered, when he realized that the newly revived heku were without
masks. The doctor crouched to attack just as Mark tackled him and
pulled him out of the room. Kyle and Maleth were able to struggle
the others out also and shut the door behind them.

“
I can’t stay here,” she
whispered, looking into his eyes.

“
Emily, tell me one thing…
do you love me?” he asked. “I need you to be honest with
me.”

A tear fell down her cheek, “I don’t want
to.”

“
Do you?”

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him,
pressing her lips to his. His hands wrapped around her and pulled
her closer. Emily moved away from him, crying.