Encala (56 page)

Leonid chose to spend his rest in the
Council City underground. He was talking happily to the gathered
heku when Chevalier arrived at his side. Maleth soon joined them.
The coffin was set out for everyone to see, its golden inlaid runes
shone brightly in the morning sun. The inside was dark green velvet
and looked warm and comfortable. It was sitting on a platform above
a hole in the ground.

Chevalier stepped forward and called the
others into their places. Over eight hundred heku in dark blue
robes lined up in rows to say good-bye to their Elder. Leonid was
smiling brightly as he caught up with old friends and said good-bye
to them. Once the Equites settled down, they all turned to face the
coffin.

Leonid stepped toward the coffin as Maleth
and Chevalier stood beside it. He crawled into the gold inlaid
coffin and laid back, crossing his arms over his chest. He shut his
eyes as Maleth and Chevalier placed their hands above his head and
recited ancient incantations, sending his mind into rest and his
body into stasis.

The two remaining Equites Elders then picked
up the coffin’s lid and covered Leonid. They performed the
incantation to seal the tomb for 500 years, the time Leonid
chose.

Kyle turned from his place when a commotion
sounded behind him. He quickly headed toward the source of the
sound. Emily was pushing frantically through the robed figures, her
face filled with horror. She was fighting to get to Leonid as Kyle
took her arm and she spun to face him.

“
Stop him, Kyle,” she
yelled.

Kyle picked her up, gently, and she wrestled
to get out of his grasp. He carried her back into the palace as she
struggled. He knew that Leonid was already at rest, nothing she
could do would bring him out. The ancient invocation sealed his
fate for 500 years.

Kyle carried her to her room and by the time
he arrived, she was crying angrily against his shoulder.

“
Let me stop him,” she
begged.

“
It’s too late, Em, he’s
gone,” Kyle said, holding her as her body shook.

“
No,” Emily yelled, and
pounded her fists into his chest, but he didn’t let go.

Kyle held her tightly as her anger turned to
pain and anguish. Emily felt that she couldn’t take the pain of
losing someone else. Her heart ached and shriveled in her chest,
and she could hear the light chatting from down by the burial
site.

Emily felt panic that it was going to be too
late, they would bury him and he would be gone. She wasn’t used to
being so out of control, unable to help those who needed it. Her
mind began to whirl with a mixture of emotions and she found it
hard to breathe. She pushed against Kyle, but he wouldn’t let go of
her. The air in the room was thin and her lungs couldn’t pull in
enough to sustain her. She felt darkness creeping in on her.

Kyle picked Emily up when she collapsed. He
laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her. He watched
her until the festivities were over and the crowd began to
disperse.

“
What happened?” Chevalier
asked, stepping into the room.

“
She tried to save him,”
Kyle said, upset by the pain it had put her though.

“
How bad was it?” Chevalier
asked, as he slipped off his blue robe and sat down on the bed
beside her.

“
She fought me until she
passed out,” Kyle said. Chevalier could hear the tense way he spoke
and could only glimpse what happened.

“
From her dreams, she’s
afraid I’m going to do it, too,” Chevalier told him.

Kyle nodded, “I can see that.”

“
Let me see the list
again,” Chevalier said, taking the papers from Maleth. He went over
the names slowly.

Maleth glanced over at Emily, asleep in her
bed.

“
Tell me again, is she
sick?” Maleth asked Chevalier.

He glanced at Emily and back to Maleth, “No.
She hasn’t gotten out of bed since Leonid was put to rest.”

“
Is that healthy?” Maleth
frowned.

Chevalier shrugged, “I honestly don’t know.
Sam said she did the same thing when her Father died.”

“
But Leonid isn’t
dead.”

“
We know that, but to her,
he is.”

“
Poor child, should I talk
to her?” Maleth asked, looking back across the table.

“
No, Sam suggested we just
let her be. I appreciate you coming in here for this though, I
hesitate to leave,” Chevalier said, turning back to his
files.

“
What do you think?” Maleth
asked as Chevalier frowned.

“
I really don’t think Damon
is ready. I wish I knew Torman more, I’ve only met him a few times
and moving one from a coven into Eldership without a spot on the
Council makes me nervous,” he said, his eyes still on the
list.

“
What about Quinn then?
He’s been our Chief Interrogator for close to four hundred
years.”

“
Right now, he’s the one
that’s standing out in my mind,” Chevalier said.

Maleth nodded, “I agree, shall we make the
announcement? We should swear him in as soon as possible, tomorrow
night even.”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, let’s announce it
today. It’s been three days, and that’s too long.”

Maleth nodded and glanced at Emily once more
before leaving.

Chevalier sat on the bed by Emily and
brushed her hair away from her face. She opened her eyes slowly and
looked up at him.

“
Hi,” he said,
smiling.

She shut her eyes and pulled the covers up
over her shoulder.

“
Em, we’ve picked a new
Elder,” he said.

She opened her eyes and looked out the
window.

“
That was fast,” she
whispered.

“
We can’t go without full
leadership for too long,” he explained.

“
So easily replaced.” She
turned away from him and shut her eyes again.

“
Today is the last day,” he
said, watching her.

“
I know,” she whispered,
not opening her eyes.

“
Have you decided against
it then?” Chevalier hated to even consider it.

“
I’m just
tired.”

“
I know you are, but I also
need to know you’re awake enough to make a decision.”

She opened her eyes and sat up in the bed.
She held her hand out to him, “Put it on.”

“
Are you sure?” he asked,
digging in his pocket for the essence ring.

She nodded and watched as he slipped it back
on her finger. Emily felt the familiar pull as the ring sealed
itself to her finger. She laid back down and pulled the covers up,
it seemed cold in her room.

“
We need a fire,” she said,
shutting her eyes.

She felt Chevalier’s hand against the back
of her neck, “It’s hot in here and over ninety degrees
outside.”

“
It’s so cold.” She
burrowed deeper into the covers.

“
Ok, I’ll get a fire,” he
said, and watched a servant blur into the room and start the
fire.

“
Who is it?” she whispered.
Chevalier looked down at her and she was watching him.

“
Who is what?”

“
The new Elder.”

“
Quinn”

Emily frowned, “The quiet guy on the
end?”

Chevalier couldn’t help but grin, “Quiet?
He’s one of the meanest Chief Interrogator I’ve ever seen. I swear
he could get information out of a turnip.”

“
He’s never said anything
to me.”

“
He’s good at his job. I
think he refrains from speaking for fear he may come across as
harsh and abrasive,” Chevalier said. He suddenly realized what a
good choice they made in choosing Quinn.

Emily looked back out the window, “I don’t
like him.”

Chevalier smiled slightly, “You’re supposed
to be at the swearing in.”

“
Why?”

“
You’re… in a roundabout
way, part of the Council.”

Emily shut her eyes again, “I put on the
ring, now stop hovering and go to work.”

Chevalier nodded, “Think about it, ok?”

She nodded and rolled over.

Chevalier went down to his desk. He knew he
would have a lot of work as he hadn’t been in since Leonid’s
burial. He could hear preparations being made for the swearing in
of the new Elder. Chevalier left orders for Mark to wait outside of
Emily’s room and alert him if she got out of bed. He lost track of
time, engrossed in his work, when he heard a knock on his door.

“
Enter”

Kyle stepped in and frowned, “You aren’t
ready?”

Chevalier glanced up, “Is she going?”

Kyle shook his head, “She’s not out of
bed.”

“
Ok, I’ll be right there,”
Chevalier said, and pulled on his green robe, then followed Kyle
out of the room and into the great hall.

He stepped into the great hall from the back
entrance and took his seat by Maleth. It didn’t slip his notice
that the gathered heku all looked around when he entered, trying to
find Emily. He knew that even those heku that didn’t think a mortal
should live in the palace, were still fascinated by her heritage.
Rumors also spread of the carnage she left in the Encala palace and
it instantly made her a legend.

“
Where is she?” Maleth
asked, smiling and nodding to someone in the audience.

“
She’s not coming.”
Chevalier sat back in the large throne-like chair.

Maleth nodded, “Just in case, I’ve had fans
installed to blow air toward the Council.”

Chevalier frowned, “Damn, I should have
thought of that.”

The Council all gathered and the audience
fell quiet. Maleth stood and addressed the Equites. As customary,
he gave a brief detail of the roles and responsibilities of an
Elder. Chevalier heard gasps from the crowd and he turned when he
heard footsteps. Emily had come in the back door. She was wearing
the dark blue, backless gown from her first meeting with the
Equites Elders and her hair was tied up. He was always amazed at
her beauty, and the few times she actually dressed up, it made his
heart skip a beat to even look at her.

Chevalier could see Emily begin to blush, so
he turned back to the crowd. He could feel her move to his side and
place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He fought to cage his jealousy
as he noticed the number of heku that were watching her and
suddenly, the exposed skin on her waist and back seemed too
revealing.

The entire room fell silent when the double
doors opened and Quinn stepped in. Maleth and Chevalier stood and
moved to the center of the stage as the new Elder walked down the
center aisle toward them. Chevalier turned and put his hand out for
Emily. He forgot she wasn’t aware of the proper proceedings of the
swearing in, but she was also required to greet the new Elder.

She looked at him with a brief glance of
panic, and then stepped forward to his side, taking his hand. Emily
kept her eyes on Quinn, to keep from running out of the room
screaming. He was a younger looking heku with brown curly hair and
a strong muscular frame with broad shoulders. He was only a few
inches shorter than Chevalier, but towered over Maleth.

Emily watched as Maleth and Chevalier spoke
to Quinn in what she could only assume was Latin. The words flowed
like a cadence broken only occasionally when Quinn would say
something back to them. At long last, Chevalier and Maleth moved
back to their chairs and Emily stood by Chevalier’s side again.
Maleth ended the proceedings and turned back to the Council
gathered.

“
Shall we go to the
reception?” he asked, smiling.

The Council all stood and Damon nodded
toward Emily, “She going?”

Emily glared at him.

Maleth frowned, “She is part of this
Council, like it or not.”

“
Yeah, well, I don’t know
if I can defend her against eight hundred hungry heku,” Damon said,
bluntly.

Emily stepped forward, her heels only helped
her height a little, “I don’t need protection from you.”

“
Oh you think? One whiff of
you and you’ll be dinner.”

“
Just because you have the
control of a wolf, doesn’t mean everyone else does,” Emily glared
at him.

“
Maybe if you didn’t smell
like a cupcake, Sweetheart.”

“
Sweetheart?” she asked,
pushing him on the chest, though he didn’t move, he glared down at
her. “Why don’t you crawl back under the rock you came
from?”

“
Mortals,” he said, rolling
his eyes.

“
Fudge packer.”

“
What the hell is that?”
Damon asked, narrowing his eyes.

“
Nothing!” Chevalier said,
ushering Emily out of the room.

“
Suck me!” she yelled back
from the hallway.

Chevalier shook his head when he heard a
response from the great hall that he hoped Emily hadn’t heard.

“
Let me go. I can find my
own way to the bedroom,” she growled at him.

“
You can try to come to the
reception,” he said, watching her walk up the stairs.

She slipped off her heels and continued up
the stairs, “And give Damon the pleasure of watching the heku
drool? No thanks.”

Chevalier walked back into the great hall,
“Why do you have to antagonize her?”

“
I… she started that,”
Damon said, sounding offended.