Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (45 page)

“
Ok, well, Allen said
there’s an odd smell when the noises start,” Chevalier
said.

“
Allen is a 6-year-old with
an imagination and keen senses.”

Chevalier sighed and then smiled, “You
may want to tell your… twins… that telling stories of the Navajo’s
skinwalker won’t scare a boy that lives with vampires.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I’ll get
right on that.”

She finished breakfast and disappeared
into the bathroom. She came out a short time later in the tell-tale
sports bra and cut-offs with an iPod in her hand, “Don’t forget,
Alexis needs her vitamins with breakfast. She should be up
soon.”

“
I’ll remember,” Chevalier
said, grinning.

“
And Allen is grounded. I
want all of the non-cavalry stalls mucked out,” she said, and tied
her hair up in a high pony.

“
I can get someone to do
that…” Chevalier said, but Emily cut him off.

“
No, Allen can do it. That
boy is spoiled and has his nose stuck in a book all the time. He
needs to get out and get some fresh air,” Emily said. She blew
Chevalier a kiss, and then ran out of the room.

Chevalier went into the nursery when
he heard Alexis start talking to her mobile. She stood up and
reached for him, and when he picked her up, she laid her head
against his shoulder. He smiled, never in the thousands of years of
his existence had he ever imagined being a father, nor had he ever
imagined how much he would enjoy it. He kissed the top of the
baby’s head and walked her down to the dining room for
breakfast.

Emily turned up the music on her iPod
and clipped it to the strap on her arm. She stretched briefly and
took off running toward the city. There was something stimulating
about running. It let her mind clear and she could focus on more
important things. She felt like it was alone time, even though she
saw curtains move as the heku from the city watched her
pass.

Today she thought over the mustang.
He’d been running wild in the corral for over a year. Things had
gotten busy, and he was put on the back burner. He allowed a bridle
and saddle, but no one had tried to break him in yet, but that was
her goal for the week. Allen refused to ride since Damnit’s death,
and Emily planned on giving the mustang to him once he was gentle
enough.

She cried out when an arm wrapped
around her and a hand was placed over her mouth. She was dragged
into a dark alleyway, kicking and biting.

“
Stop it. Damn,” Damon
said, and let her go.

“
What the hell, Damon?”
Emily asked, scowling at him. She pulled the earphones out and
slung them across her neck.

“
Sorry, I needed to talk to
you in private.”

“
No,” Emily said, and
headed back for the street, but Damon took her arm and pulled her
back.

“
Yes, it’s been long
enough.”

“
For what?” Emily asked,
crossing her arms.

“
For you to forgive me. You
know the Elders watch us together, and they are still suspicious
about why you won’t even look at me anymore.”

“
They’ll get over
it.”

“
I’m sorry. I’ve said it a
thousand times, but I’ll say it again. I didn’t mean what I said to
you in Paris, and I’m sorry I hurt you,” Damon said, his eyes
pleading.

“
Apology accepted,” Emily
said, and again tried to run to the street but was held
back.

“
What now?”

“
That’s not good enough,”
Damon said.

“
What do you want me to
do?” Emily asked.

“
Forgive me.”

“
I just said I
did.”

“
I know you said so, but I
don’t believe you,” Damon told her.

“
What do you want to do?
Kiss and make up? I don’t like you,” Emily said.

“
I just… I wanted you to
know that I don’t think you are spoiled, I don’t think that all you
are to the Elder is a piece of ass…”

“
Nice, Damon,” Emily
cringed.

“
I wanted you to know that
I realize how important you are to this faction. You’ve turned the
entire heku world on end, and that’s just what everyone needed,” he
told her, watching for a reaction.

“
Good to know,” Emily said,
irritated.

“
What can I do to make it
up to you?”

“
You know what I
think?”

“
No, what’s that?” Damon
said hesitantly.

“
I think you’re under the
spotlight by the Council, and you are looking for an easy out. I
don’t like you, not sure I ever will, but I’m not going to tell
them what you said or did that day,” Emily promised.

“
I wish you would tell
them, stop the suspicious glares, and the way they watch me when
you’re around.”

“
So you tell
them.”

Damon nodded, “Maybe I
will.”

“
Damnit, Damon, don’t,”
Emily sighed.

“
Why not? You didn’t do
anything wrong.”

“
Yeah… well… maybe I don’t
want the Council to know what everyone in the faction thinks about
me, ok?”

“
No one thinks about you
like that.”

“
Right,” Emily said
sarcastically.

“
I’m serious, the heku
respect you a lot.”

“
No they don’t… they are
afraid of me, there’s a difference.”

Damon sighed, “There’s more to it than
being afraid of you.”

“
Oh, that’s right… they
also couldn’t understand why the Council allowed a mortal in the
palace. Then it dawned on them, what started out as an easy lay,
turned into a breeder with the ability to make trophy children,”
Emily told him, and he was shocked to see from her face that she
was serious.

“
You can’t honestly think
that.”

“
Oh? Can’t I?”

“
I wish, just for a moment,
that you could see what the Equites truly think of you,” Damon said
to her.

“
You know what? I have
already seen it, and I don’t care to see it again.”

Damon shook his head and watched as
Emily took off running down the street as she put on her
headphones. She turned back and headed for the palace. After
talking to Damon, she felt self-conscious about the glances out of
the house windows, and she just wanted to get back to the privacy
of her room in the palace.

After seeing the entrance to the
palace filled with heku planning for the coronation and reception
that night, Emily opted to go in the back door, and took the
servant stairs up the back of the palace to the foyer. She glanced
quickly down the stairs. The ground floor was full of heku hauling
things into the grand ballroom. She shook her head and went into
her room. When she saw no one there, she took a shower and changed
into jeans and a t-shirt for the day.

Emily stepped out of the room as she
pulled on her riding gloves and looked up when she saw
someone.

“
Oh good, you’re back,”
Chevalier said. He was still holding Alexis, and she had pieces of
egg in her black ringlets.

“
I’m going to work on that
mustang,” Emily said.

“
Have you reconsidered
about tonight?” he asked as Alexis played with the Equites insignia
on his cape.

“
No, I’m not going,” she
told him again.

“
Then come down and meet
some of the Coven Leaders. They are anxious to meet you,” Chevalier
held his hand out for her.

“
I’d rather not. If you
need me, I’ll be out in the corral,” she said, and headed back down
by the servant’s stairs.

Chevalier took Alexis into the bedroom
and quickly changed her out of her nightclothes. He swung by
Allen’s room and took both of them downstairs to meet the coven
dignitaries. They all wanted to meet Emily, too, but she had been
elusive to non-palace heku since her trip to Paris, and no one
quite knew why.

Emily watched the mustang for a bit.
He’d been in the bridle and saddle for two days straight, and as
she slipped through the wooden fence, he watched her
carefully.

“
I wish you’d let me do
that,” Mark said, leaning against the fencepost.

“
What fun is that? Besides,
I thought you liked to watch me fall on my ass,” Emily said,
holding a treat out for the mustang.

“
Yeah, that is amusing,”
Mark laughed.

Emily was glad that the mustang was
now used to the heku. It made her life easier because she never
seemed to make it out to the corral alone. She wasn’t sure if they
were hoping to catch her when she got bucked off, or if they hoped
to catch sight of her falling. Ford sat beside them, watching with
interest.

Emily saw Mark cringe when she put her
foot in the saddle and swiftly pulled herself up onto the mustang.
Before she’d set her other foot in the stirrups, he began to buck
wildly and she held tightly to the saddle horn. It was only a few
seconds before Emily lost her handhold and flew off of the horse.
She landed hard against the ground and rolled under the fence, out
of the way of the angry horse’s hooves.

Emily lay on the ground looking up at
the blue sky. She saw Mark’s face appear above her and she felt
Ford’s warm, sticky tongue run up her face.

“
That was your back, not
your ass,” Mark said, and grinned, then put a hand out to help her
up. “Ever think that he could be a lost cause?”

“
I like lost causes,
haven’t you noticed?” Emily said, and crawled back through the
fence. She was able to walk back up to the mustang and she rubbed
his neck for a bit. Just before trying again, Emily heard laughter
from the fence and looked over as Silas joined Mark.

Taking a deep breath, she put her foot
in the stirrup again, and hoisted herself up onto his back. She
froze when the horse didn’t move, and she was afraid to even
breathe. The mustang let out a loud whine and began to kick and
twist. Emily’s death grip on the horn was stronger, and she held on
until he began to slowly calm down. She patted his neck softly when
he finally stopped bucking.

Emily pressed her feet slowly into his
side and suddenly flew out of the saddle and landed hard up against
the fence. She looked over and the mustang was staring at her from
across the corral.

“
See… that was your ass,”
Mark said from behind her, laughing.

“
Do you just bleed easy or
do all mortals do that?” Silas asked, amused.

Emily took a large piece of horse
droppings in her gloved hand and turned, keeping it away from the
heku. She threw her arm back and then sent it flying toward Mark
and Silas. Because of her bad aim, they both accidentally ducked
right into it, and it splattered across their green
cloaks.

Emily grabbed another hand full and
scrambled through the fence, taking off running for the palace
doors. She heard the heku as they blurred past her just before she
rounded the corner for the doors, and they stopped and turned to
face her.

Emily stopped and watched them. She
held her hand up, ready to throw. Ford was weaving in and out
between them.

“
Traitor,” she said to the
Border collie.

“
That… was disgusting,”
Mark said, grinning evilly.

“
That… was deserved,” she
replied, smiling.

“
What are we going to do
about it?” Mark asked.

“
I’m thinking…” Silas
answered, grinning. He took a step toward her.

“
I’m warning you, get
back,” Emily said.

“
Water?” Mark
asked.

“
Water,” Silas said,
nodding.

“
No!” Emily screamed, and
let her hand fly, pelting them with the horse droppings. She turned
to run, but didn’t make it even a step before her feet left the
ground as she was thrown over Mark’s shoulder. Ford began to jump
and nip at her feet.

The heku laughed as they headed for
the small stream on the other side of the palace lawn, but froze
suddenly as they rounded the corner by the doors. Mark gently put
Emily down on the grass, and she spun quickly to see what had
stopped them. As she turned, she took in the sight of over thirty
heku staring at them, and she stepped quickly behind
Mark.

Emily cringed when she heard Chevalier
laugh, “Might as well come out, Em, they’ve seen you.”

Emily emerged from behind Mark, overly
aware that she was covered in dirt, and had blood dripping down her
right shoulder from one of her falls.

“
Ah, so this is the elusive
Emily,” one of the Coven Leaders said, smiling.

Emily nodded and pulled closer to
Mark.

“
I take it the breaking-in
didn’t go well?” Chevalier asked, amused.

Emily shrugged.

“
Why don’t you two go get
changed, you smell awful,” the Elder told Silas and Mark. They
nodded and laughed as they blurred away, leaving Emily standing out
by herself. She blushed as she felt all of them watching
her.