Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series (82 page)

Kyle laughed, “But you thought it.
Believe it or not, I have a bit of a temper.”

“
You do not.”

“
Yes, I do, but I have very
good control over it. Besides, I killed Damon easy
enough.”

Emily smiled, “I didn’t mean to offend
you.”

“
So my turn,” Kyle said,
and turned to face her.

“
Ok”

“
Where are you running off
to in 4 weeks?”

Emily chuckled, “Like I can tell you
that.”

“
You can, as Chief
Enforcer, no matter how wimpy, I can’t be questioned,” Kyle said,
grinning.

“
I didn’t call you
wimpy.”

“
So where are you
going?”

Emily just stared into the
fireplace.

“
In general… you don’t even
have to tell me a state,” Kyle said, watching her. He was
uncomfortable with the way she held perfectly still and watched the
dead fireplace. Emily was hyper and high-strung, and it was
extremely uncharacteristic behavior for her to sit for long periods
of time.

“
Exavior bought me a
place,” Emily said finally.

Kyle raised his eyebrow, “He
did?”

Emily nodded, “He said that Chevalier
was going to cross the line someday, and that I would need a safe
place to go.”

“
You do realize the entire
Valle faction could know where that place is,” Kyle
said.

Emily smiled slightly. Exavior had
never actually given her a place, but she knew of one of his houses
out in the middle of Louisiana that she planned on taking over now
that he wouldn’t be using it. If the heku looked closely at their
Valle Coven book, they would find one page missing.

“
Do you still love
Chevalier?” Kyle asked suddenly, afraid if he waited any longer he
would lose the nerve.

Emily sighed, “I wish I
knew.”

“
He still loves
you.”

“
I know.”

“
So do I,” he
whispered.

“
I know that,
too.”

“
The offer still stands,
you know,” Kyle said, wondering if she remembered when he once
offered to take her away.

Emily nodded, “I won’t do it
though.”

“
Why not? It was a good
offer.”

“
Because, for my short
life, you would be happy. Then, when I die, you would be alone and
factionless. You belong here in the palace, you even out the
Council.”

“
Even it out?”

“
Yes, you are the steady
rod in an electric environment.”

Kyle leaned his head back and laughed,
“You think way too highly of my control.”

Emily finished her tea and leaned her
head back, “I’m so tired.”

“
Come on, I’ll carry you to
bed,” Kyle said, grinning. He was shocked when she didn’t argue, so
he lifted her up carefully, reveling at the feel of her head
pressed against his neck. As he laid her down, he caught an odd
scent and frowned.

Kyle picked up her wrist and ran his
nose along the soft flesh.

“
Are you smelling me again
or are you about to bite?” Emily asked.

“
Smelling you again,
there’s an odd scent.”

“
Stop smelling me, it’s
creepy,” Emily said, and rolled onto her side.

Kyle grinned, “But I like
to.”

“
Creepy,” she
whispered.

Kyle watched until she was asleep and
then turned off the lights and stepped out of the room, shutting
the door quietly. He slipped into his room and quickly fell into a
meditative trance.

“
Kyle… Kyle wake up,” Emily
said frantically.

Kyle looked at her and frowned,
“What’s wrong?”

Emily was looking at the door, “Hurry,
come here.”

Kyle jumped up when Emily took off
running out of his room in a nightgown, “Em, at least get
dressed.”

Emily took the stairs two at a time
down to the game room and then disappeared inside. Kyle followed
her and she shut the door behind him. He flipped on the lights, but
she immediately turned them off and took his hand. She led him to
the mirror and with a small turn, they were both thrown into the
old bar.

“
What’s this all about?”
Kyle asked, uneasy at how fearful she looked.

“
Damon’s alive,” Emily
said, panting.

Kyle relaxed some, “No he’s not. I
personally banished him.”

“
He’s alive, and last night
he was talking to Quinn about me.”

“
Emily, I banished him,
he’s not alive,” Kyle said, touching her arm. He slipped off his
cape and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“
You have to believe me. I
got up last night to get something to drink, and saw Quinn in the
hallway, talking into the shadows. I watched and saw Damon step
out. They are going to build a house, here in Council City, and
I’ll be locked inside, forever,” Emily explained.

“
Neither Chevalier nor I
would let that happen. Quinn’s not after you, and Damon’s not
alive.”

Emily frowned at him, “You don’t
believe me?”

“
It’s impossible,” Kyle
said. “Now, you can’t go around accusing an Elder of something like
that.”

“
I’m not accusing, it’s
true,” Emily said, and angrily returned to the game room, followed
shortly by Kyle.

“
Come on, talk to me,” Kyle
said, and followed her out of the room.

Emily threw the cape back at him and
headed up the stairs.

“
Good morning,” Quinn said,
smiling from the fifth-floor landing.

Emily gasped and looked up at him as
her eyes narrowed, “I know your little secret, and it’s not going
to happen.”

Quinn frowned, “Excuse me?”

“
Don’t think for one second
I wouldn’t ash you,” Emily said, and ran past him into the
room.

Kyle sighed, “Elder…”

“
What was that? I don’t
have to stand for threats,” Quinn said angrily.

“
Come to your office
please. She can’t see us talking,” Kyle whispered, and walked down
to the Elder’s office. Once inside, Quinn sat at his
desk.

“
Emily said she woke up
last night and saw you talking to Damon,” Kyle
explained.

Quinn frowned, “Clearly a
dream.”

“
Yes well, she said you two
are building a house here in Council City and plan on locking her
up inside.”

“
She’s confused, lack of
food maybe,” Quinn suggested.

“
I don’t know, maybe. She’s
getting thinner by the day, and I don’t like it.”

“
I saw that. She’s looking
emaciated.”

“
There’s an odd scent, too.
I can’t place it, but it’s somewhat familiar,” Kyle said,
thinking.

“
Is she pregnant?” Quinn
asked.

“
No, it’s not an enticing
scent.”

“
I take it she wouldn’t let
me see.”

Kyle shook his head, “Not a chance,
not if you’re in a conspiracy with Damon.”

Quinn growled.

“
I mean in her eyes, I know
you’re not,” Kyle said quickly.

“
She’s never made it a
secret how much she hates Council City, and how much she dislikes
myself and Zohn, maybe her mind is finding justification for that
and it’s coming out in her dreams,” Quinn suggested.

“
Maybe, I’ll keep watching
though. Tonight, I want to watch her door and see if she even
leaves the room.”

Quinn nodded, “Let us
know.”

Emily and Kyle talked most of the day
and into the night. He was amazed how many questions she had about
his species even though she’d been living with them for so long.
When she got tired, she crawled into bed and Kyle laid beside her
on top of the covers.

“
If I see Damon tonight,
I’m going to turn him to ash,” Emily said, watching
Kyle.

Kyle nodded, “If you see him, then you
should.”

“
You still don’t believe
me, do you?”

“
I’m not taking sides right
now,” Kyle said.

Emily grinned, “Very diplomatic of
you.”

“
If I get you some soup,
will you please eat some, just for me?” Kyle asked her.

Emily shrugged, “I’m not hungry. How
about some tea?”

“
What can I bribe you with
to get you to eat something?”

“
Nothing,” Emily told
him.

“
I can stop the coffee and
tea.”

Emily frowned, “Don’t,
please.”

“
Tell you what, eat
something tonight, and I won’t stop the coffee, ok?” Kyle knew it
was being mean, but she was wasting away in front of
him.

“
Eat what?” Emily asked
skeptically.

“
A sandwich, something
simple.”

“
Then you promise not to
stop the coffee?”

Kyle smiled, “I promise.”

“
I could threaten to tell
the Council you fed off of me in jail if you stop my coffee.” Emily
grinned slightly.

Kyle laughed, “They’d be as mad at you
as they would be at me.”

Within just a few minutes, Kyle went
to the door to get her sandwich. She figured he’d been planning on
this and that it was already made when he requested it. He came
over and sat it down on the bedside table.

Emily picked it up and looked inside,
and she smiled slightly and took a bite. The food tasted awful and
she had to fight to keep from gagging as she chewed it. She
swallowed it dryly and sat it down.

“
One bite doesn’t count,”
Kyle said. He jumped up when Emily dove out of bed and ran for the
bathroom.

She came back out a few minutes later,
“Keep the coffee, that’s not worth it.”

Kyle sighed, “Could you be
pregnant?”

“
No,” Emily said, and
pulled the covers up. “You should be able to smell
that.”

Kyle pulled her wrist up to his nose
again and caught the foreign scent.

“
Em, I need a favor,” Kyle
said.

“
What?”

“
Just say yes
first.”

“
No, what do you want?”
Emily asked him.

“
I want Quinn to come have
a smell of your wrist.” He sighed at the look on her
face.

“
If he comes near me, he’ll
regret it.”

“
He’s older than I am, he
may know this scent,” Kyle explained.

“
No”

“
What about the doctor
then? He may know what it is.”

“
No. Good night,” Emily
said, and rolled away from him.

Kyle nodded and turned out the lights,
and then stepped outside of her room. He waited for her to appear
all night, but she seemed to have slept through. He took the pot of
coffee from the servant after Silas took Alexis and he went into
her room.

Emily was curled up in the corner of
her room, crying.

“
What’s wrong?” Kyle asked,
kneeling down by her.

“
It’s growing. It happened
again last night, but they have Zohn and the doctor now, too. Damon
has them all convinced I’m going to join the Valle, and they are
going to stop me,” Emily said, and watched the door
fearfully.

“
Em, I was outside of your
door all night, and you didn’t leave,” Kyle said.

“
I did too! I saw them in
the hallway. I have to get out of here before they finalize that
house,” Emily said, and glanced up at him.

Kyle frowned and turned a light on,
“Look at me.”

“
No,” Emily said, shutting
her eyes.

“
I’m not going to try to
control you, now come on.”

“
You promise?”

Kyle sighed, “I swear, now let me
see.”

Emily looked up at him and the green
from her eyes was almost gone. Her pupils were dilated enough the
color had all but disappeared.

“
That’s it, you need to see
the doctor,” he said.

“
No!” Emily yelled, and
grabbed a hold of his collar. “He’s in on it.”

“
No one’s in on anything,
you didn’t leave your room last night,” he said.

Emily stood up and dressed quickly.
Kyle turned around suddenly when she didn’t even go into the
bathroom to dress. She slipped on her jeans and a t-shirt, and they
hung off of her.

“
Where are you going?” he
asked.

“
I have to get out of here
before they finish that house,” Emily said, and grabbed her purse
and then ran out of the room.

Kyle ran after her and almost ran into
her in the hallway when she stopped.

“
You…” Emily said, glaring
at Zohn and Quinn. They had been in the middle of a conversation
when she came out of her room.