Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (30 page)

“I’m sorry, ok? I’ve already talked to
Kralen about behaving,” Emily said.

“We’ll discuss that later.
What we want now is to find out how to get you back on the
Cavalry,” Mark said, and he leaned forward with his elbows on the
table.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?
You’re an important part of the Cavalry and we miss
you.”

“I can’t do it though… I
can’t obey every order. I can’t sit for hours watching
drills.”

“We don’t expect you to,”
Silas said, and leaned against Mark’s desk. “However, we do want
some compliance when it comes to Cavalry dealings with the Council
and… well… guards.”

“I’ll help with the
horses, but I see no reason to call myself a Commander and pretend
to fit into the heku ranks,” Emily said.

“Fine then, I’ll come out
and say it,” Mark said with a slight grin. “We need you to help us
with morale.”

“Morale?”

“Yes, your little… well…
ambushes, your personality and flare, it not only keeps the Cavalry
on their toes, but wanting to be here. It’s a hard job, pretty
thankless, and there are little rewards. Your presence just happens
to be one of them.”

Emily frowned, “Are you
kidding?”

Silas laughed,
“No.”

She crossed her arms, “What are you up
to?”

“Nothing,” Mark said.
“Just because you normally have ulterior motives for everything,
doesn’t mean we do.”

“If Kralen agrees to stay,
then I’ll think about it, but I need a few days.”

Silas nodded, “Agreed then, we’ll talk
again on Saturday.”

“Oh, and Em?” Mark said.

“Yes?” Emily looked over at
him.

“Tase me again… and I’ll
bite you.”

She gasped, “No!”

“Yes”

Silas laughed and opened
the door, but stopped when he immediately came face-to-face with
Chevalier.

“Late?” Chevalier asked, raising an
eyebrow.

Emily sighed,
“Yes.”

“Come on,” he said, and
put a hand out.

“If you’re late for
something, we can take you,” Silas said as he walked out of Mark’s
office.

Chevalier chuckled, “Won’t
help.”

Silas shrugged and
followed Chevalier and Emily to their room. He stood outside of the
door when they went inside.

“How late?” he asked when they were
alone.

“A week… but Kralen’s not
picking anything up.”

“Let me try,” he said, and
she held her wrist out. He grinned, shook his head, and then picked
her up so he could more easily smell along her neck. He set her
down after kissing her softly, “Nothing.”

“Taste then,” she said,
frowning.

“Taste?”

“Yes, it’s more accurate,
right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Just not my neck,” she
told him, and held her wrist out.

“You sure?”

“Yes”

In one fluid movement, he
pinned her to the bed and sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of her
neck. Emily started to protest, but felt herself relax under his
body. When he finished, he pressed his lips to hers and then
laughed when she tried to slap him, but he caught her
hand.

“I said wrist,” she
growled.

“I’m your husband, I don’t
have to use your wrist,” he told her, and then kissed her
again.

“You do if I tell you to,”
she said, and tried to get up, but he held her down.

“Oh? So I have to do as you
say?”

“Yes”

***

“So what’s up with you,
power struggles, and sex?” Emily asked, and looked up from the bed
at him.

Chevalier shrugged and grinned, “No
idea.”

“We gotta stop this,” she
said, and leaned her head on his bare chest.

“Why’s that?”

“I keep getting pregnant.”

“We don’t know that yet. I
don’t detect anything.”

“Yet,” she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head softly,
“I’m sure we’ll know for certain by the time I get
back.”

“I forgot you’re leaving
again.”

“I’ll only be gone two
days.”

“Great, just enough time to get
eaten.”

He grinned again, “Have
Mark check, will you?”

“I tried that, remember, and you
almost tore Kralen a new one.”

“Just have Mark do it…
smell only.”

“Fine, who are you
taking?” she asked, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Kyle, Jerry, and
Dustin.”

Emily looked over at him and smiled,
“Thank you.”

“Emily?” Zohn whispered,
and touched her shoulder. Emily jerked out of a deep sleep and
jumped out of bed.

She looked around the dark room and
her eyes fell on Zohn.

“I’m sorry to wake you,”
he said, and stood up.

She sat down on the edge of the bed,
“What’s up?”

“Chevalier is missing.”

“Missing?” she gasped.

“Yes, he, Kyle, Jerry, and
Dustin were supposed to be at the Lake Placid Coven last night and
didn’t show up. We’ve tried all three cell phones, and no one’s
answering.”

“Did they fly?”

“No, Dustin drove his car.
The Lake Placid Coven’s been out all night and hasn’t seen any sign
of it.”

Emily looked around the room, still
confused, “We’ll go then, drive the route and find
them.”

“Quinn and the Cavalry
already went out. There’s no sign of them,” Zohn said, and watched
her, concerned.

“What kind of mission was
it?” Emily asked, and picked Dain up when he came out of his
room.

“Nothing bad. The Coven
Lord asked that some of the Council come to a medal
ceremony.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Dain asked, looking
up at Emily.

“He’s just away,
Baby.”

“We’re still looking and we’ve sent
someone to each faction in case this is an attack.”

Emily frowned and put Dain down on the
floor, “I’ll go look then.”

“We need you to stay here.”

“No! I can find them.”

“If this is an attack,
then we need you in the safety of the palace.”

“No!”

“It’s more important that
you stay safe.”

Emily sunk back down on the bed, “I
can find him.”

“We’re looking,” Zohn
said, and watched her briefly before leaving.

She picked Dain up again and held him
close to her, “Alexis?”

A few minutes later, Alexis came in as
she read a book, “Yeah Mom?”

Emily turned to her and
frowned. Since Alexis’ incident with Gabe, her guard, she’d taken
to wearing all black and always looked depressed.

“Your Dad is missing,” she
said, and sighed when Alexis shrugged.

“He’ll turn up.”

“Alex… he’s missing. He
could be hurt.”

“He’s fine, he’s heku,”
she said, and sat down by the fire.

“Way to care, Alex,” Emily
growled, and started for the door. She opened it and was
immediately blocked by Silas, Kralen, and two other members of the
Cavalry.

“We can’t let you go, Em,”
Kralen told her. “We’ll find him.”

Emily set Dain down, “I
just need to talk to Mark.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“He’s in his office,”
Silas said, and moved aside. Kralen alone followed Emily up the
stairs and she knew why. She’d promised not to slip him when he
agreed to be her guard again.

Emily knocked and then
stepped in when Mark called for her. She shut the door behind him
and watched him for a few seconds.

Mark looked up, “To what do I owe this
honor?”

“Did Chev… tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“What I need you to do?”

Mark leaned back in his chair and
crossed his arms, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

She sighed, “I need you to smell my
wrist.”

“Why?” he asked, frowning.

“Just do, please,” she
said, and held out her hand.

“Tell me why first. It’s
not proper.”

“Come on, Mark, it’s bad
enough…”

“No, tell me why and I’ll tell you if
it’s something I’ll do.”

“Chev said to ask you.”

“The Elder said nothing to
me.”

“Fine, then I’ll ask
Kralen again,” she said, and turned for the door, but he was
already standing in front of it. “I hate when you do
that.”

“Why?”

“It’s shocking to suddenly see someone
appear.”

“Not that, Em…” he said,
and rolled his eyes.

“Oh… well… you can’t tell
anyone, not even the Council.”

“The Elder said
this?”

“Not that part, that’s my
request.”

“Tell me, and then I’ll
decide if I’ll keep it a secret,” Mark said, and didn’t move from
the door.

Emily shifted nervously and looked
down at her hands, then whispered, “I need to know if I’m
pregnant.”

“Oh,” Mark said, his eyes
wide.

She held her wrist out and
without another word, Mark took her hand and inhaled deeply at her
wrist, ignoring the way it made him salivate. He shut his eyes and
calmed the thirst before speaking, “It’s normal.”

“Thanks,” she said, and
started around him.

“How long?”

She shrugged, “Just a
little late is all… the scent usually doesn’t come this early, but
he wants me to have you check while he’s gone, so no one tries to
eat me.”

Mark smiled slightly, “They better
not.”

“I’ll have you check
tomorrow,” she said, and he moved aside so she could leave. She
blushed when she saw Kralen and he looked at Mark and shrugged
before following her back to her room.

“What do you want for breakfast?”
Silas asked when he saw her return.

“Nothing,” she mumbled,
and opened the door.

Kralen touched her
shoulder, “We’re not going to let you starve while the Elder is
away.”

“Away? You mean missing?”

“What do you want?”

“Coffee,” she whispered
and shut the door. She looked up and saw Dain and Alexis on the
floor staring at each other, “What are you doing?”

Neither of them moved, so
she went over to look out the window, “They won’t let me go after
your Dad.”

Neither responded, so she
turned and looked at them again. They were sitting cross-legged,
facing each other. She stepped closer and saw that their breathing
was in sync.

“Dain!” she said, and
rushed forward. She knelt down and looked closer. Alexis had a
vacant expression and Dain was whispering too softly for Emily to
hear.

“Dain, stop it!” Emily
hissed, and pulled on his arm. His expression didn’t change, but
his concentration deepened and he kept his eyes locked on
Alexis’.

“Silas!” Emily yelled, and
stood up when they walked in. “What’s he doing!?”

Silas immediately appeared
at Dain and pulled the young heku to his feet. Dain looked up at
Silas and then back to Alexis. Kralen was knelt down by Alexis, but
she was still staring off into nothing.

“What’s going on?” Emily
asked, and knelt down by Alexis.

“What did you tell her?”
Silas asked Dain, and picked him up by his shoulders.

Dain shrugged, “I don’t
know.”

“What!” Silas yelled, and
shook Dain briefly.

Dain glared at him, “She was being
mean.”

Kralen immediately re-locked Alexis’
gaze and was softly talking to her.

“Dain!” Emily screamed,
and pulled him from Silas. “What did you do?”

“She was being mean,” Dain
repeated.

“Never… ever, do that to
her. Do you hear me?”

Dain nodded and looked
over as Alexis began to stir. Kralen finally stood up and helped
Alexis to her feet.

“You little vamp!” Alexis
screamed, and started for Dain. Emily turned to block Dain, but he
was gone.

Silas sighed, “I’ll get
him.”

She watched as Silas blurred from the
room.

“Are you ok?” she asked,
and knelt down beside Alexis.

“I hate being human!” the
teenager screamed, and stormed out of the room.

Emily looked over at Kralen, “Maybe we
were both better off in prison.”