Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series (61 page)

“Mom… I asked…” Dain started, but
Emily’s glare shut him up.

“Em… calm down,” Mark
said. “No one’s trying to put Dain on the guard staff.”

“Yes they are! The same
thing happened to Allen… It starts with a glance at the manual, and
turns into banishment from this city!”

“As far as I know, Dain’s never
expressed an interest in the guard staff.”

Emily was suddenly toe-to-toe with the
massive General, “It’ll be over my dead body before my son joins
your guards.”

“It’s not even been
considered.”

Emily pushed him as hard as she could,
though he didn’t budge, “Don’t defy me on this!”

“I’ll talk to Stuart…”

“I asked Stuart for a manual, Mom,”
Dain said, and then took a step back when Emily turned on
him.

“Why?”

“I was just curious how your guards
were trained… that’s it.”

“You’re what?” Mark asked,
frowning.

“I wanted to ensure that my Mom is
well protected,” Dain explained.

This time it was Mark who stepped
toward the boy, “You doubt our ability to protect your
Mom?”

“Yes, I do.”

Emily stepped between them, finally
calming down, “Calm down, Mark.”

Mark pointed, his finger just inches
from Dain’s face, “You… are an infant and know nothing!”

Dain pushed Emily aside
and shoved Mark.

“Stop!” Emily screamed
when the two immediately began to fight. She was thrown back
against her desk by one of them when she tried to get into the
middle of it. She gasped and ran for the door when Mark slammed
Dain onto her desk, sending computers and wood flying around the
room.

As soon as the door
opened, Mark and Dain flew out of her office and Mark pinned Dain
against the far wall, leaving a long crack up the
marble.

“Do not attack me!” Mark growled, and
tightened his hand around Dain’s throat.

“Let him go,” Emily yelled, and
started to pull at Mark.

Chevalier appeared on the
landing and picked Emily up off of the General, “Let him do this,
Em.”

“No! He’ll hurt Dain.”

“Yes, he will… but he’ll heal and
he’ll learn from it,” Chevalier explained.

“If you ever so much as look at me
wrong, I’ll send your head through the wall… is that understood?”
Mark asked, and slammed Dain’s head back against the
wall.

“I understand,” Dain
growled at him. Mark let him go and took a step back.

“I told you, Dain. Don’t
mess with anyone in this palace,” Chevalier told him. He let Emily
go and she rushed to Dain to make sure he wasn’t
injured.

“He’s fine, Em,” Mark told
her.

Emily moved forward and
slapped Mark, “Keep your hands off my son.”

“Our son, and I say the boy had it
coming,” Chevalier told her.

Emily turned to Dain, “Get in the
truck.”

Dain nodded and
disappeared. Emily spun and started down the stairs.

“Where are we going?”
Silas asked, following her. He gasped and took a step back when he
felt the burn in his chest begin. Emily disappeared down the
stairs. He turned to explain to Mark and Chevalier why he backed
off, but could tell by the look on their faces that they felt it
too.

“Just let her go burn off
steam,” Chevalier told them. “I personally don’t want to mess with
her when she’s in this bad of a mood. Kyle’s gone for three more
days and I don’t like spending my time smoking.

“Agreed,” Mark said,
straightened his uniform, and then walked up the stairs to his
office.

***

“I just wish you would
stay out of it. I can handle it,” Dain told Emily.

“I’m not going to let them bully you
around just because they can,” she told him.

“I can take it though.”

“You can… but you don’t have
to.”

Just before the gates to
the city, Emily slammed on the breaks and threw open her
door.

“Is that Alexis?” Dain growled, and
opened his door.

From beside the gate,
Gabe, Alexis’ former bodyguard, looked over at the truck and took a
step back away from Alexis. He had been talking to Alexis as he
leaned against the wall beside her and his hand was lightly
brushing hair off of her cheek.

Emily scrambled out of the truck when
Dain blurred to the guard and slammed him up against the
wall.

“Dain, get in the truck,”
Emily yelled. Dain growled once and then slowly walked to the
truck.

“Mom, this isn’t what it looks like,”
Alexis told her, but Emily noticed the blush in her
cheeks.

“We were just talking,” Gabe told
her.

“I’m not leaving with you,” Alexis
yelled.

“Gabe, get in the truck,” Emily said,
and walked back to the old Chevy.

“What?” he asked, shocked.

“Mom, no!” Alexis screamed.

Emily turned back to the guard, “I’m a
member of the Council and I suggest you get in the damned
truck.”

“Don’t do it Gabe,” Alexis
begged.

“I have to…” Gabe told
her, and walked to the truck. He got into the front seat of the
truck while Emily crawled into the driver’s seat and Dain got in
back. Alexis screamed at her Mom as she pulled out of Council
City.

Dain growled softly from behind Gabe
and he watched out the window, too terrified to move.

“Are you Alex’s guard again?” Emily
asked him after a few minutes of silence.

“No, Ma’am.”

“Where are her guards?”

“I don’t know, Ma’am.”

They drove in silence for
almost an hour before Emily finally pulled over into a small park
and got out, “Come on, we’ll talk over here.”

Dain and Gabe got out of
the truck, both too afraid to defy Emily. She walked over and sat
down on a picnic table.

“Why are we here, Mom?” Dain asked,
and scanned the area quickly.

“Have a seat, Gabe,” Emily
said, and patted the picnic table beside her. Without a word, he
complied.

Dain grinned at the
frightened look on Gabe’s face as he sat beside a mortal a fraction
of his size. The young looking heku stood almost 3 inches shorter
than Dain, but his shoulders were broader and his uniform shirt
clung tightly to massive muscles. He had short spiked brown hair
and dark eyes.

Emily sighed, “This is
where I get confused. Heku, at least most I’ve met… are intelligent
and make wise decisions.”

Gabe didn’t reply. He just
watched her.

She looked over at him, “So are you
just that stupid?”

“Ma’am?”

Dain grinned.

“Stupid… are you not as bright as
most?”

“I don’t understand,
Ma’am.”

“How old are you Gabe?”

“1,188 years old.”

“Ok… well that’s old enough to be
smarter than that.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I don’t
know what you mean.”

“Alexis…”

“Is a friend.”

“No, she’s not. I may not
be thousands of years old, but I can spot affection from miles
away.”

“Friends only.”

“See Dain over there?” Emily asked,
and motioned to her young son.

“Yes,” Gabe said, and swallowed
hard.

“He’s a hair taller than you, wouldn’t
you say?”

“Yes”

“Ever met his Dad?” Emily
asked, and turned to look at him with a glare.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“That kind and patient
heku… the one with infinite tolerance and caring. The one who
wouldn’t hurt a fly and strives to be kind to all creatures… that’s
the Dad we’re speaking of, right?” Emily asked.

“Erm… Ma’am?” Gabe wasn’t
sure what to say.

“Yeah… that’s not the Dad
I’m talking about either. So you’ve met the Elder,
correct?”

“Yes”

“Could he remove your hand if he had
the desire?”

“I’m sure he could.”

“Your head?”

Gabe nodded, too afraid to speak any
longer.

“With one word he could have you
banished?”

Again he nodded.

“Killed?”

Gabe glanced nervously at
Dain.

“Yet you decide to touch
his only daughter?” Emily asked, looking over at him. “If you’re
afraid of me right now… you’ll never make it with the
Elder.”

“Friends…” he whispered.

“How old is Alexis?”

“She… she’s
15.”

Emily grinned, “And in
your infinite wisdom, you guessed that the Elder would be ok with
you dating his 15-year-old daughter?”

“No, Ma’am… not dating…
friends.”

“Have you slept with her?”

Gabe gasped, “No!”

“Well… that may keep you
alive for now,” Emily said, and looked out as the sun began to set
behind the trees. She tapped her fingers against her leg as she
thought.

“We’re just friends, I
swear.”

Dain reached over and put a menacing
hand on the heku’s shoulder, “You touched her.”

“There… there was just… a
hair on her face…”

“Still a touch,” Emily
told him. “Gabe… Gabe… Gabe… ever hear what Chevalier does to heku
who touch me?”

Gabe nodded.

“Ever seen it?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“Ever seen what he does when someone
touches his daughter?”

“No, Ma’am.” His voice was
barely audible.

“That’s because no one’s been stupid
enough to do it!” Emily yelled.

“Are you… are you going to
tell the Elder?”

“Not sure. If I wanted you
banished, I’d do it myself.”

His mouth fell instantly
dry and he looked over at Dain. The 8-year-old grinned at
him.

***

“Silas!” Alexis screamed,
and ran up to him in the stables.

Silas turned suddenly and blurred to
her, “Lexi, what’s wrong?”

Alexis looked around and then pulled
him into the stables, “Mom’s going to kill Gabe.”

“Our Gabe? Why?”

“He… she just is. They
left two hours ago in the truck and she’s not come back
yet.”

Silas put a hand on her shoulder,
“Calm down and tell me what happened.”

Mark and Kralen walked into the
stables and Alexis froze, her eyes wide.

“What’s up?” Kralen asked.
He glanced over at Alexis and it was obvious that she’d been
crying.

“I’m still trying to
figure that out. Something about Emily killing Gabe.”

“Gabe? Your former guard?” Mark
asked.

Alexis nodded, but didn’t
speak.

“She’s had it out for him
for a while but no one knows why,” Mark said, and looked around the
stables. “Maybe we need to go to the Council.”

“No!” Alexis yelled, and
then lowered her voice. “No, we can’t tell them.”

“Tell us, Lexi. Why is
Emily after Gabe?” Silas said softly.

“Not after! She ordered Gabe into her
truck and then drove off.”

Mark frowned, “How long
ago?”

“Two hours,” Alexis said,
and began to wring her hands.

Silas touched her arm, “Tell us what
happened so we can fix it.”

Alexis glanced at Kralen
and Mark. They were again struck how much she looked like Emily,
but with Chevalier’s black, haunting eyes and dark hair.

“Gabe… we were talking,” Alexis
whispered.

“Keep going,” Kralen urged.

“Well… he just moved a piece of hair
off of my face and Mom overreacted and…”

“Wait… moved or lovingly brushed?”
Kralen asked, frowning.

“Moved! Kralen, not all of
us are perverts.”

“How does that make one a
pervert?”

“Shut up…” Alexis growled.
“So she took off with him and Dain in the truck.”

Silas grinned slightly,
“If I ask what the topic of conversation was, will I get called
names too?”

“No,” Alexis said, and
rolled her eyes. “We were just talking about stuff.”

“Did he touch you?” Mark asked
her.

“Well… I guess probably.”

“Then you’re damned well
lucky it wasn’t the Elder,” Mark whispered harshly.

“He didn’t do anything
wrong!”

“Wait,” Kralen said,
thinking. “When your Mom fired Gabe as your bodyguard… was it
because you had a crush on him?”

Alexis just blushed and looked down at
the ground.

Silas nodded, “So you had
a crush and your Mom replaced him… dang, I wondered what he’d done.
He didn’t even know it.”