Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series (99 page)

“
That’s not going to work,
we’re sending Zohn and…”

“
What!?” Emily screamed. “I
don’t want Zohn anywhere near me.”

“
I’m going with the forces
and Quinn is staying here with the palace. Zohn’s the only one that
can go.”

“
The Valle and Zohn can’t
stop me from leaving. You might as well take me with you,” Emily
said calmly. Quinn could picture her, how her jaw was set and her
arms were crossed at her chest.

“
You’re not being confined
because we don’t think you can do it.” Chevalier explained. “You’re
being taken to where you can suffer through morning sickness in
peace, with guards who can stay with you and protect you, ones who
aren’t worried about the kids or what’s happening in
Utah.”

“
Damnit,” Emily yelled, and
ran into the bathroom, slamming the door.

Chevalier stepped out and grinned slightly,
“That went well.”

Zohn arrived, ready to go, “How many times
did she cuss when she found out I’m going?”

Chevalier turned to him, “Please, please,
don’t antagonize her. We need to try to keep her blood pressure
down and keep her safe. The more you upset her, the harder it’s
going to make it for the Valle to keep her in the palace.”

“
I’ll be good,” Zohn said.
“I plan on staying out of her sight unless… she tries to
run.”

Chevalier knew that’s not what he meant. He
knew he would stay out of the way unless the Valle did something
stupid.

“
She’s out. I’ll meet you
at the helicopter,” Chevalier said, and turned into the
room.

Emily stumbled out, pale and shaky, “I’m
going with you.”

Chevalier grabbed her bag, pulled out the
9mm, and then picked her up.

“
You left my gun…” Emily
complained.

“
You don’t need a gun,” he
said, heading out of the room.

“
Put me down.”

“
No”

“
Chev, I’m not
going.”

“
Yes, you are.”

Emily glared at him, “Don’t make me ash
you.”

He kissed her on the forehead lightly, “You
won’t.”

“
I need to go,” Emily
yelled, and tried to squirm out of this grasp.

“
No”

“
Stop!” Emily screamed when
he handed her up into the Valle’s helicopter. She fought against
Zohn and the Chief Interrogator to get out of the Blackhawk, but
they managed to buckle her in as the Chief Enforcer crawled into
the Captain’s seat and they were soon lifting off. Chevalier could
see her screaming at Zohn as they took off for the Valle’s main
city.

He looked over as two more massive
helicopters flew toward them. Powan and Thukil were arriving.
Suddenly, the roof was full of Equites heku wearing all black as
they piled into the large helicopters. Chevalier was the last to
climb in, and he sat by the pilot as they lifted off for Trenton,
Utah.

***

“
Sir, she’s climbing out
the window,” one of the Valle Imperial Guards said.

Sotomar grinned slightly at Zohn, “We should
make it mandatory that each faction has to hold her for a month…
keeps our guards on their toes.”

“
I’d happily send her
over,” Zohn told him as they both went outside.

Sotomar and Zohn looked up as Emily scaled
down the side of the enemy palace. There were rain gutters down the
side of the building that she used to edge herself away from the
sixth-floor room they had put her in.

“
Sort of disturbing, having
the Winchester crawling down the side of a building,” Valle Elder
Ryan said, joining them.

“
Go get her and jump down,”
Sotomar said to an Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard quickly climbed up the
drainage pipe and soon had a firm grip on her.

“
Hey! Put me down,” Emily
said, and then screamed when he jumped, landing softly on the grass
in front of the Elders. She had a death grip on his neck when he
landed and choked him a bit before she let go. She spun
unexpectedly, and slapped the Imperial Guard.

He glanced at Sotomar before bowing and
blurring back inside. Emily turned to the Elders and crossed her
arms.

“
We can’t let you scale
down the side of the building,” Sotomar said, amused.

Emily glared at him, “Am I a prisoner here
then?”

“
You already know you’re
not a prisoner here,” he said, and took her arm gently to lead her
inside.

“
Good, then I’m
leaving.”

“
I’ll make you a deal,”
Zohn said. “Go two hours without throwing up, and I’ll drive you to
Utah.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t trust
you.”

“
You should, I would like
nothing more than to see you take your place in the Ferus as an
Elder.”

She glared at him and walked back
inside.

***

The four helicopters landed in a remote
field outside of the small Northern Utah town of Trenton. General
Skinner and Captain Darren met Chevalier off to the side of the
forming troops.

“
Send in the wolves, keep
low and try to blend,” Chevalier said. General Skinner nodded and
moved off with his troops. Within seconds, there were almost a
hundred wolves running over the Rocky Mountains toward the
suspected Ferus compound.

“
I want a report before we
advance, wait until Skinner gets back,” Chevalier said. “Ready them
into teams of 50. We’ll come at them from all directions. No one
claiming to be a Ferus is to leave that compound alive.”

“
Yes, Sir,” Darren said,
heading off to meet up with his Cavalry.

“
Want me to check on Em?”
Kyle asked, walking up to the Elder.

“
Talk to Zohn, don’t call
her,” Chevalier said, looking over the majestic snowcapped
mountains.

Kyle returned a few minutes later, grinning,
and Chevalier glanced at him, “So, how are they holding up?”

“
No one’s been ashed, yet,”
Kyle chuckled. “She tried to climb down the side of the Valle
Palace, but they got her. I guess Zohn told her if she can go two
hours without being sick, he’ll drive her down here.”

Chevalier frowned, “That wasn’t smart.”

“
Well, no, but when they
didn’t hear her get sick… they… erm… helped,” Kyle said, and
started to laugh.

“
I don’t want to know, just
tell me if Zohn brings her down.”

“
Here’s Powan,” Kyle said.
Chevalier turned and saw six wolves running toward them. As they
neared, their illusion cleared and one of the Lieutenant’s came
forward.

“
There is a compound about
10 miles east of here in a valley. It’s surrounded by cement walls
that are 8 feet tall, not lined with anything. The guards are armed
with guns, not sure what’s up with that,” the Lieutenant reported.
“Looks to be about a hundred heku. General Skinner thinks it’s
probably not their main city. It’s too small.”

“
Tell General Skinner to
take the west wall. We’ll send Thukil to the north and City will
handle the south and east,” Chevalier said, and turned to Kyle.
“Take the south group. Kill everyone, I don’t care if they are
fighting back or not. Leave anyone ranking for me to
interrogate.”

“
Yes, Sir,” Kyle
said.

“
Tell them to keep an eye
out for Alexis’ scent. It’s Winchester, just not as strong as
Emily. She’ll be the easiest to find and will let us know if the
kids are here. We’ll wait until first light to attack.”

Kyle and the Lieutenant headed off while
Chevalier gathered the troops he was leading.

***

“
It’s amazing to me how she
slips out so easily,” Sotomar said as he and Zohn went to the
garage.

“
It’s annoying is what it
is, how that mortal can elude us… with her scent, we should be able
to track her without even trying,” Zohn said, stepping into the
garage.

“
She’s in the H2,” a guard
told them, and stepped back.

“
Well at least we know how
she slipped out just now. That’s an easy fix and it’s already been
remedied.”

Zohn nodded and looked into the H2 when they
arrived. Emily was curled up across the front seats. He sighed and
opened the door, “Come on, Emily.”

Emily shook her head. She was pale and
shaky.

“
Child, you cannot leave,”
Sotomar told her softly.

“
I can’t move… don’t make
me move,” she whispered, and fought to keep from getting sick. The
entire world was swaying slowly and she had a grip on the seat
belt.

“
I don’t want to leave you
in the vehicle. You’ll be more comfortable in the bed.”

“
No,” she whispered. “Just
kill me. If you drain me, I won’t tell anyone.”

Zohn’s body tensed and he glanced at Sotomar
before relaxing, the enemy Elder was grinning.

“
Tempting, Child, but let
me take you to bed,” the Valle Elder said. He picked her up amid
protests and she grabbed a hold of his arm as he carried her to
bed.

***

The Equites arrived in the dark of night and
took up position around the small compound. They guessed it could
house no more than 200 heku, which was no match for the gathered
forces. The four groups waited through the night, listening to
everything that went on and keeping their senses out for any sign
of the children.

The sound of a wolf howling broke the
silence just after dawn. The fog rolled in earlier that morning and
visibility dropped, which was better for the Equites forces.
Moments after the piercing call of the wolf, the Equites descended
into the small compound, easily scaling the 8-foot tall walls.

The first scream echoed through the canyon
as Chevalier dropped down from the cement wall and turned toward
the sounds of battle. Ferus after Ferus fell, and blood streamed
down the cold rock walkways through the coven. There were no signs
of any leaders or military, but the purple emblem was emblazoned
across every surface.

Chevalier moved slowly behind his troops. He
chose to use his senses and let those below him fight. They checked
behind every door as they worked their way to the main building in
the center. The four groups of Equites met up as they surrounded
the building and all of them were aware of the smell of a
Winchester.

Chevalier was the first to enter. He pushed
open the double doors and came face-to-face with terrified Ferus
guards. Their purple capes hung at their backs as they slowly
stepped away from the enraged Elder. Equites forces flooded into
the building from all directions, and the Elder had the first two
guards dead before his group all made it inside.

“
Sir!” Kyle yelled, and
Chevalier appeared at his side. They walked down a stone staircase
into a makeshift prison. There were only two cells, and Allen was
in one. He looked up at them, his eyes furious. He was wearing the
black pants, white shirt, and purple cape of the Ferus guard, and
his hands were shackled to the wall.

Chevalier tore the door off the hinges and
quickly released Allen from his bindings, “Where’s Alexis?”

“
I don’t know, they
separated us,” Allen said, tearing the cape from his neck. He
pulled the rank insignia off of his collar and showed it to his
Dad, “Commander.”

Chevalier shook his head and took the
insignia, “Help us find Alex.”

The three blurred back up the stairs when
General Skinner called for them. They appeared in a large bedroom
decorated in pinks and maroons, Emily’s favorite colors. There was
a large painting of her over the fireplace. In the painting, she
was wearing a long billowy dress and her hair was done up in soft
curls that framed a diamond encrusted tiara. The bed was surrounded
by soft netting and the closet was full of dresses.

“
This is supposed to be
Mom’s coven, when she becomes Elder,” Allen explained. “Until then,
I am supposed to run it.”

Chevalier and Allen walked down the hallway,
opening doors until they found one that smelled strongly of the
Winchester. The bedroom was warm and comfortable, decorated in all
shades of purple. The bed was recently slept in, and the window was
slightly ajar. Chevalier picked up the pillow and inhaled
deeply.

“
Not very recent, I’d say a
day,” Chevalier said, and looked around. There was a magazine lying
open on the desk and a half-done puzzle on the table beside
it.

General Skinner came in, “Sir, one of the
guards said they’ve taken the girl to Henderson, Nevada.”

“
He just told you that?”
Chevalier asked, turning to face the General.

Skinner grinned slightly, “It took a little
convincing, not sure he’s the bravest heku I’ve ever met.”

“
See if you can find
someone else to confirm that,” Chevalier said, and turned back to
the room.

“
I fought to stay with
her,” Allen said, looking at the floor.

Chevalier whispered for everyone to leave,
and he put a hand on Allen’s shoulder, “You couldn’t fight them
all.”

“
You could have,” Allen
said, looking up at his Dad. “I just couldn’t fight them off. I
told Alexis not to turn them to ash. I’m not sure she could have
gotten all of them.”

“
That’s good, I hope she
listens to you,” Chevalier said. “We’ll find her.”