Valle
Book 2 of the Heku Series
By T.M. Nielen
Published by T.M. Nielsen Smashwords
Find us at
http://www.hekuseries.com/
Copyright © 2010 by T.M. Nielsen
This book is available in print at http://www.amazon.com
Digital Edition, License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Chapter 1 : The Valle
Emily stretched out on the large bed and realized she was alone. She sat up and searched the bedroom but didn’t see him, then sighed and laid back down. The bed felt amazing this morning, and she didn’t want to get up. Only a few minutes later, she stumbled out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
Morning sickness had gotten stronger over the last few days, and she’d spent a good part of her day sitting on the cold tile floor. Chevalier didn’t know. She somehow managed to keep it from him, afraid of how he would react even though it was perfectly normal.
“Em?” Chevalier called into the room.
Emily cleared her throat and called back to him, “Will be out in a sec.”
“I have some breakfast for you. Gordon sent up biscuits and gravy.” She heard the sound of a tray being placed on the small table by the fire.
Emily fought against the lurch in her stomach at the thought of gravy, but it was too much, and she turned back to the toilet.
“Emily?” She heard him run into the bathroom. His voice was worried.
“Go away,” she finally managed to say.
“Can I get you something?” He knelt down by her as she laid her cheek on the cold floor.
“Get that food out of here,” she told him, and then shut her eyes.
Chevalier sighed, “Maybe you should see the doctor.”
“I’m fine, just don’t bring food into the bedroom.” She wished he would leave so she could take a nap on the floor.
He was out the door and removed the tray from the room, then returned to her side before she even realized he’d left.
“Let me put you to bed,” he said, sliding his hands under her.
“No, this feels better.” She moved her face to a new spot and sighed as the cold tile cooled her cheek.
He watched her for a few minutes, wishing there was something he could do.
“Go away,” she said again.
“If you need me, just call,” he told her as he left hesitantly.
Chevalier stepped into the ante-chamber and told Anna to leave Emily alone, then went down to his office and picked up the phone, dialing quickly.
“Doctor Edwards, please,” he said hurriedly.
“He’s with a patient, may I help you?” the nurse asked.
“No, tell him it’s Chevalier and tell him, now.” She could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn’t to be messed with.
“One moment please.” Her voice was irritated.
It was only a few minutes later that Dr. Edwards was on the phone, “This is Dr. Edwards.”
“Doctor, this is Chevalier, from the island.”
“Yes, I remember.” He honestly sounded pleased.
“My wife, she’s pregnant and...”
“Yes I know. I saw her last week.”
Chevalier paused and then smiled slightly, “Yes, I guess you did. She’s pretty sick now, can you come?”
“Sick as in a fever, or sick as in nauseous?” the doctor asked, concerned.
“Nauseous”
“It’s morning sickness. She’ll be fine in a month or so.”
“A month?!?” Chevalier couldn’t believe how blasé the doctor was about it.
“Yes, get her some soda crackers and Sprite, that’ll help.”
“Right, I’ll do that.” He wrote the two items down on a slip of paper.
“Call if she gets worse. As long as she’s eating and gaining weight, she’ll be fine,” the doctor said kindly.
“Sure, ok,” Chevalier said, and hung up the phone.
He stepped out of his office and called for a young heku that was walking past, “You… come here.”
The young heku turned to him, terrified, “Y.. yes, Sir?”
“Can you sail a yacht?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“There’s one docked to the south of the pier, take it and go into town immediately and get these. When you get back, give them to Anna,” he demanded, and handed him the list before heading up to Emily’s room.
Emily wasn’t in bed yet. He rounded the corner and was about to tell her he was taking her to bed when he saw her sound asleep on the floor. He sat down beside her and leaned up against the wall to wait.
Several hours passed, and Chevalier was debating moving her to bed when he heard Anna in the next room. He got up quietly to meet her, “Did he get it?”
Anna nodded and set down a box of crackers and some cold Sprite in a glass, “You didn’t specify, though, so he brought back 16 cases of crackers and 64 big bottles of Sprite.”
Chevalier smiled. He was pleased at the amount. He'd rather have too much than not enough.
Anna looked toward the bathroom, “How is she, Sir?”
He glanced at the door, then back to Anna, “She’s asleep on the floor.”
Anna gasped, “You should move her to the bed. She can’t be comfortable.”
“I tried that,” Chevalier said, a little irritated Anna assumed he hadn’t thought of that on his own. “She said it felt better on the floor.”
“Hrm,” Anna sighed, and left the room.
Chevalier returned to the bathroom, and Emily looked up at him from the floor. He reached down and picked her up, “You can come back to the floor after you eat.”
“Ugh, I can’t eat,” she told him, and rested her head in the crook of his neck.
“These are doctor’s orders… Sprite and crackers.” He sat her down on the edge of the bed and handed her a cracker.
Emily took it and looked at it for a while before taking a tiny bite.
“You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“If it stays down, I’ll take another,” she said, not moving.
Chevalier studied her. She was pale but otherwise looked fine for having slept on the bathroom floor. He did notice a twinge of annoyance in her voice but was able to refrain from chuckling.
She took another bite and then sighed, “Please go away.”
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, “What if I say no?”
She glared at him and he again found the restraint not to laugh.
“You’re driving me insane, Chev.” She took another bite of the cracker.
“I’m not leaving, not if you’re sick. Maybe I can help.”
“I’m not sick… and you’ve done enough.” Her voice was icy.
Chevalier considered it for a moment, and then figured he'd better leave. He wasn’t sure why her irritation was endearing, but he knew she wouldn’t find his observation amusing.
“Ok, call if you need me then,” he said, and kissed her forehead before leaving.
Emily took a drink of Sprite and then got up and got dressed. She wouldn’t admit it to Chevalier, but she was feeling better after eating some.
Finally managing to pull herself together, she headed out to the barn. She knew that in the barn, she wouldn’t have someone making comments or watching her like she was about to die suddenly.
Peanut came to greet her as she entered the barn, and she sat on the hay to pet him, “How’s it going, Peanut?”
The cat curled up in his favorite spot on her lap and purred as she pet him.
“So I guess you heard too, eh?” she asked, talking to Peanut as she rubbed his head.
The cat glanced up at her and then curled up against her chest.
“Got myself into a mess.” Emily found some comfort in talking to the cat. She wondered briefly if that was odd, “Just what I needed, a baby, huh?”
The cat tensed up and she moved her hand away, “What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, Peanut arched his back and lashed out at her with his claw, leaving a deep bleeding gash down her arm.
“Damnit, Peanut!” she yelled, and pushed the cat off of her before getting up. Peanut ran off deeper into the barn after hissing at her again.
Emily wandered back inside to clean the scratches.
“Good morning,” Kyle said, heading toward her.
“Whatever,” she grumbled, and walked past him.
He paused and then followed her, “What’s wrong? I smell blood.”
She turned on him angrily, “Let’s see. It could be either that I’m knocked up, or I just got attacked by my cat.”
Kyle smiled broadly, “That’s great, Em! Wait… what cat?” His face grew serious.
“We’ll see if it’s great when I can stop sleeping on the bathroom floor,” she said, walking way. She stopped when she felt his hand on her arm.
“What cat?”
“My cat, Peanut, out in the barn.” She tried to pull away but wasn’t able to, “What!?”
Kyle studied the scratches on her arm, “Come with me,” he said, pulling her toward Chevalier’s office.
“No,” she told him, and planted her feet. “I’m not in the mood for this, Kyle. I just want to clean out this scratch, and then go back and feed the cows.”
“Emily, we don’t have a cat,” he said, tugging on her arm.
“Stop it!” she yelled, and jerked her arm angrily away from him.
“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked, approaching them.
“Kyle’s freaking out because I got scratched by my barn cat,” she said, and then glared at Kyle.
Chevalier froze, “What cat?”
“Freak!” Emily yelled, and stalked away from the two of them, wondering how they could be so upset about a cat.
“Emily, stop,” Chevalier said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Cats hate the heku. They won’t come near us. There’s no way a cat is living on this island.”
“Yeah, well, he’s my cat. Maybe he knows you all don’t come to the barn,” she said, still irritated.
“Kyle, find that cat,” Chevalier said, and Kyle ran for the barn suddenly.
“No! Don’t hurt my cat,” Emily yelled, running after him.
“Emily,” Chevalier said, quickly catching up to her and stopping her. “No cat is going to be this near to the heku. I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but Ulrich had a familiar, a cat. It’s Sam.”
“What’s Sam?”
“Ulrich’s familiar, and his natural form is a cat.”
Emily frowned, “My Sam?”
He nodded.
“Well… I’ll kill him myself then,” she said, heading for the barn.
“Let Kyle handle it. If he can’t find Sam, we may have to get out of here in a hurry,” Chevalier said, and then shouted orders out to the shadows in an unfamiliar language.
“Why?” She turned to him, suddenly nervous.
“Ulrich’s one threat to me… was that if you ever ended up pregnant by a heku, he was going to come and take you away.” He was holding her hand now, gently pulling her toward the stairs.
“He wouldn’t!” she said angrily, but he didn’t answer.
“Sir, there’s no sign of the cat,” Kyle said, catching up with them.
Chevalier growled, “It has to be Sam.”
Kyle nodded in agreement.
“So we have what? A week before they come for her?” Kyle asked.
“Maybe less. Sam has to figure out how to get off this island to inform Ulrich, and then it’ll take a few days to get here.” Chevalier was calculating his defensive forces in his head.
“We can fight them off. We’re the largest coven in the Equites,” Kyle said, setting his jaw.
“No, I’m not going to risk your coven for my life,” Emily said. She winced a bit when both heku looked at her.
“You’re one of us, Em. We protect our own,” Kyle said softly.
Emily rolled her eyes, “He’s not going to take me. I’m not going to be the damsel and faint when they try… I’ll fight back.”
“You can’t fight those numbers, just let us do this,” Kyle said to her.
Emily nodded, “Fine, when you’re done planning a war, come get me.”
When she left, Kyle looked at Chevalier and smiled, “She’s grouchy.”
Chevalier couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yeah, she is.”
“Congratulations, Sir.”
Chevalier’s face lit up and Kyle couldn’t help but grin, “Unexpected, actually.”
Kyle nodded, “I would imagine.”
“Let’s go find that cat,” Chevalier said seriously. Kyle nodded and they both left toward the barn.
Chapter 2 : Travis
After numerous meetings and sessions with the Elders, plans were being made to whisk Emily away to an undisclosed location. She was irritated with the entire process and spent most of her time in the barn. Things were tense around the castle because of her strong scent, which Chevalier finally explained to her. She felt better being outside, away from the heku.
Emily stepped into her room after being away in the barn all day and smiled when she saw the roses and a note on her bed. She smelled the flowers and read the note.
Em,
Let’s ignore the Elders and go away together on the boat. We’ll be safe there, and we won’t have to put up with guards or worry about anything but us.
Meet me there as soon as you can pack and get away unnoticed,
Chev
Emily’s insides jumped. She wasn’t going to have to run away and be guarded 24/7 by the heku. She’d be where she preferred, out on the ocean with Chevalier. She hurried and packed a bag, then went to the wardrobe where she’d stuffed the sheets she used the last time she had to get away. It was easy enough to tie it off to the balcony, and then she nimbly swung over the side and worked her way to the ground.
She hid in shadows the entire way, moving quickly through the streets of the island. With dusk approaching, there were plenty of hiding spots, and she was soon within sight of the pier. All seemed quiet there, and she knew the guards on duty wouldn’t question when she passed them and headed down the beach.
“Evenin’, Travis,” Emily said as she rounded the corner of the tall cement fence and stepped out onto the pier.
She gasped, there was blood covering the pier. She saw pieces of heku piled into a macabre heap just as someone grabbed her from behind. She struggled to kick at the knee of her attacker, but he brought a rag to her face, and she started drifting into unconsciousness. Just as blackness took over, she saw a head roll out from the pile, it was Travis.
***
“I think we’re ready then,” Chevalier said to the group in the conference room. “We’ll leave in the morning.
Kyle nodded and then excused the rest of the guards on duty that were assigned to escort them to the staging area.
“I’ll just feel better when we’re off the island,” Kyle said, walking with Chevalier up the stairs.
“I agree. It’s taken too long to get this put together, thanks to the hesitancy by the Elders.” He was still frustrated with their slow reaction.
The two walked into Emily’s room. Chevalier saw her shoes and headed to the bathroom, “Hey, Em?”
He glanced into the bathroom and frowned when he didn’t see her.
“Chevalier!” Kyle yelled from behind him, frantic.
Chevalier turned as Kyle handed him the roses and the note from Emily’s bed. He read the note and crumpled it in his hand. His eyes burned red with fury.
An alarm sounded in the town, the alarm of an attack. Chevalier growled and ran to the balcony, quickly jumping out and landing hard on the ground. Kyle was on his heels as they ran for the pier. They both stopped suddenly as they caught sight of the blood and bodies that were piled high on the wooden planks.
Kyle reached down and picked up a rag. Smelling it, he turned to Chevalier, “It’s chloroform,” he said, and handed it to the Chief Enforcer.
Chevalier took the rag and smelled it, inhaling deeply, “Emily too… they got her, Kyle.”
Kyle’s heart sank as he looked out across the ocean and saw nothing but waves as the sun set.
Others began to appear on the pier, and a small vigil had begun to bury the remains of the four pier guards and their dogs. Shutters were closed across the island, clocks were stopped, and lights were put out.
“Get me the location of the Valle Elders, now!” he yelled to Storm, who had just arrived on the scene.
Storm didn’t respond but quickly ran off to do as she was told. She’d never seen this amount of rage coming out of the Chief Enforcer, and it scared her.
***
Emily was finally able to pull herself out of the fog. She wasn’t sure why she felt so dizzy and disoriented. As she repositioned in bed, she felt even more confused. The bed was hard, and the covers were stiff and scratchy.
“Chev?” she whispered into the dark. Her words were slurred.
He didn’t answer, and the room seemed quieter than she remembered. Finally, she opened her eyes and then sat bolt upright, looking around the small room.
“Chev? Kyle?” she called out louder, starting to panic.
Emily jumped out of bed but when her feet hit the floor, it moved out from under her, and she fell to the floor, the world spinning. She finally managed to get to her knees and pulled herself to standing using the bed as support. A desk lamp was the only light in the room, but she was able to make out the dark blues and grays of the room’s decoration. There weren’t any windows, and she felt trapped.
Stumbling, Emily made it to the door and swung it open to another unfamiliar room. The room was dark, and she felt along the wall until she found a light switch. She looked around, confused, as she tried to figure out where she was.
This room was larger than the other. There was a TV and couch on one end, and a small kitchen on the other. There were no windows here either, and the same blue and gray décor was also throughout this room. She saw a metal door on the far end by the TV, and she steadied herself as she went to it. When she couldn’t open it, she began to pound on the door.
After several minutes, she stopped when no one answered and turned back to the room. The TV was turned off and there was no sound in the room. The silence was eerie. She walked past the couch and ran her hand along a tall bookshelf full of books, then looked around for some hint of familiarity.
Emily’s eye caught sight of something strange in the far corner, something that was moving. She got closer and looked up at it. It was a camera, and it was facing her. She moved to the side, and it moved with her.
Emily had an idea on how to get some attention. She picked up one of the kitchen chairs and swung it at the camera, knocking it loose and leaving only exposed wires in its place. She went into the bathroom and looked around but didn’t see a camera. Hesitating, she walked back into the cave-liked bedroom and saw a camera face her. She used the chair again to knock it off the wall.
“Emily?” someone called from the larger room.
Emily emerged from the bedroom, still carrying the chair, figuring it would work rather well for self-defense. She stopped when she saw three heku at the large metal door. They were all wearing hospital masks. She wrinkled her nose when she got closer because they smelled like strong menthol.
“Who are you?” she asked, still holding the chair.
“We’re here to protect you, Child,” the one in front said.
“Then let me go.”
“No, you will be staying with us for a while. We are going to replace the cameras, and there will be a punishment if you destroy them again,” he said calmly.
Emily frowned, “Excuse me?”
“A punishment, you will follow our rules or face the consequences.”
“Are you Equites?”
The three looked at one another nervously, “Leave the cameras alone. This is your only warning.”
Emily threw the chair she was holding at the head of the front heku, but he blocked it easily.
“Last warning, Emily,” he said, and then walked out, locking the heavy-metal door behind him.
Emily was starting to understand. She wasn’t sure when, but the Valle must have gotten her. She sat on the couch and curled up into a ball. Her mind was still foggy about when she was taken. She couldn’t remember if there had been a wide-scale attack and if Chevalier was alive. She buried her head in her arms and felt a tug on her arm, then looked over and saw the remains of a small puncture wound, one a needle leaves.
She wasn’t sure of the time. There were no clocks in the rooms, but a short time after the three left her room, five more of them came back. Two grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, while the three others replaced the cameras. The two held her arms and kept away from her legs. She couldn’t get a decent shot off. As soon as the cameras were replaced, the five left quietly, never saying a word to her.
When they left, she grabbed another chair and smashed the two cameras again. Her eyes flared when the metal doors opened, and she held the chair in front of her, ready for a fight. Three heku entered the room again, wearing hospital masks and smelling of menthol.
“We warned you, Child,” the first one said calmly.
Emily readied the chair in front of her, “Come and get me then.”
They descended on her, and she managed to break the shorter one’s jawbone with the chair before they restrained her. They forced her onto the bed and pulled leather straps up, then restrained her to the bed. The soft padded leather straps around her wrists and ankles trapped her in an uncomfortable X position.
Emily screamed out in fury as they left the small bedroom, and she heard the heavy door lock.
She pulled and tugged at the restraints but couldn’t slip her hands or feet out of them. Her back began to ache miserably as she rested to catch her breath before starting again to find a way out of this. Hours passed before she finally gave up, and her exhausted body succumbed to sleep.
Emily jerked awake as soft, warm hands began working at the restraint on her wrist. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar man, a mortal. She frowned and fought against the restraints.
“Wait, let me get you out,” he said, working on straps.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled at him.
“You want to stay there?” he asked, looking over at her. She ignored him as he went back to getting her out of them.
Within a few minutes, she was free of the bed and stood up quickly to face the man.
“Who are you?” she asked, watching him carefully.
“My name is Tim. Do you know how we got here?” he asked, and looked around the room.
She frowned at him, “You don’t know?”
He shook his head, “I’m not sure. I was just heading in to work when some guys grabbed me and pulled me into a van.”
“Uh hu,” she said, not buying his story.
“Let’s get out of here,” Tim said, heading into the front room. He tried the handle of the heavy door and then pounded, “Let us out!”
No one came, so Emily just watched him. The cameras were now on Tim instead of her, and he turned to look at them.
“First off… we get rid of those,” he said, looking around for something to use.
“That’s what landed me in straps. I broke their cameras one too many times,” she said, staying away from him. She still didn’t trust him, “I’m Emily, by the way.”
Tim just nodded at her and started hunting around the room.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“Anything to use as a weapon. There has to be a way out of here.”
Emily sat down on the couch and watched as he went through every drawer and every cupboard, even thumbing through books looking for something he could use. She eventually turned on the TV and groaned when the shows weren’t in English.
“Is that Finnish?” Tim asked, looking at the TV.
Emily shrugged. She grabbed a book and began to read, still watching Tim pace out of the corner of her eye.
“You have to know something,” he said, turning on her.
“Yeah, well I don’t,” she told him, irritated.
“Are you from Atlanta?”
“No”
“Do you know anyone from Atlanta?”
“No”
“How long have you been here?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.
“I don’t see any clocks around here, do you?” she snapped. “I’m guessing a day or two.”
An awkward silence fell over them as Emily read and Tim watched muted TV. They glanced at each other every so often. It was obvious that neither trusted the other. When it seemed like a lot of time had passed, Emily stood up and went to the bedroom, followed by Tim.
Emily figured Tim was a few years older than she was. He was almost as tall as Keith but wasn’t as muscular. He had a nice tan that contrasted with his blond hair, pretty blue eyes, and an attractive smile.
“Oh no ya don’t, bed’s mine,” she said, lying down.
“How do you figure?” Tim asked. “There’s room for both of us.”
“In your dreams,” she said, pulling the covers over her.
“Fine,” Tim said, and went to make his bed on the couch.
Emily woke up to the smell of pancakes, and she wandered out into the larger room.
“Breakfast is ready,” Tim said, smiling.
Emily narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t trust him and wouldn’t put it past him to poison her food, but she was starting to feel sick, and she didn’t see any crackers lying around.
“Here, sit,” Tim told her, putting a plate of pancakes down on the small table.
“Thanks,” she said, and then hesitated before sitting down.
“To make up for last night. I was just edgy, and I apologize.” He sat down with a plate for himself.
They ate in silence, and the hot food helped Emily’s stomach settle down.
“Thank you, that was good,” Emily said as she stood up and began washing the dishes.
“Don’t do those, I have it,” he said, standing up.
“I’ll wash,” she said, and tossed him a towel. “You dry.”
“Sounds good, and then let’s see how we can get out of here.” He glanced toward the door again.
“Not sure we can. Do you have any idea what kind of environment you are in?” she asked, picking up a dish and washing it.
“What do you mean?”
“We aren’t being held in some government controlled camp or by some strange lunatic. This is all carefully orchestrated and maliciously carried out,” she said softly.
“You know more than I do… fill me in,” Tim said, watching her, the clean yet wet dishes piling up in the sink.
“I don’t trust you enough to tell you, and until I figure out how you work into the scheme of things, I’m going to keep it that way.” She finished and went to sit down with her book.
“How is that fair? How is it you know more about this than I do?” He sat down beside her.
“Because I’m smarter than you are,” she said, still looking at her book.
His eyes narrowed, “Tell me one thing… why us?”
Emily sighed and looked up at him, “I don’t know why you… and the why me part is none of your business.”
While she pretended to read her book, Emily’s mind struggled to remember when she was taken. Something terrible happened, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t remember what. She turned away from Tim when tears came into her eyes. She couldn’t remember if something happened to Chevalier or even to Kyle. What if no one was looking for her? What if this was her new life, tucked away and tormented by these heku?
Emily felt her stomach turn, so she casually walked into the bathroom, shut and locked the door, and then collapsed onto the floor. She didn’t know how long she had been going between the toilet and the cool floor but apparently it was long enough for Tim to become suspicious.
“Are you ok in there?” he asked, knocking on the door.
“Yes,” she managed to say weakly.
“Ok,” he responded, but he didn’t sound convinced.
Once she felt her stomach settled enough, she walked directly to the bedroom and laid down on the bed.
There were bodies lined up along the pier. Everywhere she looked, she saw faces she knew, watching from unseeing eyes. There was blood dripping off the wooden planks, turning the water scarlet red. She searched through the bodies trying to find him. She was being watched, she could tell. When she turned around, there were more bodies piled up. Someone was killing everyone she knew.
“Emily, Emily, wake up.” Tim shook her gently.
Emily gasped and sat up quickly, her body shaking.
“You were having a nightmare,” he said, still sitting by her on the bed. He reached out and put an arm around her, testing to see if she would fight back.
When she didn’t, he pulled her into a tight hug, “It’s ok, it’s over,” he whispered, rocking her slowly.
Emily wanted to let go, but she needed the warmth. The arms that wrapped around her were strange and unfamiliar, but they held some comfort, and she buried her head into his shoulder and cried.
Chapter 3 : Decisions
“This is taking too long! I demand a resolution immediately. It’s been seven days,” Chevalier scowled at the Elders, both Equites and Valle, that were seated before him.
“We’re doing what we can. It’s a fine line between getting Emily back and preventing a full-scale war,” Selest said to him.
“I don’t care if it causes World War III, as long as we get her back where she belongs.” He turned his attention to the Valle Elders.
The Valle Elders glanced at each other and spoke, too softly for Chevalier to hear.
“What are you doing about this? They attacked and murdered my guards unprovoked and then kidnapped my wife!” Chevalier growled.
“Your wife?” Selest asked.
“Yes mine.” He turned his angry eyes to her.
“I thought she was bonded to Kyle.”
“You thought what I told you… carte blanche remember? She is my wife, and she’s carrying my child.” His voice dropped a bit.
The Equites Elders turned and put their heads together, talking quickly among themselves.
Leonid was the first to turn around, “What other lies have you told us, Chevalier?”
“I told you what I needed to, to get my job done. My orders were to observe Emily Russo and to discover if she held any extra powers,” he reminded them.
“And?”
“And I won’t discuss it in mixed company.” He glared at the Valle Elders.
“We will be back then,” the oldest Valle Elder said with a huff, and the three of them walked out of the room.
Selest turned back to Chevalier and Kyle, “What have you found?”
Kyle cleared his throat.
Chevalier glanced at him quickly and then spoke, “She has the powers we were looking for, but they are controlled. She uses them when she’s being attacked and no other time.”
“She has full control?” Leonid wanted to verify he heard correctly.
“Yes,” Chevalier said, watching them.
“So you are telling me that the Valle are now in possession of an active member of the Winchester family?” Selest was beginning to get angry.
Chevalier glared at her, “Yes.”
“You are positive that the girl is with child?” she asked.
“Yes”
“And you are the father?”
Chevalier growled, “Yes.”
The Elders looked horrified as the implications were starting to dawn on them.
“Very well,” Maleth said, standing up. “We will get her back at all costs.”
Chevalier grinned maliciously, and walked out, followed closely by Kyle.
***
Tim and Emily both turned to the heavy-metal door when it swung open. Seven heku walked in and stood by the door.
“What do you want?” Tim asked, standing up.
“Your cooperation,” the tallest said as two grabbed Tim and pinned him against the wall.
Emily stood up and backed away as the other five moved toward her, “Calm, Child, we won’t hurt you.”
She kicked one hard in the knee, dropping him to the floor before the other four grabbed her and drug her into the bedroom. She fought as they restrained her in the uncomfortable X position.
“This would be easier if you wouldn’t fight us,” the tall one said calmly.
Emily spit in his face and struggled as one of the heku rolled her shirt up and tucked it into the band of her bra. He then pulled her pants down low on her abdomen, exposing most of her torso.
“Stop it!” she screamed at them.
The shortest of the heku took out a measuring tape and carefully measured from her breastbone down to her pubic bone and wrote it into a notebook. Another of them painfully shoved a needle into her arm and drew a vial of blood.
Emily screamed in pain and outrage. Her back arched as she struggled to get loose.
“Calm down. You don’t want to hurt yourself,” the taller one told her, and then he held his hand over her lower abdomen and smiled.
The five left the room, leaving Emily in the X position, and she heard a struggle from Tim moments before the heavy door shut. He came into the room and gasped at what they had done to her, then immediately began to untie her wrists.
“What did they do?” he asked angrily.
“Some sort of demented physical,” she said as she sat up and readjusted her clothing. She looked at the crook of her arm and saw that the large needle left a stream of blood dripping down her arm. Tim handed her a rag, and she covered it.
“They took blood?” he asked.
“Yes”
“Why would they do that?” His face was full of questions.
***
“I don’t know what makes you think I have her,” Ulrich said calmly from across the table.
“I’m not an idiot. A week after we found out she is pregnant, she disappears? I want her returned to me immediately,” Chevalier yelled, and pounded his fist on the table.
“It’s an unfortunate coincidence… but I did warn you about not falling in love with her.” Ulrich was getting mad also.
“This has nothing to do with my feelings toward Emily. It has to do with your misguided interpretation of protecting your family.”
“Maybe she is dead,” Ulrich said coldly.
Chevalier hissed as Kyle sprang to his feet.
“She is not! Now return her immediately, or we will end this ourselves,” Kyle hissed.
“Meddling with the affairs of the Winchester family leads only to heartache. You should resign yourself now to the fact you will never see her again. It will make your life easier,” Ulrich said, sitting back in his chair.
“We will find her,” Chevalier said through clenched teeth.
“You will let me know when you do though, right? I’d like to know she’s ok,” Ulrich said, and it looked like he was hiding a grin.
“It’s only been two weeks. We will find her, and when we do, you will be next,” Chevalier said as he stood and left the room with Kyle and Storm following.
***
Tim untied Emily’s hands and feet again, “That’s what? Six times so far they’ve done that?”
Emily sat up and readjusted her clothes, “Yes.”
“What do you figure, every other day?” he asked, watching her closely.
She nodded and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She looked closely at her arm. It was swollen and bruised from all of the blood draws. Emily sat down on the cold tile and pulled her knees up to her body, wrapping her arms around them. She rocked slowly.
“Please, Chevalier, find me,” she said softly. She glanced at her ring and watched it as if it could somehow whisk her away to its maker.
Several hundred miles away, Chevalier shivered. He heard Emily’s words echo in his head, and he suddenly felt she was alone and afraid. He yelled more orders to his coven and concentrated on their training mission.
Emily knew he was alive at least. She remembered that if one of them were to die, it would break the bond, and she would be able to remove it. It was still securely fastened to her finger.
“Emily? Are you ok, Hun?” Tim asked, worried.
She didn’t answer but simply rocked in her secure ball and cried.
As she rocked, her mind replayed the bond, going over every intricate detail, which in turn led to how to break the bond, “Infidelity by one of the bonded, death or a betrayal.”
Something suddenly jumped into her mind, how Paul said that Ulrich would try to break the bond between her and Chevalier. How Travis mentioned that the Valle had employed donors in their quest to find her. Her eyes were furious when she looked at the door and wondered if Tim was a helpless pawn in all of this, or if he was in on it.
A plan formed in her mind for fishing out the truth from Tim. Her skin recoiled at the thought of him touching her, but she would be in full control at all times. It would never get to the point of breaking the bond she had with Chevalier. She only hoped the bond wouldn’t be fooled by desperate measures.
Emily stepped out from the bathroom and went right into Tim’s arms. He wrapped them around her and kissed her head lightly, “Are you ok?”
She nodded, “I’m ok, really. I’m just glad you’re here, and that I’m not alone.”
He smiled and winked at the camera above her head where she couldn’t see.
“Are you missing your husband again?” Tim asked in a soft, caring voice.
“I’m afraid he’s dead. I just feel that he is.” She played off of it, letting herself cry the tears she started in the bathroom.
“I’m so sorry,” Tim said, and he tightened his arms around her.
“I’m just going to go to bed now,” she said, taking a step toward the bedroom. “You can come lie down if you want. I know your back has to be hurting from sleeping on that old couch.”
He smiled enthusiastically and crawled into the bed beside her.
“No touching, just sleep,” she said to him, and yawned, then rolled onto her side away from him.
She felt when he nodded.
***
Chevalier was alarmed. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the feelings that a plan was set in motion. He looked over at Kyle, his eyes angry.
“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, and stopped to look at him.
“She has a plan… she’s doing something,” Chevalier said, his eyes far away.
Kyle hissed, “A plan? Like what?”
“I can’t tell, but so far it’s working. It’s given her hope, but there’s some edge to it, like it could turn on her.” Chevalier finally glanced at Kyle.
“Can’t you get through to her? Tell her to stop and wait for us?” Kyle asked.
“It doesn’t work that way. I've already tried.”
***
“Tim, I’m cold,” Emily said sleepily, and she felt him wrap an arm around her. She smiled into the dark blankets where no one could see her.
She felt him lightly brush her hair back away from her face as she drifted off to sleep. Both awoke to the sound of the metal door opening. They rushed into the living room and were immediately faced with the seven heku.
As Tim was held against the wall by two heku, Emily was hauled again into the bedroom. When she hit the bed, she doubled up and screamed.
The five heku froze and looked at her as tears poured out of her eyes, and she was groaning, clutching her stomach.
“What is wrong, Child?” one of them asked nervously, and glanced up at the cameras.
Emily groaned but didn’t answer. Her breathing turned into a pant.
“Something’s wrong, get her to Turbac,” one of them yelled, and she was scooped up and whisked out of where she’d spent the last four weeks.
She watched carefully as the hallways flew past her, remembering to groan occasionally and scream. It looked like she was under an encampment. The weather was cold. Everything was iced over, and it was snowing. One of the heku threw a blanket over her as they ran through the icy streets and into a small office.
“Turbac!” one of the heku yelled.
An old heku came out of the adjacent room, his face a mixture of fear and worry, “What happened?”
“She’s in pain, something’s wrong.”
Emily managed to squirm to another view. She saw a table full of vials of colorful liquid and a drawer full of empty syringes.
“Get her in here, lay her down,” the one they called Turbac ordered. He was a shorter heku with graying blue eyes and only a thin strip of hair left that ringed the back of his head.
She was pleased to see they put her in what appeared to be an operating room. There was a small silver table full of scalpels and other odd looking devices.
As she was set on the table, Turbac came to her quickly and began poking painfully at her stomach. She screamed when he touched her, but her eyes didn’t leave the table with the scalpel.
“Turn her over, I need her on her back,” he ordered the two heku who had made it into the office.
Before they understood what she was doing, she was standing beside the old man with a scalpel at her neck.
The three heku froze.
“I dare you, come closer to me. I’d rather die than let you have this baby,” Emily said as she cut her neck slightly.
The three of them gasped and looked nervously at each other.
“I bet your orders were to keep me alive, eh? How much trouble will you get into if I bleed out right here on the floor?” She watched them, her jaw set.
“Child, let’s talk about this,” Turbac said.
“Oh? You mean like how much we’ve talked since you kidnapped me from my home? Should we talk about how much trouble you’re going to be in when Chevalier gets here? Hmm?” She held the scalpel precariously over her carotid artery.
Turbac winced as she pressed the blade into her skin, not yet cutting into it.
“Please, Child, don’t do anything rash,” he begged.
“Aww, does your life depend on it?” she asked with mocking concern.
“We’re just following orders. You don’t want to harm yourself… let me have the scalpel.” He reached out for it, and she sliced ever so slightly into her neck.
The two heku by the door gasped and stepped back.
“Don’t!” Turbac screamed.
“What exactly are your orders then? Tell me. Do you wait until I deliver and then kill me and take the baby?” She watched their eyes, and her insides turned when she saw their reaction.
“Child…” Turbac said.
“Oh that’s it then? You wait until I deliver and then kill the baby? What kind of sick orders are those?” Her eyes flared, the green swimming angrily.
“We wouldn’t do that,” Turbac tried to assure her, and his hand came out again for the scalpel.
“Whose orders? Ulrich?” She noticed how they flinched at his name, and she knew she was right.
“You don’t know who you are dealing with.” Turbac looked at the horrified heku by the door.
“Oh I think I do. What you don’t know is that Chevalier won’t stop looking until he’s found me, if I’m still alive that is.” She felt herself stand taller as she spoke.
“Put the scalpel down, we can discuss matters. Is it the exams you don’t like? The blood draws maybe? We can discuss keeping your baby alive after you deliver, too.” Turbac thought that would convince her, and he relaxed until she cut a hair deeper into her neck.
“Stop!” he screamed.
She glared at Turbac, “What do you need the blood for?”
“Just for testing. We need to discover how strong the baby will be. That's all.” He sounded pleading.
***
Chevalier growled and Kyle’s eyes fell on him, “What’s happening?”
Chevalier hissed, “She’s losing. She’s backed into a corner now, and she’s starting to panic.”
Kyle turned to the first team and ordered them to begin their preparations.
***
Emily felt the weight of the wall behind her as it caved in, knocking her to the ground as strong arms wrapped around her. She screamed when Turbac took the scalpel from her and brushed the ruble off of himself.
“Return her,” he said sternly, and Emily was whisked back down the long tunnel to the rooms where she was being held.
Tim stood when the door opened, and Emily was thrown into the room. He grabbed her just before she hit the floor.
“Are you ok?” he asked, watching as the heku slammed the door and locked it.
She sat up and glared at the door, “Yes, I’m ok.”
“Where did you go? I thought you were hurt,” he said, looking at the cuts on her neck. “What did they do to you?”
“I did that… got some answers too,” she said proudly.
“About what?” he asked, and pressed a tissue to the drops of blood on her neck.
“About our captures, about whose idea all of this is.” She watched him.
“Please tell me. I have a right to know!” He was now watching her eyes.
“It’s a baron of some sort, named Korin. You didn’t tell me you worked for the Government, why didn’t you tell me that? That would have helped!” She glared at him.
She was inwardly pleased when he fell for it, “I didn’t know it mattered.”
“Everything matters, now we know it’s a government operation.” She watched him as he nodded.
“Yeah, I think I can see that now,” he said, and her eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, she was in his arms as they wrapped tightly around her waist, “I was so afraid they would take you away, and I wouldn’t see you again.”
Grimacing inside, Emily reached up and kissed Tim lightly on the lips and tried not to react when he responded forcefully, returning her kiss as his arms moved up to hold her head tightly.
She let him lead her into the bedroom, and as he turned and laid her on the bed, her body froze and then she sat up and looked at the cameras.
Tim sat up, frustrated, “What’s wrong?”
“The cameras, they are always watching,” she said, and she slipped out of bed and went back into the other room. Before Tim emerged, she grabbed her book and was reading again, pleased with her progress.
***
Chevalier sighed, “Whatever she’s doing worked, and she’s positive again. I don’t like this. I can hear voices but can’t make out what they are saying. All I’m getting are bursts of emotions.”
Kyle smiled, “It’s something at least.”
Chevalier nodded and turned back to his squadron.
***
When the heavy door opened two days later, Emily was ready for them. She braced herself against the back wall and waited with a gleam in her eye. Tim was, as usual, restrained first, and then five came for her.
She smiled as they approached, “Ready to tangle?”
The five heku glanced at each other, not entirely sure what to think. The tallest one stepped forward, “Let’s do this easy, Child. No more jokes like last time.”
“Oh… didn’t like my joke?” she asked, grinning.
She had thought this through in her mind over and over, and when it was about to happen, time slowed down. Emily ducked under the first arm that came to grab her, and she turned a somersault, coming up behind them. She jumped onto the back of one of the surprised heku, and twisted his head violently to the side, dropping him to his knees.
As the first fell, she landed deftly on her feet and ducked down, bringing one foot out to catch the closest heku in the kneecap. She heard a sickening grinding as his kneecap was pushed out of place, and he screamed.
Their formation was thrown off. The next heku grabbed her from behind, trapping her waist with one hand, and her upper chest with the other. Emily drew her head forward and let it thrust back into his nose. He screamed and let her go.
She spun on the other two and dropped into a crouch she’d seen the heku do often. She hissed at them, her hands balled into fists. The two remaining heku were unsure and glanced around the room nervously.
Emily was tackled from behind by the heku who had managed to return his head to the correct position. She felt her body slam into the floor, and it knocked the wind out of her. Before she could regain control, she was dragged to the bed and tied up again.
She screamed angrily.
“For that, Child, you must be punished,” the tallest heku said to her.
Once they were done measuring her and drawing her blood, they left. This time, Tim didn’t come to untie her, and she laid in the painfully awkward position for hours. Her back was sent into spasms, and she cried out in pain. Her wrists and ankles were swollen and bruised from the restraints. Hours later, she couldn’t scream any more as her voice gave out and her mouth ran dry.
***
Chevalier dropped to his knees, alone in his quarters. The pain was excruciating, and he had to fight the urge to scream. The pain suddenly stopped and as he stood up, he realized that it was from Emily.
“We’re coming, Em, hold on,” he said to the dark room.
***
The pain became worse, and all Emily could think of was how to get release from the intense spasms that shot through her body. She squeezed her eyes shut as she concentrated to try to make her muscles relax. She had broken out in a sweat, and the pain made her entire body shake.
A long sigh escaped her parched lips when someone released her binds. She wasn’t sure who it was. They didn’t speak. The muscles in her body were so tightly knotted, that all she could do was roll onto her side to relieve some of the pressure. She drifted into unconsciousness. The darkness was soothing and welcomed.
“Emily?” Tim touched her hair lightly, “Emily, are you ok?”
She was barely able to open her eyes at the sound of his voice. She whispered something he couldn’t hear, and then fell back asleep. She was aware he covered her with a blanket, moments before submitting again to the darkness.
“You need to drink something,” Tim said the next day. He put his arm under her shoulders and lifted her up. She felt the cold water touch her lips and drank deeply.
“Emily,” Tim said, and kissed her lightly. “You can’t do that again, do you promise? Don’t fight them, please.”
Emily nodded, “How long did I sleep?”
“I think it’s been about two days. You really had me worried,” he said, touching her cheek softly.
She sat up in the bed and winced at her sore muscles. Standing slowly, she noticed the camera in the room wasn’t lit up, “You broke it?”
“I did… and I guess they decided it wasn’t worth fixing,” Tim said proudly.
This time, Emily truly smiled.
“I’m going to get a bite to eat, are you hungry?” she asked, heading into the kitchen. She walked slowly. Every muscle in her body screamed at her movement as she disappeared into the bathroom to get changed before heading into the kitchen.
“Sure,” Tim said, following her into the kitchen.
She grabbed some fresh potatoes out of the fridge and began to slice them, talking easily with Tim. Her plan was in motion and was moving quickly. The only thing she hadn’t accounted for was her prolonged punishment in restraints. She hoped this plan didn’t lead to even longer time in them.
When she was done cooking, she sat out the fried potatoes and sausage and sat down with Tim to eat. The smell was nauseating to her, so she pushed the food around nonchalantly on the plate and visited. Emily took a deep breath, praying that Chevalier hadn’t been lying to her about her impact on men.
“It’s so hot in here today,” she said, and pulled off her over shirt. She planned ahead and was now wearing a sheer camisole that clung nicely to her body and exposed some of her abdomen, still toned and muscular.
Tim grinned, “Yes, it is.”
His eyes ran down her body, and her insides jumped.
She smiled at him and blinked her green eyes, accentuating the long lashes that framed them.
Tim moved to her quickly and embraced her, kissing her forcefully. She hated the way his face stubble pricked at her skin and how his forcefulness made her mouth ache. He held her too tightly and cut off circulation to parts of her arm, but she slowly pressed her body into his and kissed him back. Her ring seemed to weight a thousand pounds as she secretly felt to make sure it was still firmly attached.
Tim picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and their lips never parted. He slowly lowered her to the bed and knelt above her.
Emily broke the kiss and smiled up at him, “I have an idea.”
Tim was undressing, “Yeah?”
“Something fun… how open are you to new adventures?” She was now kneeling on the bed.
“Oh, very open,” Tim said, too anxiously. He knelt beside her in the bed, now naked.
“Let me tie you up. We can put those restraints to some good use,” she said, and before he could answer, her lips were slowly moving along the contours of his chest. He shuddered as he laid back on the bed.
Emily kissed up his arm to his hand and pulled the padded leather restraint around it, fastening it tightly. She did the same with his other hand, and his body broke out in goose bumps. Next, she knelt between his legs and ran her nails lightly down his thighs to his calves and fastened the restraints at his ankles.
When she finished, she stood up and blew him a kiss, then grabbed her shirt and slipped it back on.
“Hey!” Tim said, pulling at the restraints.
Emily moved out of the room, shut off the lights, and shut the door behind her, laughing when she heard him scream.
She grabbed some fresh fruit from a bowl on the counter and sat down with her book. His screams turned to agonizing pleas for help, so she reached over to turn on the TV. She turned the knob so the TV was blasting louder than his screams, and watched a news report in a language she didn’t understand.
***
Chevalier couldn’t help but grin at the emotions Emily was going through. She was pleased, excited, and entertained all at the same time.
Chapter 4 : Emily
Emily was so engrossed in her book that she failed to notice the screams anymore. She kicked back on the couch and slept most of what felt like the night as the TV blared in the background, then got up, ravished, made pancakes, and sat alone at the table to eat. The camera in the living area kept scanning the room, and she just grinned.
After breakfast, she cleaned the kitchen and then dusted the living area, all the while being watched closely by whoever was manning the camera. After cleaning up, she stepped into the bathroom to take a hot shower, savoring how the hot water felt against her sore muscles.
Emily stood by the bedroom door and listened closely. All she could hear were sobs coming from Tim. He sounded like he was in pain, and she smiled and returned to her book. She was curled up there, reading, when the heavy metal door opened. The seven heku came in with customary masks and menthol smell. They scanned the room for Tim and then advanced on Emily, pinning her to the couch while they searched for Tim.
“He’s in here!” one of the heku yelled, heading into the bedroom. The sound of sobbing came from inside.
Emily sat quietly while the three heku guarded her and wondered what was going on inside the bedroom. They hauled Tim out, his head lolling to the side and a heku under each arm. They walked him gently up the stairs as Emily watched.
The tallest heku came out and addressed Emily, who was still sitting on the couch surrounded by heku guards.
“That is enough disobedience!” He stopped talking when Emily held up a hand.
“It wasn’t disobedience. I don’t believe there was ever an order that I wasn’t to tie him up.” She raised her eyebrows at him.
He struck her hard and fast across her face.
“I’ve had worse,” Emily said, turning to face him again.
“You will learn true respect and obedience, Child. No more of this insolence! The punishments will begin to get worse and worse until you comply with our desires,” he said, watching her.
“Your desires? What exactly are your desires?” she asked angrily.
“Your devotion and loyalty to the Valle.”
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