Banishment : Book 9 of the Heku Series (7 page)

He disappeared from the council chambers
again.

Chevalier looked at Silas, “Get your Cavalry
together. We need to trace the route from here to Encala City.
Emily’s missing.”

Silas growled, “Missing?”

“Yes, she didn’t arrive at the Encala, and
she’s in pain.”

Silas blurred from the room, and the Council
could hear him calling the Cavalry together.

Jerry, the Records Keeper, finally addressed
the Elders, “There are three Murso’s in the Equites, one we know of
in the Encala, and one in the Valle.”

“Where are the ones for us?” Chevalier
asked.

“There’s one in the Iterambere Coven outside
of Burundi, the Coven Lord of the Tarawa Coven in Kiribati is named
Murso, and then there’s a Murso in the Kootenai Coven outside of
Troy, Montana.”

“Get Kootenai on the phone.”

Jerry nodded and then dialed on the speaker
phone. On the twelfth ring, he hung up and looked over at the
Elders, “Kootenai is in a brand new location. They moved from
outside of Denver only last month.”

Chevalier called for Dr. Edwards, Mark, and
Kralen to meet him at Equites 2. Within 10 minutes, they were
heading toward Montana, while the rest of the Council contacted the
other two covens in the Equites to see if they knew anything about
Murso and Emily. Kyle contacted the Encala and informed them of the
name Murso. They assured him they would get in touch with the two
they knew of in their own faction.

Kralen gently landed the helicopter down in
an empty field just outside of the 91 heku coven of Kootenai. He
cut the engines, and the heku stepped out and listened but heard
nothing coming from the small compound.

Chevalier was the first to the gates. He
looked down at two piles of ash lying beside the entrance, “Find
her.”

The heku scattered through the compound,
gathering ashes they came to into tiny bags to return to Kyle. Once
in the main house, a three story red brick mansion, the heku spread
out, following the strong Winchester scent.

Kralen was the first to appear in the prison,
and he looked carefully around the cell Emily was once housed in. A
slight sound caught his attention, and he walked down past the four
cells and stood before a brick wall. He reached out and pushed
against the bricks, and the hidden door easily slid inward,
revealing the interrogation room.

“Damnit!” he yelled, and then immediately let
Emily down from the high shackles. When her arms dropped suddenly,
she screamed in pain and the other heku blurred into the room as he
gently laid her down on the cold, dirt floor before ungagging
her.

Mark released Andrew from his restraints as
Dr. Edwards knelt down and began to dig through his bag, “Let me
stop the pain, then I want her upstairs where it’s warmer.”

Chevalier nodded, too furious to speak, and
ordered the two ashes at Emily’s side to be gathered and kept
separated from the rest.

Andrew knelt down, “She was kicked in the
side and hip, and has been hit numerous times. She’s been hanging
for about two days though.”

“What happened?” Mark asked angrily.

“We were stopped at a traffic jam and then
Tasered by the Equites,” Andrew told him, glaring at the heku
General. “They kept us in prison for a while and finally brought us
here. They didn’t know it was Emily. They were after me.”

When Emily finally relaxed and fell
unconscious, Dr. Edwards tenderly picked her up and walked out of
the prison. Kralen ran ahead and found a bed in the Coven Lord’s
bedroom. Dr. Edwards laid her down and covered her with heavy
blankets.

“Why didn’t you tell them who she was?” Mark
asked, and then spun and looked around the room. “Where did Andrew
go?”

Kralen frowned and called out for the Encala
but got no answer.

“Let him run,” Chevalier hissed, watching Dr.
Edwards. “So?”

Dr. Edwards looked up, “I don’t think there’s
anything more than a bruise on her hip, but she does have a few
cracked ribs. My main concern is her shoulder. It was already
hurting her because of the horse, now it’s been holding her body
weight for two days.”

“Anything else?”

“Dehydration is all. I don’t think they fed
her.”

“Do we have all of the ashes?” Chevalier
asked.

Mark nodded, “Yes, Elder.”

“Let’s go then.”

Chevalier picked Emily up and laid a blanket
over her for the ride back to Council City. Everyone was quiet,
each trying to figure out what happened.

Once Emily was tucked into bed with a sling
around the arm with the injured shoulder, the Council met to revive
the ashes.

Kyle first revived the two sets of ashes
found in the interrogation room.

Murso was the second to reform and slip on a
blue robe. He turned to the Council and smiled, “Thank you.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “You have a lot of
explaining to do.”

Murso nodded, “I realize that. The Encala’s
Chief Interrogator tortured a member of our coven. We tracked him
heading west on his motorcycle with his mortal wife, and we
captured them. We were just about to torture his wife, so he could
watch, when we somehow turned to ash. I guess the Encala came after
their Interrogator.”

“Andrew’s mortal wife?” Kyle asked
angrily.

“Yes, the red head with him.”

“Did they tell you she was his wife?”

“No”

“Did you identify yourself as Equites?”

“No, we heard them talking, and they thought
we were Valle,” Murso said, amused.

“That wasn’t Andrew’s wife,” Kyle yelled.

Murso frowned, “Then who is she?”

“My wife,” Chevalier told him with an ominous
tone.

“What?” Murso managed to squeak out.

“You kidnapped my wife.”

Murso looked over at the other heku from the
interrogation room, “We… we didn’t know.”

“No one ever said she was Emily?”

“No, Elder! We didn’t listen in on their
entire conversation in the prison though. She was gagged, and we
wouldn’t allow the Encala to speak… we thought…”

“We know what you thought,” Zohn said.
“However, it was wrong.”

“It would be best if you start at the
beginning and tell us everything you did,” Richard said, irritated.
He studied them carefully as they spoke to ensure nothing was a
lie.

Murso went over every detail of Emily’s
capture, hoping by telling the truth that their lives might be
spared. When he was done, his eyes were down on the dirt floor, and
his voice was but a whisper.

Chevalier’s entire body shook as he stood up
and balled his hands into fists.

Zohn cringed and looked down at the heku,
“You will learn to verify who you have imprisoned before…”

Zohn stopped speaking when Chevalier
disappeared from the council chambers with Murso. The other heku
looked over, shocked, when he saw his friend disappear.

Quinn tapped his pen lightly against the desk
and looked at the other heku, “What’s your name?”

“Mario, Sir.”

“Well, Mario… so you groped the Elder’s wife
and somehow thought it would be ok to assault her?”

“I didn’t!”

“It sounds to me like you threatened to.”

“I wouldn’t have…”

“Yes, you would have,” Richard said. “Never
is it ok to sexually assault anyone. That rule goes right up there
with feeding without consent.”

“He tortured a member of our coven until he
went insane!” Mario said, trying to save his own life.

“Which did not give you the right to harm
what you thought was an innocent mortal.”

“If she was his wife though…”

“Then she was still a mortal. We do not exert
our powers over the weaker species!”

“But…”

“No, he should have been turned over to this
Council. You have no right to imprison and torture a member of an
opposing factions Council, and you know it!” Zohn yelled, standing
up.

Mario nodded slightly and watched the
floor.

Zohn’s lip curled slightly, “I want this one
in interrogation.”

Derrick appeared from the doorway and hauled
Mario out, followed by Zohn.

Kyle growled low and then disappeared after
them.

“Would not want to be in there,” the Chief of
Finance said.

Quinn nodded, “They will get what they
deserve.”

“How do we stop this in the future?” the
Chief Investigator said. “How can that coven not know Lady Emily by
now?”

“How many covens do you suppose don’t even
know what she looks like?”

He shrugged, “There’s no telling really. I
know that only the larger covens are invited to the palace for
coronations and such. Those know her.”

“Maybe we should send out a photo,” the Coven
Liaison Officer said. “Make sure they post it where every coven
member can see it.”

Quinn nodded, “Do it.”

The Coven Liaison Officer disappeared.

Dr. Edwards was just taping up Emily’s
ribcage when she sighed softly and then finally opened her
eyes.

“You’re home safe, dear,” he said, taking her
hand.

“Andrew?” she whispered.

“He’s safe too. Are you in pain?”

She nodded and looked around the room. Dr.
Edwards ordered a glass of orange juice and then helped her sit up
to take a few pain pills with it. When she was done, he laid her
back down and propped her arm up on a pillow.

“Where’s Chev?”

“He’s downstairs.”

“With them?”

Dr. Edwards nodded, “I believe so.”

“Does he know everything?”

“I think so.”

She nodded.

“You have three cracked ribs, a bruised hip,
and then the shoulder injury. I’ve wrapped up your wrists too. Is
anything else hurt?”

She smiled slightly, “Isn’t that enough?”

“Well…”

“No, nothing else hurts.”

“I’ll sit with you until the pain pills kick
in, ok?”

She nodded and flexed her hand. Just after
she fell asleep, Chevalier came in covered in blood.

“Elder,” Dr. Edwards whispered.

“She was awake?”

“Yes”

“How is she?”

“There are no injuries aside from the ones we
know about. She took a few pain pills.”

He nodded and released the doctor. Chevalier
wasn’t sure when it would stop shocking him that Emily was obeying
the orders of a doctor, but he appreciated the effort she was
making to behave. After a quick shower, he sat down beside her and
took her hand.

The next morning, she sighed softly and then
slowly began to wake up. She started to roll onto her side but
cried out when she landed on her shoulder.

Chevalier gently helped her lay back on the
bed and repositioned her arm onto the pillow, “Do you need pain
pills?”

She shook her head and then looked around the
room.

He smiled, “For me, take them?”

“What’s wrong with my shoulder?”

“Dr. Edwards suspects a rotator cuff injury.
He’ll go over more options when you feel better, ok?”

She nodded, “Orange juice please.”

It was only seconds later that a glass of ice
cold orange juice appeared in Chevalier’s hand. He helped her sit
up enough to take pain pills and a long drink before lying her back
down.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked as he
pulled the covers over her.

“What happened to that coven I ashed?” she
asked. Her words were still slurred from the medication.

“They admitted what they did.”

“And?”

“I dealt with them.”

Emily nodded, not wanting to know more,
“Where’s Andrew?”

“He took off when we found you.”

“Did you call to make sure he’s ok?”

“No, he’s fine. I’m sure.”

“He told me you banished him,” Emily said,
watching him.

“I’m surprised he told you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s hard to talk business with you, Em. You
hate banishment and anything to do with it. I don’t like to bring
it up.”

“He told me why.”

Chevalier nodded, “I figured… Enter.”

Emily looked over when Dr. Edwards came in.
He smiled down at her, “How are you feeling?”

“It’s a mixture between too drugged to think
and pain.”

“I have an appointment for you to get an MRI
on your shoulder.”

She cringed and then finally nodded. Her
agreement with herself to follow his orders when injured was going
to be harder to stick to than she thought if he was going to shove
her into a tiny tube for an hour.

Chevalier looked over at him, “If it is a
torn rotator cuff, then what?”

“Surgery to fix it, and 12 weeks in a sling
along with Physical Therapy.”

“Or we wait and I heal by myself?” Emily
asked.

Dr. Edwards smiled, “Or that. I don’t know
how long that will take though.”

“Can I try, please?”

Chevalier and Dr. Edwards had a brief
conversation she couldn’t hear, but when Chevalier turned to tell
her they would give her two months to heal, she was already
sleep.

Chapter 3

“I don’t understand why I can’t talk to him,”
Emily said to her laptop. The screen showed William in his chair
with the Encala Council.

“We’re not keeping you from talking to
Andrew. He’s on a mission right now and has been busy.”

“It’s been three weeks, and I don’t believe
you that he’s ok.”

William smiled, “He wasn’t injured.”

“Then what’s wrong? Why won’t he talk to
me?”

“He’s pretty upset that you were injured in
his care. Just give him time.”

“That wasn’t his fault.”

“We know that. It’s hard though.”

She sighed, “Well tell him I called again,
will you?”

“We will, dear. How are you feeling?” William
asked.

“Better thanks. I’m still in a sling, but I
think it’s getting better.”

“If you need our Physical Therapist, let us
know.”

Emily smiled, “You think Chev’d go for
that?”