Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series (5 page)

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.”

“Oh is that all?” she asked sweetly.

He watched her.

“I’ll die first,” she yelled at him.

“Enough! Bring her,” he demanded to the two heku at her side. They each grabbed an arm and hauled her out of the room and up the stairs.

***

Chevalier gave the order for the first team to descend into the Valle coven, their instructions were clear, kill anyone they see.

Kyle led the first battalion into the city. They outnumbered the residents of this cold land, two to one. Their informer inside of Valle said that this Godforsaken frozen wasteland was where Ulrich chose to call his home.

The sounds of battle began just as Chevalier thought over the last thing he picked up from Emily, more pain. This time the pain was excruciating and relentless. He tried to focus on the battle and waited for Kyle’s call for the second attack. Heku tradition dictated the Commander came in the second round. The first attack was led by the first in command to show respect, but Chevalier now doubted this tradition.

He knew that somewhere, down in that frozen city, Emily was in pain. The call came, the lone signal heard clearly and Chevalier advanced his troops. As planned, they fanned out to the south end of the city, killing anyone they came across. Blood from the Valle stained the icy roads red and the smell only caused the heku to fight harder.

Chevalier brought his sword to many Valle heku, tearing them into shreds and feverishly moving on to the next and doing it again. As planned, he questioned any high-ranking Valle about Emily’s whereabouts before killing them, but so far, no one knew where she was being housed. One swears he had seen her, but couldn’t give any details about her location.

Covered in the blood of the Valle, Chevalier came face-to-face with Kyle and his team in front of the city’s castle.

“Any word?” Kyle asked.

Chevalier shook his head, “Head around back, we’re entering the palace in 5 minutes.”

Kyle nodded and headed his troops along the wall, toward the back, leading half to the west and the rest went around to the north. He knew these orders well. No one was to be killed until they were questioned by either himself or the Chief Enforcer. Informants suggested Emily was being held in the palace with Ulrich.

When the time came, Chevalier stormed into the palace, quickly dispatching the front guards and heading into the cold marble home of Lord Ulrich.

“Ulrich, I’ve come for you!” Chevalier yelled into the palace, his words echoing off of the polished marble.

“Find her,” he called to his troops, and they spread out, checking every door and every wall for secret passages.

Chevalier left his fighting for Ulrich and watched as his troops searched the palace. Kyle came up from the back of the castle to stand by him.

“I don’t get anything from her anymore, it’s been almost three days,” Chevalier said, the anger in his voice was stifling.

Kyle just looked around the palace, “If she’s here, we’ll find her.”

Chevalier nodded, but his heart sank. He reached further out and couldn’t find her. No emotions, no memories, no murmur of voices.

“Sir! We have three Commanders cornered for you,” an Equites guard reported. He then led Chevalier and Kyle to a small room.

Inside, there were three Valle heku cowering in the corner. Their weapons had been removed, and they were covered in blood and wounds.

Chevalier walked up and stood threateningly in front of them, “Where is Emily?”

The three looked at each other nervously but didn’t speak.

He walked up and knocked one onto his back and then stepped on his throat, cutting off his airway. The Valle heku gasped for breath and clawed at Chevalier’s boot, “You can either die or tell me where she is.”

The Commander gasped and nodded.

“Talk,” Chevalier ordered, and let up on the pressure only slightly.

“She’s underground, not here in the palace,” he whispered hoarsely.

“Where?” His eyes burned toward him.

“I don’t know. They just said she’s underground.” The Commander pushed at Chevalier’s boot, frantically trying to free his airway.

With one swift movement, Chevalier brought his sword down and decapitated the man before he had a chance to draw a single, unrestricted breath.

“Next,” he said, and pointed his sword at the next Valle Commander.

“Stop please. We don’t know, it was kept from us where exactly the underground bunker is,” he said, begging for his life only a second before he was cut in half by Chevalier’s sword.

He turned it onto the third, who was sobbing, “The entrance is by the tailor in town. There’s a vent that leads down to the bunker where she’s being held.”

Chevalier watched the Commander’s eyes and then cut off his hand, “Kyle, go check it out. If he lied, I’ll cut him up slowly.”

Kyle disappeared out the front door of the palace. He had seen the tailor on his way to the castle and was able to run there in just a few seconds. He located the vent and pulled it up, smiling when he saw the stairs leading down into the darkness. He descended quickly, but his heart sank when he saw the door ajar.

“Emily?” he yelled into the first room in the bunker.

He caught her scent, but it was days old. He quickly searched the bathroom and the bedroom, but the scent was no stronger there. Angrily, he ran faster back to Chevalier.

“She was there, but she’s been gone for days,” Kyle said as he approached the Chief Enforcer.

Chevalier brought his blade down and severed the left arm of the Commander, “Don’t lie to me.”

“I swear, that’s where she was being held,” he screamed.

“Was… where is she now?” Kyle demanded.

“She was causing problems… they moved her, but I don’t know where.” His eyes fell on Chevalier.

His sword came down swiftly and removed the Commander’s left foot, “Wrong again.”

“I swear! No one was supposed to know where she was being moved,” he said, screaming as he began to panic.

“What problems? Why was she moved?” Kyle asked.

“She was disobedient… she refused to submit to the Valle and then tortured the one brought in to bring her a new mortal mate.” He was telling everything he could to save his life.

Chevalier growled, “Mortal mate?”

“It was an order. We were to find her a replacement for the heku she is bonded to. She found out somehow and tortured him.” He was now begging.

“Tell me more,” Chevalier said, and brought his sword to the heku’s neck.

“She assaulted four heku guards. She also refused to swear her allegiance to the Valle,” he said, panting. “She faked an injury and tried to cut her own throat when she was taken to the infirmary.”

Chevalier’s heart sank. He knew she would fight back, but he hadn’t known how hard, “More,” he demanded.

“They punished her, but she wouldn’t behave… they moved her for a stronger punishment.” He was crying tearlessly again.

“What kind of punishment?” Kyle hissed.

“It was one of the doctor’s ideas, it wouldn’t hurt the baby. She was restrained in such a way that her muscles would contract and spasm. I don’t know where they were taking her for the next level.” His desperation to cooperate was evident.

Chevalier brought his sword down and cut off the Commander’s head as he roared with fury.

“Ulrich!” he bellowed, and set off to find him personally.

Chevalier headed up the stairs and scanned the palace. The carnage left by his troops was everywhere as Chevalier inhaled and caught the scent of Ulrich. He jumped over a railing and headed deeper into the castle, past where his troops were still killing servants by his orders.

Chevalier followed the now familiar scent of Ulrich as he swung open a heavy door and entered, coming face-to-face with the Coven’s Lord. He took a step inside the large room and his eyes locked on his enemy.

“You came as promised, I see,” Ulrich said, standing his ground.

Chevalier hissed, “You tortured your own granddaughter? For what? Her allegiance?”

“I did as I saw fit. I had to rid her of her taste for the heku.” Ulrich took a step to the side.

“Her taste? You mean you wanted to drive her from me.” His eyes raged.

Chevalier took a step toward the ‘old one’.

“Pain is a great deterrent, the strongest,” Ulrich growled at Chevalier. “I will not have you ruining century’s worth of my work.

“Your pursuit for a pure mortal family has driven you insane. You can’t even see straight. If you care so much about the heku harassing your precious family line, then you wouldn’t have allowed the torture to happen within your walls.” He took a step closer, and Ulrich raised his sword.

“Anything to keep heku, like you, from taking advantage of my Elizabeth’s daughters,” Ulrich hissed.

“I’m sure your precious Elizabeth would have approved of you kidnapping a pregnant mortal girl and putting her through such cruelty.” With that, Chevalier advanced and slashed at Ulrich, who brought his sword up to block.

“You know nothing!” Ulrich screamed. He slashed at Chevalier’s hulking form and missed as Chevalier stealthily dodged the attack.

“Give up old man. You aren’t the only ‘old one’ who cares about Emily, except that I watch out for her entire well being. I protect her.” Chevalier circled.

“You think you’re in love with her? It’s the blood… nothing but the blood! There’s no love between a Winchester and a heku. If you took away the sweet scent of her blood, then your infatuation would be taken away also,” he said, smiling.

“You don’t even know the truth in front of your own eyes, old man.” He nimbly tossed his sword between his hands, “Where is she?”

“I won’t tell you. She’s where she belongs, learning where her priorities should be,” Ulrich said, his eyes aglow with the passion of his words.

“You mean she’s being tortured until she submits to what you think her priorities should be. What about the baby? What were you planning on doing with it?” Chevalier raised his sword and took another step toward Ulrich.

“Ahh… that unfortunate problem. We’ve done away with the baby already. It’s the girl I wanted, not her half-breed fetus.” Ulrich heard a roar moments before his head rolled across the floor. Chevalier dismembered him in a matter of seconds, his fury fueling his innate ability to kill without thought or remorse.

Grabbing Ulrich’s head by the hair, Chevalier descended the stairs and stood in front of his troops.

“Their Lord has fallen, find her,” he demanded, and the wrath in his eyes commanded an immediate response. The Equites troops scattered again throughout the city.

“Sir!” Kyle called to Chevalier from across the foyer. Chevalier tossed Ulrich’s head hard against a wall, smashing it into pieces and then went to Kyle.

“I found a dungeon,” he said, leading Chevalier quickly down a stone passageway. They emerged into a large dirt room with cells lining all four sides. There were heku in almost every cell, all calling out to Chevalier and Kyle to save them.

“Please, I’ll swear allegiance to Equites if you let me out!” one called after he hissed at Kyle.

Chevalier walked around, looking in each cell and ignoring each beg, but he spun suddenly when he heard the calm voice call to him.

“Kind Sirs, I know where the girl is.”

Kyle approached his cell and looked inside, “Speak, Encala.”

“Let me go, and I will take you to her,” he said. He was sitting quietly on a cot in the 4x6 foot cell.

“Agreed, where is she?” Kyle asked as Chevalier joined him.

“Open my door, Equites, and I’ll show you.” He stood and walked over to the cell door. He was different from the other heku in the cells. He was clean and well-spoken.

Chevalier grabbed the keys off of a dead guard and opened his door, then raised his sword, “Lead.”

The freed prisoner walked a few steps up the stone walkway and turned to the side, then pressed two stones and the wall slid silently aside. The enemy heku looked at them and stepped back.

Chevalier rounded the corner first and his heart constricted in his chest, a hiss from behind him let him know Kyle was also there.

The room they entered was a cold, small room made of stone. In the center, a chain hung from the rafters and from it, a lone form hung by her wrists, suspended above the ground, her back to them. She wore only a bra and a simple pair of shorts. Red welts stood out on her back and her red hair was draped over her face. As they stepped closer, she raised her head.

Kyle dropped to his knees and screamed, clutching his chest tightly.

Chevalier ran to her, “Emily, stop!”

Kyle fell to the ground behind him, breathing hard but no longer in pain.

“Chev?” Emily cried out, trying to look around at him.

Chevalier lifted her up so her arms no longer bore her weight, and then he reached up to unhook the chains. She fell into his arms, and he lowered her to the ground.

“Is it really you?” she asked weakly.

“I’m here now,” Chevalier said as he removed his shirt and laid it across her. He quickly tore the leather restraints from her bleeding, swollen wrists.

Emily’s eyes fell on Kyle. He was sitting on the ground watching them, “Did I hurt you?”

Kyle smiled, “Just for a bit. I’m ok.”