Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series by T.M. Nielsen

over 8 years. She remembered the way he nipped at her heals
when she readied her horse, excited for the impending run. She
smiled slightly at how he used to try to herd Alexis and her toys
into a circle.
    Four more escape attempts
later, and the sun finally rose to a frozen morning. Snow and ice
covered every inch of the island, and the sound of a far away
helicopter sounded through the crisp air. Gordon brought bacon,
eggs, and coffee into the room, but Emily didn’t talk to him. She
was sitting in front of the fire, thinking about ways to get to the
Encala. When the helicopter landed, Kralen headed up to talk to
them, leaving Silas behind in the bedroom. After the sixth attempt
to escape, the heku overrode their orders to guard outside of her
room, and moved inside for the rest of the night.
    “Elder,” Kralen said, watching him jump out
of the helicopter.
    “How is she?” Chevalier asked, glancing back
as Kyle and Dustin got out of the helicopter.
    “She tried to escape 6
times last night. She’s determined to get vengeance on the Encala
for Ford’s death.”
    Chevalier sighed, “Six times?”
    “Yes, Sir,” Kralen said.
    Silas moved to the ante-chamber when
Chevalier blurred into Emily’s room. He sat down beside her on the
rug in front of the fire.
    “They killed Ford,” she whispered, still
watching the fire.
    “I heard.”
    “Silas and Kralen won’t let me go.”
    “I know.”
    “They posted themselves in my room.”
    “You didn’t give them much of a choice.”
    Emily glanced over at him,
“They killed Ford. I can’t let that go.”
    “Not to defend the Encala, but they didn’t
know it would cause a stampede… I’m more worried that you were
almost caught in it.”
    “Silas and Kralen saw it
coming before I did. They wouldn’t let anything hurt
me.”
    Chevalier smiled, “I know, that’s why
they’re here.”
    “We don’t have room for 12 more horses.”
    “I’ve called General Sisko
from Thukil, and they’re sending up a trailer to take
them.”
    Emily nodded, “I’d like to keep 2 of
them.”
    They both looked over when
Anna brought Dain in. She put him on the floor, and left as the
baby crawled toward them. He crawled past Chevalier and headed
right for Emily. She picked him up and tried to cradle him in her
arms, but he pulled away from her and stood up in her lap, leaning
his head against her neck.
    Chevalier watched him,
still trying to decide when he needed to intervene. He knew it was
going to be a huge fight when it came time to start treating the
baby like a true heku, and not a human child.
    Emily glanced over at the
table when her phone rang. She watched as Chevalier grabbed it and
looked at the I.D.
    “It’s Exavior,” he said, holding the phone
out to her.
    She tensed slightly and shook her head, “I
don’t want to talk to him.”
    “What, Exavior?” he asked, answering it.
    “I need to speak to Emily.”
    “She’s busy.”
    “I need to apologize, and
would like to speak to her… now.”
    Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “Apologize for
what?”
    “It’s of no concern to
you. Have her call me,” Exavior said, and hung up.
    Chevalier put the phone
back on the table, “What’s he need to apologize for, other than the
obvious?”
    Emily shrugged slightly
and brought her knuckle up for the baby to chew on. He gnawed for a
few seconds, and she gasped and jerked her finger from his mouth.
Chevalier took the baby quickly when he saw drops of blood on her
finger.
    “Gah, his teeth came in,”
she said, and headed into the bathroom to grab a rag.
    Chevalier held Dain when
he struggled to get out of his Dad’s grasp and crawl to Emily as he
chanted a soft, “Ma ma ma ma.”
    She came back out a few
minutes later with a small Band-Aid on her finger, and reached down
to take Dain from Chevalier, but he didn’t let go of the
baby.
    “How’s your finger?” Chevalier asked.
    “Just a scrape. I didn’t
realize his teeth must have come in last