"It's not proper for me to stay here with you."

"You mean that Chev would be mad if you stayed all night?" she guessed.

He didn't answer.

"Please, Kyle, I can't be alone." Her eyes were pleading.

He sighed and looked toward the door. "I can ask Anna to stay in here."

"I don't want Anna. I want you. I don't know her, and I don't like how she calls me child." Emily set her jaw, and her eyes narrowed.

Kyle laughed softly. "Alright, I will stay."

"If Chev gives you a hard time, tell him to come talk to me."

Emily yawned despite herself and headed for the large bed. She noticed that Kyle had returned to his seat by the fire. She guessed that in bed, she wouldn't even be able to see him. Standing behind the bed's curtain, she slipped off her jeans and crawled into bed in her t-shirt, and then pulled the cool sheets up around her.

"Good night, Kyle," she called out, and all she heard in return was a soft laugh.

The dream was different this time. She was still running, but it was along the beach. She could hear footsteps behind her, coming closer. They were running. The voices echoed off the rocks around her, calling out to her in patronizing tones. It was Keith. He was coming for her, and his cold, dead hands were just inches from her neck.

"No!" she screamed, hoping someone could hear.

"What are you screaming for, slut? You owe me. You owe me my life, and I'm going to take it out of you." Keith was slurring his words like he'd been drinking.

She pushed herself harder to try to get ahead of him.

"You wait till he fucks you, Em. You wait until he sees what a slut you are, the dirty whoring slut." His hand touched her hair briefly. "I kept you around because I felt sorry for you. Do you know that? No one will want you, Emily. No one!"

His hands touched her arm...

"No!" Emily screamed, clawing at the cold hands on her arm.

"Emily," Kyle said softly. "It's okay."

Her eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, and she saw Kyle's face. He was afraid and touching her arm softly. It was Kyle that had touched her, not Keith.

Kyle sat on the edge of the bed and tensed when she fell into him, pressing her face against his chest to block out the images of Keith in the dream.

He hesitated and then wrapped his arms around her lightly. "It was just a dream. Keith isn't back."

"How did you...?"

"You were talking in your sleep. I apologize for listening, but it's hard to block it out when you are screaming." He sounded truly sorry, and she'd heard that before. It must be true.

She grabbed onto his shirt, and her hands were shaking. "Are you positive? What if he's a heku now? He'll come back and kill me."

"He's not one of us. I can promise you that." Kyle fought back a chuckle.

Emily nodded and laid back on the bed, pulling the covers tight around her. Kyle stood up to return to his chair. "Wait, Kyle, sit with me."

The look on Chevalier's face as he demanded they stay away from Emily flashed through Kyle's mind. Chevalier also told them to give her whatever she wanted. He saw both sides and decided he would rather face Emily's wrath, than that of the Chief Enforcer. He looked down to tell her no and noticed her pleading eyes and how her whole body shook with fear.

He lowered his shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed, as far from her as he could get. It wasn't long before she was asleep again.

Chapter 8.

"It does give me a right! She is my blood, my family." Ulrich slammed his fist down on the granite table.

"That gives you the right to nothing! She's an adult woman, who chose to stay with me." Chevalier's eyes blazed with fury.

"I have the inherent right to protect my offspring. Does the Council deny that right?" He looked up at the Elders.

"We do not deny that you have some rights, as far as family is concerned, but our decision has not yet been made. Now, I suggest you both sit down and keep your tempers under control. To think this is all over a mortal!" The only female Elder, Selest, looked down at them from the platform. She glanced to the two men on her left, and they nodded, astonished that two heku were fighting over a mortal.

"I will ask you this one more time. Lord Ulrich, what do you benefit from having Emily Russo live with your coven?" The smaller of the male Elders took over questioning.

"I benefit by having complete protection of one of my progeny," he stated plainly.

"Do you, therefore, deny that Emily Russo is a direct descendant of the Winchester family and therefore capable of powers beyond both human and heku?"

Ulrich glanced quickly at Chevalier and glared. "I do deny that. She has shown no powers beyond any mortal. The abilities mentioned died out a long time ago."

"Are those your findings also, Chief Enforcer?" Selest asked, and looked down at him.

"It's inconclusive at this time, which is why I want to keep her in my care, where she can live safely, and I can learn whatever talents she may have." Chevalier avoided looking at Ulrich, afraid their secret may be given away with a glance.

"She is my granddaughter! If she has any abilities, I should be the one who finds them. I can teach her how to control them. I can teach her how to use them," Ulrich said, pleading. He knew that as enemies, the Elders would not see his view.

"She doesn't want to live with you." Chevalier raised his voice, and the Elders motioned for both of them to sit again.

"I won't tell you again. Both of you will stay calm in this court room!" Elder Leonid said, and both complied immediately.

The entire room was suddenly quiet. No sound at all could be heard while the Elders debated silently. After almost an hour, Elder Selest stood up.

"It is our decision to allow Chevalier to continue to monitor the situation and report back to this Council, and we, in return, will keep Ulrich informed." She sat down when she was finished talking.

Chevalier sighed and turned to Ulrich, his eyes burning with fury. Without addressing them further, Chevalier quickly left the court room, anxious to avoid a confrontation.

The ferry didn't move fast enough for Chevalier. He worried about how long the court session had lasted. He told her that he would be gone only a few days, but he had been gone for a week. He knew he could trust his coven, but lingering doubts about a select family of newly turned heku made him nervous and anxious to get home. He also felt incomplete without her. He could clearly picture her eyes, and how the vivid green flared when she was mad. He missed the blush in her cheeks and the way she felt in his arms.

Chevalier tapped the dashboard lightly with his fingers. Any sign of patience had long worn off.

Storm sat quietly beside him, unsure how to handle his sudden impatience. As soon as they arrived at the pier, she stepped out of the car and went to talk to the guards. Chevalier put his car into gear and sped through the city toward the castle. It was late. He knew she would be asleep, but he just wanted to see her.

When he stepped out of the car, he noticed the guards shift nervously. He frowned slightly and studied their faces. They were like stone statues. He narrowed his eyes and walked into the castle. The air inside seemed tense at his arrival. Things were too quiet. Not one servant was in sight, there was no hint of whispers, and even the sound of everyday cleaning was absent.

Chevalier surveyed the entryway and saw nothing amiss, and no sign that anything was wrong. He quickly ascended the stairs and stepped into Emily's antechamber. Anna was in the corner of the room standing perfectly still and not even meeting his eyes.

"Anna?" he questioned.

"Yes, sir?" Anna replied, and he wondered at the nervous tone of her voice.

He studied her every movement. The muscles in her neck were tense and strained. "How is she?" He didn't know why, but he felt almost afraid of her answer.

"Fine, sir."

His brow furrowed. "That's it? Fine?"

Anna nodded.

A scent caught Chevalier's attention. The scent from her bedroom was wrong. His eyes raged. "Who is in there with her?"

Anna froze.

He stormed into the room, and one of the doors splintered when it hit the stone wall. His eyes were focused in on the bed. He could see Emily under the covers, but his attention was on the lone figure sitting at the foot of her bed, looking at him as he entered the room. The form stood up quickly and stepped back toward the wall.

"Sir," Kyle whispered. Chevalier was inches from him in less than a second, staring down at him.

Chevalier's voice was low and furious, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Sir, it's not what you..." Kyle's voice was cut off by Chevalier's hand wrapped tightly around his neck.

Kyle flew through the air and landed with a violent crash against the stone wall. The impact cracked the rough stones and sent shatters of broken rock and sand onto the floor. Kyle flipped onto his feet and faced Chevalier, keeping his face calm and non-aggressive. "Please, sir. It's not what you think."

Chevalier turned to the bed to face Emily. The thunderous crash should have woken her, but she didn't move. Her smell was off. The sweet aroma was masked somewhat by a harsh chemical. He turned back to Kyle, who was still at the wall, his hands palms out toward Chevalier.

"Sir, let me explain, please." Kyle was standing tall. His shoulders were squared and ready for attack, though his posture wasn't crouched as if to defend.

Chevalier instantly materialized several feet in front of him. "Start talking, and it better be good." His eyes narrowed, and his hands balled into tight fists.

Kyle whispered instinctively, "She hasn't slept since you left, sir. There was an attack the first day, and she was having nightmares..." He paused when the furious look in Chevalier's eyes grew more intense.

"Attack?" he hissed.

"Yes, sir. The day you left, Emily and I were out riding, and a young one was hiding in the trees."

Chevalier grabbed a nearby chair and threw it through the plate glass window to the balcony, ripping the large curtains down with the force. "Who?"

Kyle winced slightly, "It was Ethan, sir. She fell when the horse bucked, but we handled it. Ethan is waiting for you, and Anna was able to stop the bleeding." He stopped talking when Chevalier inhaled sharply.

He took a step toward Kyle. "Continue."

"That night, she started having nightmares, screaming through the night. She begged me to stay, sir. I promise you. She begged me." Kyle waited for the fury, but Chevalier wasn't moving, yet his body was shaking with rage.

Kyle continued, "Last night, I finally talked her into taking a sleeping pill. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she'd quit eating. Henry studied up and found that it was the lack of sleep. It took hours to convince her to take it, but she finally did. Nothing else happened, sir. I swear to you."

Chevalier's eyes narrowed again. "You couldn't sit in a chair? You had no right sitting on her bed!"

"That was her too, sir. The first night, I was on the chair when the nightmare began. She said she felt safer, the closer I was. I would never have done anything. I swear my allegiance to you." Kyle lowered his eyes, showing submission.

"Get out." Chevalier's whisper was riddled with power, and Kyle bowed once and ran out of the room as a blur.

Once the room was empty except for him and Emily, he went to her and sat gently on the side of the bed, touching her cheek softly. He didn't like the way she smelled, and he was uncomfortable with how still she slept. Chevalier inhaled her scent deeply, his mind searching for anything wrong. He caught the hint of dried blood, but the sharp stab of medicine covered the sweet smell.

"I'll be back," he whispered, and then bent down to press his lips gently against her forehead.

He appeared out in the antechamber. The doors hung limply from their hinges. Anna stiffened in the corner.

He gritted his teeth. "Dried blood?"

Anna nodded. "Yes, sir. She hit her head when the horse bucked her off. I stitched her wound. It is healing."

"Nightmares?" His body was tense.

"Yes, Chief Enforcer. She has nightmares every night, and she screams." Anna's eyes were fearful.

"What does she scream?" He watched her face for any indication that she was lying to him.

Anna cleared her throat, feeling his intense gaze on her. "It varies, sir. Some nights she screams about someone named Keith. Mostly... it's for you." She dropped her eyes.

Chevalier sighed and his voice softened, "What has she been doing during my absence?"

Anna relaxed slightly. "She won't let me shadow her, sir. I tried. I really have, but she orders me to stay behind."

He laughed slightly. He had no doubts that Emily had done just that. "But you still know..."

Anna nodded. "Yes, sir."

"What then?"

"She mostly spends her days out on her horse, sir. She rides along the trees and down to the beach."

"You let her out alone in the city?" He winced.

"No, sir!" Anna stressed. "We wouldn't do that, not after the first attack."