Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Read Online Free PDF

his stall.
    Emily was checking on Patra’s I.V. when
Chevalier handed her a cup of coffee. She glanced at him briefly,
and then took it, sipping it while she adjusted the horses
I.V.’s.
    “ Emily?” Darren said from
the pregnant mare’s stall.
    Emily looked up at him, exhausted.
    “ She’s gone.”
    “ No!” Emily yelled, and ran
into the stall. She knelt down beside the mare and ran her hand
along her long body. The Thukil Captain stepped out of the stall
and went to help the stallion, leaving Emily alone to mourn in
peace.
    Chevalier watched her in silence. The
anguish on her face was painful for him, and her sobs tore at his
heart. After a few minutes, Emily stood up and pulled herself out
of the stall. She briefly looked at Chevalier, and then turned into
the other stallion’s stall. After adjusting his I.V., she returned
to Patra’s side.
    The city’s Cavalry ran errands for Emily and
Darren throughout the day as they feverishly fought to save the
three sick horses. The Elders gathered toward dusk to check on the
progress.
    “ She needs to rest,” Quinn
whispered to Chevalier.
    Chevalier just nodded and watched her give
one of the sick stallions a shot.
    “ Hypocritical, isn’t it?”
Zohn said, and then shut his mouth quickly when both Chevalier and
Quinn glared at him.
    “ Emily, why don’t you go
take a quick nap? I can handle these three,” Darren told
her.
    “ No, I’m ok,” she said, and
sat down on the straw by Patra.
    “ You need to eat at least,”
Darren said, and quietly ordered a sandwich.
    Emily took the sandwich from the Captain and
sat down against the stall wall. A light rain started and the
stables turned cold as a breeze swept through them. After eating,
she went in to check on the stallion in the stall beside Patra.
    “ No,” she cried, and fell
to her knees. The Elders had already smelled death on the air, but
didn’t want to be the ones to tell her. Emily pulled out his I.V.
and intubation tube, and several of the Cavalry members came in and
took him to burn the body.
    Emily curled up by Patra and was soon asleep
while Darren watched over the one remaining stallion. The Elders
all sat back and watched the rain turn to snow while the night
passed. The smell of death filled the air again, and the Thukil’s
Captain stepped around the stall and sighed when he saw Emily
curled up asleep against the mare.
    “ It’s Patra, isn’t it?”
Chevalier asked him, and the heku nodded slowly.
    Chevalier sighed, and the other Elders left
respectfully, while Darren disappeared into the stall with the one
remaining sick horse.
    Chevalier knelt down by Emily and touched
her arm. She jerked awake and immediately checked on Patra.
    “ Em,” Chevalier said, and
touched her shoulder. “She’s gone.”
    “ No, she’s not,” Emily
said, and stood up to adjust Patra’s I.V.
    Chevalier took the syringe out of Emily’s
hand and pulled her close to him, “It’s too late.”
    “ No,” Emily whispered, and
collapsed into Chevalier’s waiting arms. He carried her past the
quiet members of the Cavalry and up into their bedroom, then laid
her down on the bed and covered her up after ordering the fires
lit. After slipping her jeans off of her so she could be
comfortable, he curled up next to her and pulled her against him.
She was crying in her sleep.
    The last horse died early the next morning,
and Darren ordered the entire stable bleached down before any
horses were to be returned. He checked in on Emily, and then left
for Thukil once the horses were vaccinated.
    “ Chevalier,” Quinn
whispered from outside of the bedroom.
    Chevalier pulled slowly away from Emily and
she rolled over and fell back asleep, facing away from him.
    “ Yes?” Chevalier said after
he’d shut the bedroom door.
    “ This is Dr. Cook from the
Pason Coven. He was called in when we heard that the disease that
killed the horses could be transmitted to humans,” Quinn
said.
    Chevalier nodded at the heku