“You two have some explaining to do,” Leonid said, glaring at Maleth and Chevalier.
“Explain what?” Maleth asked, shocked that another Elder would talk to him like that.
“Where's Emily?” Leonid asked Chevalier.
He shrugged, “I'm guessing in her room or in the stables.”
“Are you two insane? Do you not remember?” Leonid asked, frustrated.
“What are you talking about?” Chevalier asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Emily left three days ago in the Humvee,” he reminded them.
“She did what?” both Maleth and Chevalier said together.
“Can you blame her?” Mark said angrily from behind them, and then dropped his eyes. “Sir.”
“Explain yourself,” Chevalier hissed at the guard.
“I'm just saying, if I were her, I would have left too,” he explained.
“Why's that?”
“I saw, Sir. I saw it all, and you're lucky you didn't kill her,” Mark growled.
“What are you talking about? I didn't almost kill Emily.”
“Slamming her up against a wall isn't trying to kill her? It may be safe to do that to one of us, but she's mortal,” Leonid interjected.
“I didn't slam her against a wall,” Chevalier hissed, and crossed his arms.
“I beg to differ,” Mark said, meeting his eyes. “Then Elder Maleth came in and sealed the deal by backhanding her across the room.”
“I… I did not,” Maleth said, shocked.
“Who told you we did these things?” Chevalier asked, and took a menacing step toward Mark.
“I saw them with my own eyes. At least two of them… it was one of the prison guards that saw you throw her against the prison wall. I just got to see you slam her several times into the bedroom wall,” Mark said, not moving.
“I did no such thing,” Chevalier growled.
“I didn't hurt the child either,” Maleth said, hurt.
“If you two didn't, then who did? When she ran out of here, she had blood on her and a bruise forming on her cheek and arm. Too many witnesses placed you two as the assailants,” Leonid said, watching them both.
“That's insane, and let's go get her, she can't be far,” Chevalier said, pushing past Mark.
“Can't be far? She left three days ago,” Leonid reminded him.
“No she didn't. I was just with her last night,” He frowned.
Mark shook his head, “She's been gone for three days.”
“That's impossible, I was with her last night,” Chevalier said, to Leonid this time.
“Three days,” Leonid agreed, and then thought for a moment. “What day is it?”
“Wednesday,” Chevalier told him.
“It's Friday.”
Chevalier sat down and looked at Maleth, “When's the last time you saw her?”
“Yesterday, she was heading down to dinner with Allen,” Maleth said, looking at the guards.
“Three days,” Leonid said again.
“I think you are confused.” Chevalier pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.
“Em, where are you?” he asked casually, and then frowned.
“Are you ok?” He winced at her answer and then shut his phone.
“She hung up on me,” he said, looking at them. “Did I really do those things?”
Leonid nodded, “I think we need to talk to Kyle.”
The three Elders headed down to Kyle's cell. He stood up and faced them, “Hello.”
“Kyle, we have a few questions for you,” Maleth said softly. His mind was still reeling with the thought that he may have hit Emily.
“Ok”
“Do you remember your time on the island?” Leonid asked him.
Kyle shook his head, “I didn't even know I had been on an island until Emily told me.”
“When did you see Emily last?” Chevalier asked.
“Three days ago, right before she left,” Kyle glared at him.
“Was she upset?”
“Are you kidding me? You pulled her out of here by her collar and threw her against the wall. She came back down with bruises on her arm and tried to get me to leave with her. So yeah… I'd say she was upset,” Kyle watched him coldly.
“So it's true, I did it,” Chevalier said, and he headed back up the stairs.
“What's going on?” Kyle asked as Leonid let him out of his cell.
“No one seems to remember what they did to Emily. We need to get to the bottom of this,” Leonid said. “Did she tell you where she was going?”
“No, I told her not to tell anyone,” Kyle told him, not ashamed of what he told her.
Chevalier was already in the Council's conference room, deep in thought, when the others appeared.
They all sat down and Leonid sighed, “As it seems I'm the only one with a clear memory, we need to figure out what's going on.”
Chevalier sighed, “She's gone. I told her that the next time she felt afraid, that I would let her go. I even gave her enough money to buy her own ranch.”
“We just need to figure out what happened and then let her know,” Maleth said. He looked at his hand and couldn't imagine hitting a mortal, especially not Emily.
Damon stepped into the chambers and sat down, “You called for me?”
“When's the last time you saw Emily?” Leonid asked him.
“It was three days ago, just before she left,” Damon explained, and looked around the table.
“Seems there's a memory problem in our midst,” Leonid told him. “Neither Kyle, nor the Elders, remember assaulting her.”
“She shouldn't have slipped her guards and gone into the prison,” he said calmly.
“That's no reason to be beaten,” Chevalier hissed at him.
***
Sam handed a small bag down to Emily, “I got you something.”
She looked up from the bathroom floor, “I don't want anything.”
He pulled out a small box and handed it to her.
Emily looked at the box, and then up to Sam, “It's the flu, Sam.”
“There are some crackers and 7up on your bedside table,” Sam said, shutting the door.
Emily leaned her head against the cold wall and looked at the box. She hadn't even considered this to be anything but the flu. She turned the box over in her hand several times, and then threw it against the wall.
She heard the cell phone ring in the bedroom and Sam answered it.
“This is Sam.”
“No, she can't come to the phone.”
“None of your business.”
“She released me from having to obey you.”
“Yes, I will tell her.”
She heard him click the phone shut,