Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

TATE

The HQ building was colder than normal. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Something was very, very wrong. I sat in one of the interrogation rooms in the basement of the tower. The metal table was cold and the cuffs around my wrists were too tight, digging into my skin. This was the second time I’ve been bound in the last day, and it was really getting old. The guaramen who escorted me here were mindless goons who didn’t say a word the entire time. They dragged me down all three floors and then chained me to the table before leaving. That was at least an hour, maybe two, ago? The room was pristine and blank. Metal walls, black tables, marble floors. The whole thing was modern and crisp. It was a unified horror.

My conversation with Arithi and Mardi kept playing through my mind. They insinuated that Fletch was working with them and so was my mother. Impossible. And yet, my home had been ransacked, Fletch was missing, and as far as I knew, the guara were looking for him. Maybe Arithi wasn’t as crazy as I thought. The necklace Mardi gave me dangled against my chest, warmed by my skin. I was surprised they didn’t confiscate it.

My dishwater blonde hair was falling out of its ponytail, and it was getting annoying to say the least. I blew at a strand that kept falling in my eye only for it to lift a few inches and then fall back again. I studied the golden strand. The end of it had a rosy color to it. Were my eyes deceiving me?

The door opened and a spindly figure dressed in all back entered. Luina. The hair on my arms stood up as a tapping in the hallway behind her sounded. Tap, tap, tap . President Dale’s white-blonde head appeared behind Luina’s black French twisted bun, and then his face came into view. About four guaramen filed in next. This was quite the audience.

Luina took a seat opposite me as President Dale stood behind her, the guaramen at his back. As if I was a threat to them even unbound . I had the least amount of tactical training and as far as they knew, I possessed no magic uncommon to the average vampire.

“Tate Aaralyn. You just had your Disciplinary Hearing yesterday and now you’re back again? Tsk, tsk .” Luina’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard. High-pitched and shrill.

“Yeah, what can I say, I like the accommodations.” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my voice, my temper getting the better of me.

“Watch your tongue!” Luina’s voice raised before settling down to a deathly calm. “When was the last time you saw Fletcher?”

“I don’t know.” I was getting really sick of people asking me that question. “A couple of days. Where is he?” I demanded.

Luina looked at Collin who cleared his voice before stepping forward.

“Tatealia, what do you know of your uncle’s loyalties and foreign engagements?”

I hated it when he used my given name. That was not who I was. “Nothing. He’s loyal to the Glenn, always has been.” My pulse quickened as Mardi came to mind, but I quickly squashed that thought.

They didn’t look convinced. If only I was here because they heard of my open attack on Gari, that would be easier than discussing Fletch’s allegiance.

“One would hope. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. The fact is, we believe he’s been working with an enemy vamp,” Collin voiced as he inspected his manicured nails.

“No, that’s impossible. Fletch has been nothing but loyal to you and the Glenn. I swear!” I tried to stand, but the restraints on my wrists yanked me back down to the table.

“Has Fletcher ever discussed the Untish Tribe with you?” Collin asked.

“No. This seriously can’t be about a mythical tribe? It’s a fairytale, we learned about it in school. Fletch is a teacher. He has taught younglings for decades and they’ve gone off and served the Glenn fervently. You’re mistaken to question his loyalties.”

“Watch how you speak to the President!” Luina snapped at me. Her black eyes narrowed as she stepped closer.

“I was hoping you’d be honest with us, Tatealia.” Collin sighed. “Luina, if you please.”

Luina reached out toward me with her spindly fingers. She was going to do it—she would dig.

Pain exploded in my head; my vision became dizzy. I could feel her sorting through my thoughts, my history. She pulled at one memory, me watching Fletch teach the kids. The mere motion of it drew tears to my eyes from the pressure of her prodding. Momentarily she paused, studying the memory before shoving it back and beginning to shuffle once again through my mind, pulling and prodding.

Lightning shot down my spine, my nerves were rapidly firing as sharp needles stabbed into my skull. I could barely focus, she was saying something watching something, and then the pressure built again as she was shuffling through more memories. My head snapped forward as the pain intensified. Acute pain at the back of my head radiated down my spine before finally releasing.

“Here,” Luina’s voice began to register, “this is what I’ve found.”

“Tate, the Untish aren’t mythical. They were real. They are real,”Fletch’s voice filtered through the room.

“Fletch, you’ve had too much. Get some sleep. I have to be at the clinic tomorrow morning to pull my shift, but when I get back, we can talk.” My voice sounded, surrounding me and everyone in the room, I’d never heard it like this; utterly disembodied.

“Tate, I’ve been so wrong. I thought that protecting you and not exposing everything was right, but ? —”

Fletch’s voice stopped as the pain intensified again. I let out a shout as I felt more needles prickling at my mind, digging through my brain like Luina was personally using a knife to cut away memories and split mental files. With a blink of her eyes, the sharp pain left, the pressure was gone, and I no longer felt like my mind was being squeezed.

I inhaled deeply, it did nothing to stop the throbbing in my head or lessen the nausea.

“It would appear that she speaks the truth regarding Fletcher. I searched her mind for any mention of the Untish Tribe in connection to her memories of Fletch, aside from the one memory I played, I didn’t find anything.” Luina almost sounded disappointed.

“Well then, at least we know we have one loyal member from Aaralyn’s house. I suppose we’ll have to proceed to Step Two.” Collin nodded at the guaramen. They walked around the desk and grabbed my arms before unlocking the cuffs at the desk. Luina stood, watching, her eyes glistening with anticipation.

On instinct I raised my hands in fists, I wanted to fight. But logic took over, there was no point in it; not only would I lose, but it would be stupid. I wanted to find Fletch and if I cooperated, perhaps they’d help me find him or at least answer a question or two. I lowered my fists.

“Wise move,” Luina mocked. The bitch.

The guards escorted me out of the room and led me down a corridor. We made a left turn, then a right, before finally approaching a large hallway. They led me down one hallway and then another for what felt like several minutes before we ended up on a lift that took us down . I had no idea how deep into the ground this place went, but apparently it went pretty far.

After a moment, the lift shuttered to a stop and Luina and President Dale got off first. They scanned their badges, hands, and eyes before a large metal door swung open. Inside it, there were at least a dozen guaramen, all at attention.

We walked past them to the end of the hallway where another metal door stood. President Dale approached it and entered a code before it opened.

The pit of my stomach became even more uneasy and the pounding in my head intensified. Inside the room, there was a large glass window. A couch with a liquor rack sat in front of it with two glasses of wine sitting on a golden coffee table, half drank. A large black, furry rug sat underneath the couch and coffee table. The place was very bougie. Completely at odds with the rest of HQ. They escorted me past the couch to the window. My breath caught.

Fletch. He was chained to a single chair in an entirely metal room. His face was bruised and covered in several shades of purple and red. His lip was busted open, and his left eye was swollen completely shut. Part of his face was missing skin, exposing his right jaw and several molars. A cry escaped my lips.

He didn’t even look alive. His hair was slick and clung to his face and neck, red coated the front of his chest, the floor, and practically every inch of his body was caked in both dried and fresh blood. He had a large knife in his left forearm, pinning him to the chair. Blood seeped from the wound. His stomach had been slashed and I could see his body was having a hard time self-healing. The fingers on his right hand were broken, jutting out in several unnatural directions.

“Mother Blood. What have you done?” Tears pricked at my eyes. This wasn’t happening. This was a bad dream I was about to wake up from.

“As you can see, Fletcher has been interrogated and has yet to release any useful information,” Luina’s voice was matter of fact. Interrogated?

“He hasn’t been interrogated; he’s been mutilated!” I began pounding on the window, willing it to budge. It didn’t so much as shutter.

“You say tomato, I say tomata,” Luina remarked as several guaramen pulled me back from the window. I twisted and fought; I kicked their shins and dug my nails into their forearms, but it was no use. They pulled me away from the window, away from the only male I’d ever known as a father. Tears openly poured down my cheeks blurring my vision. Was he even alive?

“Enough! Get ahold of yourself Tatealia and be thankful that’s not you. At least not yet ,” Luina quipped.

Luina had the nerve to admonish and threaten me? After she’d just stripped away the one male I could always count on; the one male I loved.

I would kill her. I would kill Luina. She would pay for this. The guaramen subdued me, two to each side, they held me bound and they too would pay. I stared helplessly at Fletch. His chest raised. Thank blood, he was alive. But he was in so much pain.

President Dale sat down on the couch with a sigh. He reached over and poured more wine into his crystal stem and then began to drink as he loosened his belt. The bastard was getting comfortable? He was positioned to see Fletch perfectly. Entertained?

I’d kill him too.

“Luina, please proceed,” he commanded. Luina nodded before approaching a door I hadn’t seen before at the edge of the room. It was completely made of glass and had no handles or visible markers except for a faint line that highlighted its presence. She pushed on it, and it opened. Stepping inside, she approached Fletch.

The guaramen at my sides dragged me closer to the window. I could practically reach out and touch him.

“Fletcher. You’ve been rather difficult. I was just informing someone I believe you care about that we’ve been interrogating you. This will go much smoother if you’d simply answer our questions.” Fletcher lifted his head and my heart ached. His right eye was bloodshot. A whimper escaped my mouth. My Fletch, the male who had protected me and raised me since my mother’s death, was in pain. He was so strong, but right now he looked broken.

“Where are the Untish Tribe members?” Luina asked.

Had everyone lost their minds. The Untish Tribe were mythical!

“Go. To. Hell.” Fletch spat blood at Luina, it landed just short of her feet.

Luina smiled, cruel and full of promise. “Very well.” She reached out and gripped the knife in his right forearm. She twisted it and Fletch released a scream.

“Stop it!” I shouted. I pulled at the guards gripping my arms, but their grips only tightened.

“Where are they? What are they planning?” Luina questioned Fletcher again.

Still, he didn’t respond. This time she yanked the blade from his right forearm and then stabbed it into his left forearm. His screams radiated throughout the room as his blood spurted from both the old and new wounds.

“Please! Stop! Let me ask the questions, please just stop!” I turned to Collin, who was reclining back on the couch, a serpentine smile across his lips.

“I’m afraid that’s not going to work my dear.” He took another sip from his wine as Fletch’s screams resounded again. My heart constricted. I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t.

“Please, if he knew something he would’ve told you. He’s a professor, a teacher. He nurtures life. He doesn’t destroy it!” Tears began to fall down my cheeks.

“Fletcher, you’ve left me no choice,” Luina spoke as she looked through the glass and met my eyes. It was one way, I was sure of that, and yet she knew where I was standing. She nodded and the guaramen holding me moved toward the other corner. Another door, outlined in glass and barely noticeable, they pushed it open and dragged me inside.

I was in an adjoining cell to Fletch. Only a glass wall separated me from him.

“If you’ll look in the other room, I think you may find some motivation to start talking.”

Fletcher raised his head, is one good eye locking on me.

“Tate!” His voice broke as he spoke my name through his cracked jaw. His good eye widened and I could see panic rooting.

“Fletch! I’ll get you out, this is all just a misunderstanding!” I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but I prayed he could. We may be separated, but we were not alone.

The guaramen holding me threw me forward with enough force to bring me to my knees, the impact breaking my skin. I didn’t care. Fletch could see me, he was aware and hadn’t been mutilated beyond repair. We could work with this.

“I’ll ask you one more time Fletcher, where are the Untish and what are they planning next?”

Fletch’s eye looked at me and filled with tears. I could see it, the apology. Reality struck me deeply. This wasn’t a mistake. He knew something, he actually knew something and from his face, I could tell he wasn’t about to break.

“Fletch?” I asked, my voice cracking. I stood up and rushed the glass wall, pressing my hands to its smooth surface. This couldn’t be happening. I knew Fletch; I trusted him. He was a good male. Not a traitor.

Had Arithi and Mardi actually been right? Had they been working with Fletch and did they know about this Untish Tribe? I didn’t know much about the myth, but what I did know suggested they were shifters or dragon riders. I couldn’t exactly recall because it was absurd. And yet…was it possible Arithi was a part of the Untish Tribe?

The dragon symbol I saw in flames when I was burning came to mind. Dear Blood. The reality began to sink in.

“I’m sorry.” Fletch’s voice broke as he looked at me.

Those two words crushed me. President Dale’s accusations were right, and now they knew that. There was no misunderstanding here. Fletch was an enemy of the Glenn.

“So be it. Perhaps this will change your mind.” Luina looked at me, and for the first time I saw an expression of regret. The guaramen shuffled out of the room quickly and the door shut with a click.

I stared at Fletch, I didn’t know the male in front of me. Even if he did betray the Glenn, would he really betray me? Did my mother really commit the treason she was executed over? Was my life full of lies?

Before I had time to ponder it further, a clicking sounded, and the room began to hum. The vents overhead began to pump air into the room. An ugly green fog began to seep in. Fletch’s eyes widened as the gas hit the floor and began to rise and reach out for me. I pounded on the glass, willing it to break. To be with Fletch one last time, if even for a moment. Willing him to deny the charges, to plead not guilty, to spare me.

“I’m so, so sorry.” Fletch’s broken voice would not spare me. No, he’d sacrifice me too.

I wasn’t sure if it was the agony from my breaking heart or the gas, but my body dropped to the ground and began to convulse in pain.