Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 42

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

TATE

I’d been one of the last to make it to the circuit. I took a seat in the back and sat here for about two hours. I would contact Chance as soon as we made it to the outpost. I’d reveal who Mardi was and then he’d be taken in for questioning. Maybe they’d catch Arithi and James before the week was over. They would never put another Fletch in danger again. I don’t know why Fletch would ever betray the Glenn, not that I liked the Glenn. I hated President Dale, but I, like my mother, was loyal. That was one core trait she taught me: loyalty. Then again, Arithi claimed to have known her so maybe she had defected. If she had, then they were responsible for her death too.

“There she is,” Vala said.

Just perfect, I did not need her incessant chattering right now.

“Girl, what happened to you last night?” She took an empty seat in front of me, Jared sitting next to me.

“Mardi, that’s what.”

“Yeah, I mean when we left you in the vineyard with him, and I thought, ‘Crap! We’re in trouble,’ but then he took you and I heard you two kissed?”

My eyes shot up to meet her chocolate ones.

“He kissed me.”

“Mhmm. Tell me, how was it?” She leaned forward, putting her chin in her right palm.

“Vala,” Jared admonished, but she just waved him off.

“It was wrong, that’s how.”

“Mmm, wrong like in a bad boy kind of way? Damn, that’s hot and steamy!”

“Vala!” Jared’s voice held embarrassed indignation.

“Wrong as in gross, not right, and completely inappropriate.” I tried to shut out the memory of his touch, the craving that took over my senses, the way he tasted…

“Well, the look on your face says otherwise,” Vala smirked.

I shot Vala a silencing glare. The circuit jerked violently and then the brakes screeched. I went flying forward only for Jared to reach out and stop me from careening completely to the floor.

“What on earth?” Vala’s voice was breathy. I righted myself and looked around, the train car’s lights were flickering on, off, and then on again. The power then went out completely and a shrill metal sound filled the air.I shook off Jared’s grip.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Jared’s voice was close. Too close.

“Come with me, now.” Mardi was there, whispering in my ear, grabbing my right arm. Where did he come from?

“What’s going on?” Jared demanded.

“There’s been an attack.” Mardi pulled me, beckoning me to follow.

An attack? Was Arithi or another Vamp attacking The Glenn?

“Let go of me! I’m not going anywhere with you,” I hissed. I became dead weight and my feet stopped moving.

“Tate, now’s not the time for a grandstand.” Vala’s voice was the calmest I’d ever heard it—that alone had me questioning my stance.

“We’re leaving now.” Mardi released my arm and approached the door. He began to kick at it. Good luck with that. These doors were built with ten inches of steel. No vampire could break it with a few lousy kicks. Least of all, this jackass.

But to my shock, it slowly dented.

Loud bangs came from the front along with screams followed by unnatural cries and snarls.

“What the hell is that?” No one answered me. I could hear voices raising on the circuit, the other dokimoses were moving around talking in panicked tones. With a thud, the door finally gave and Mardi stepped out into the darkness.

“Let’s go. Now.”

Animal cries and howls echoed in the tunnel. I hated underground travel.

“What about the rest of them, Aether?”

Aether? I’d forgotten that Arithi had called him that. I’d thought it was his first name, but now I wondered if Mardi was just a cover. Like an idiot, I’d been calling him Mardi and taking it at face value. I mentally kicked myself.

“Vala!” Jared tried to shut her up. I could feel his presence behind me pushing me out of the train car.

“We can’t just leave them!” she insisted. Jared gave me a gentle push and I stepped out onto the loose stone ground. Musky air filled the cavern.

“Shut up, Vala.” Jared was really beginning to annoy me.

“No, Vala’s right! Something is very wrong here. We need to get the rest of them, isn’t that your job, Aether ?” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my tone.

Aether inhaled sharply. “Look, Tate, my job is whatever the hell I say it is, and in this moment, it means that you just follow me blindly or die. Understand?”

“But what about the…” Vala’s voice cut off as loud crashing and screams came from just ahead.

“Dear blood, they’re in the car.” Jared sounded scared, actually scared.

“Who’s they?” Again, no one answered.

“Now. Move it. We have to move now.” Mardi, Aether, whatever his name was, yanked on my arm and we began walking blindly down the tunnel.

“Step up,” Aether commanded as my foot stubbed part of the track.

I had good vision, but not night vision. How did they know where we were going?

“Careful, step over the beam ahead.” Vala was guiding me like she could see everything.

“Door up ahead, you guys go through it.” Aether pushed open a door and maneuvered me through, ducking my head with his hand, before Vala took over guiding me by the elbow. We were in a tunnel. It too was pitch black.

“Where are we going?” Vala’s voice was strained.

“Jared, make sure they make it out. I’ll be just behind.” Aether’s tone held no room for questions. Screams sounded, far too close for comfort, along with loud snapping and gurgling cries. This was a massacre.

“We have to help them!” I tried to turn around and find the door, but it was too dark. “How can you guys see anything!”

“Later, Tate. We have to keep moving.”

“Vala! They’re dying, can’t you hear it? We don’t even know what’s killing them, but they are people and need us.”

“I’m sorry, Tate. Aether gave us an order,” Vala spoke quietly, continuing to usher me forward.

I dug my heels in. If they wouldn’t help, then I would.

“I admire your morals, but do you for a second think any of those vampires would stop long enough to save you? What about a human? Vampires are predators, we attack, and when we know we’re outmatched, we flee.” Jared placed two hands on my shoulders and pushed me forward, Vala still tugging on my elbow.

“He’s right, Tate. We have a pretty good idea of what is attacking them, and we need to leave now, or we don’t stand a chance.”

My feet began to move, the obvious pieces finally falling in place. They were together. Aether, Jared, Vala. They were working me, lying to me. If they knew what was attacking us and were scared, should I just run toward the assailants? What if it was the guara searching for these traitors?

“Who are you?” My voice sounded vulnerable, and I hated it. I yanked my elbow free from Vala and dug it into Jared’s abdomen. He grunted as I tried to step behind him. It was so damn dark.

“Tate! No!” Vala cried as I took a wrong step and began to tumble down a series of stairs. My left arm took most of the impact, pain screaming from the undoubtedly fractured bone.

“And you thought this would be a fun mission.” Jared mocked before securing his hands around my waist and hoisting me up.

How the hell could they see?

A loud crash sounded from behind along with heavy breaths and footsteps.

“See, Aether went back for them. He too has a strong moral code that values all life, Tate.” Even though I couldn’t see Vala’s face, I could swear she was admonishing me.

“Hurry!” Jared and Vala both practically dragged me up the steps. I moved my feet, cooperating with them.

“GO!” Aether’s voice echoed from further down the stairs. Several footsteps sounded behind me, whimpers and cries. We reached the top of the stairs, and I could finally make out the vague outline of a door. Jared approached it and kicked it open. Sunlight poured through it, filling the tunnel with a hazy warm glow.

“Out, now!” Vala darted for the door.

Behind me I could see several guaramen from the circuit racing blinding up the steps, tumbling and tripping over each other. A young male slipped and fell only to be buried by the steps of other panicked dokimoses clawing their way up the staircase.

No one bothered to help anyone.

Aether. He had gone back for them. Why?

Animalistic cries echoed louder than before. Whatever that was, they were in the tunnels, likely the very one we were in. I turned and passed through the door and into the forest. The pine needles covered the floor and crunched under my feet. Momentarily, I felt blinded. It was so bright.

“This way!” Vala instructed as she ran through the trees. “There should be a settlement just ahead.”

How did they know where we were?

“Weapons ready!” Jared commanded as he unsheathed a dagger.

I ran after them, noting that the other dokimoses also followed. Several of them were bloody. They surpassed me, running like they could outrun death.

“Monsters! They’re monsters!” a young dokimos cried. She had a nasty gouge on her arm where her pressed hand did little to staunch the bleeding.

I focused on her too long and didn’t see the root ahead of me. My foot caught on it, and I couldn’t catch myself as stumbled, face-planting in the forest floor. Momentarily stunned, I laid there.

Was this really happening? Monsters ? Impossible.

A scream filled the air sending shivers down my spine and eliciting panicked cries from the dokimoses around me. Blurs of black and grey streamed through the air, exiting the tunnel. They were jumping, sprinting, attacking.

One was headed right for me. It had large talons at the end of each of its limbs. I pushed up on my elbows and tried to back away as it hurtled toward me on all fours. It gnashed its teeth, black foam dripping from its mouth, as its razor-sharp teeth cut the air. Its eyes were black pools circled by purple.

I sat there paralyzed by what I was seeing.

“Tate!” Vala screamed from ahead, but she was too far to help.

The creature lunged in the air, its trajectory straight toward me. I’d be dead in seconds.

I tried to get my feet under me but couldn’t seem to remember how to properly use my legs.

The thing was five feet away, three feet, two?—

It halted its path and was yanked backwards as a blade pierced its chest, lifting it in the air and splitting it apart. Black blood sprayed everywhere, like rain from the sky, coating the ground and covering my shins and feet.

“Up, now Tate!” Aether was there, covered in blood and gore, sword at the ready.

Aether had just killed the thing in front of me. He stood there, hand outstretched, waiting for me. “NOW!” His voice rang out, breaking through my momentary shock.

“Yeah, OK.” I stumbled to my feet, ignoring his hand, and then began to flee from the creatures overwhelming the forest. They jumped and lunged, slashing and devouring the dokimoses who were too slow or had fallen. That could have been me. It should have been me.

I unsheathed a dagger, next time one of those things came for me I’d be ready.

“This way!” Aether directed as he weaved through the heavily wooded forest to my side, keeping pace with me.

Up ahead was a cluster of pines and scrub oak, dense and hard to see through. It would provide temporary relief.

“If we make it through there, we should have some coverage and can hopefully make it to the village below,” he stated the obvious. For once I felt up to speed on the plan.

“What are those things?”

“You’re asking me?”’

“No, Aether, I’m demanding. You know what they are.” I was sick of the secrets and lies. Vala, Jared, and Aether all knew. It was purely infuriating.

“Later, Tate. Let’s just survive this first.”

“But—”

I was cut off by a creature who landed just in front of me. It raised itself to a standing position and towered over me. It was at least eight feet tall. It swiped at me with its claws, I ducked and jumped back. It barely missed.

I struck at it with my dagger, once, twice, three times but didn’t make contact. The thing smiled at me, revealing sharp black teeth inside its mouth before roaring and taking a step toward me. Aether ripped his sword out of one creature he’d taken down and then swung for the one attacking me.

No way, I didn’t need him saving me again. My pride wouldn’t allow it. I pulled out my other dagger, the smaller lighter one, and threw it at the thing. It was only three feet away, so aiming was easier, and my dagger struck true. Right between its eyes. It stood there, momentarily frozen, before screaming at me and reaching up to grab the blade. As its hand closed around the hilt of it, Aether was there pushing the blade all the way through. A crunch sounded and the creature collapsed. Aether yanked my blade out of its skull, black blood covering it, and handed it to me.

“Move!” he commanded as he took off, not waiting to see if I responded.

Damn him. I had that thing. I shook my head and followed him through the brush, ducking under a branch. I tuned out the cries from behind, the sounds of bones snapping, the guttural cries. No more loss. I blocked it all out and focused on my breathing.

“Tate! Over here!” Vala stood just ahead, chest heaving and blade bloody. Several creatures’ corpses lay scattered around her. Now that was what a badass looked like. I really should have taken more tactical courses in high school. “This way,” she said as she motioned wildly toward the path.

I followed her, ignoring the sickening sounds from behind, forgetting the pain in my arm from when I’d fallen. I rejected the pain creeping up my left leg, the old bone beginning to throb, begging for relief. I would not break.

She weaved between large pine trees and skinny aspens. I focused on the way she moved, her braids flying behind her, steps sure. She avoided a fallen tree trunk, and I too sidestepped it. She jumped past a dented part in the forest floor, full of pine needles and cones, and I followed suit, wincing as I landed and my left leg began to cramp.

Finally, we were through the densest part of the forest and made it to the clearing. A valley, with green grass and wheat stalks. Peaceful almost.

I could see the settlement about ten miles ahead and to my relief, Jared was running toward us leading a small battalion of armed soldiers. We just needed to make it to them.

“Keep going! Everyone, just make it to the village, arm yourselves properly, and then get the hell back here to take these creatures back to the grave where they belong!” Anax Mardi, Aether, commanded all the dokimoses like it was second nature. They all obeyed, admiration in their eyes. He’d saved them. He was their leader, traitor or not.

His dark hair was spattered in red and black blood and his muscles flexed as he lifted his sword and turned his back on the village, facing the grove we’d just ran through. Dokimoses kept pouring through the trees in a stream slowly dissipating, most had already made it to the valley. The ones who hadn’t, well, they were likely dead.

Aether dug his feet in the ground. He was going to face those things by himself. I stopped moving and just stared at him. Several dokimoses ran past him toward the army approaching, none stopped to help. Through the pines I could see blurs of grey and black. Dozens of those creatures were closing in. Too many for him alone. I didn’t care how good of a swordsman he was, he couldn’t take them all. Damn it.

My feet began moving toward Aether, dagger in hand.I could feel a tug on my being , commanding me forward. He would not face this alone.

“Tate!” Vala screamed my name from behind, but I didn’t stop.

Aether turned to see me, eyes widening as conflict warred in them. Was that admiration?

He cursed under his breath. “What do you think you’re doing? Turn around and go to the village!” His eyes were full and…panicked? If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was concerned for my safety. Wasn’t this the same male who made me relive the worst night of my life just yesterday? Why did I care about him? My stupid confused heart.

“You need me!” I challenged him as I stopped moving and stood by him. Dagger ready.

He cursed under his breath as he reached for his other sword strapped to his back. “Use the pointy end on them. Slice through the heart up through their head, the head through the heart, cut the head off, or like before, sink it straight between their eyes.” He handed me his sword.

“I know how to use a sword.” I grabbed it and it clunked to the ground. It was heavy, very heavy.

“Could have fooled me. Use your dagger if you have to.” Aether didn’t have time for more instruction as the first creature broke through the tree line, charging us.

Aether ran for it, sword at the ready. “Stay behind me.”

Several others began to pour through the shrubs. Most were on all fours, but a few ran upright like we did.

My pulse quickened. No, I would not be afraid.

A calmness blanketed my senses along with a foreign strength.

I was not alone. I would not fail.

“Get ready!” Vala’s voice to my side surprised me. Her dark braids had fallen from their pony and were now scattered across her shoulders. Several strands had broken free. She gripped her sword and raised it as one creature ran past Aether straight for us.

“Ready,” I replied as I picked up the sword, prepared for its weight this time, and swung it at the creature. I caught it in its shin, but only managed to swing halfway through it—the blade stuck in its leg. The creature crumpled, and then tried to right itself. Vala swung her sword and managed to decapitate it.

“Nice! Just swing higher next time,” she instructed as she turned ready for the next one.

Steady. Power. Focus.

Aether was up ahead and was systematically taking them down one by one. He was graceful in his approach, and it looked more like dancing than it did fighting. He had managed to take down at least eight and was forging forward into the thick of it.

“Come on, you can do it. Just stay strong,” Vala was murmuring under her breath, eyes fixed on Aether.

Aether sliced through two creatures at once before pivoting to face off with a third.

A roar came from the left, Vala turned, weapon poised. The beast lunged at her but she had her blade in its belly before it hit the ground. She yanked it free; the sickening sound of flesh and metal meeting made my stomach turn.

A blur from behind was moving quickly, I threw my dagger before I could even register how close the beast was. To my utter shock, it struck true. It landed straight into its left eye socket the blade imbedded a few inches. The creature shrieked and threw its head back and forth before taking a step toward me. And then as if gravity itself had increased, the dagger began to move. It was pulled deeper and deeper until the blade fully disappeared into its skull. With a cry, the thing collapsed. I reached for my dagger, grunting as I freed it from the thing’s now mutilated face.

The charge in the air intensified, the fire in my blood begging to be released. I could feel that old itch come alive, demanding I scratch it and embrace who I really was. But I could not, not in front of so many. Shifting here would be a death sentence.

Aether was fighting three at a time, but dozens more were swarming him. It would only be a moment before they overpowered him. He needed help.

“Damn it, just wield,” Vala whispered, attention focused on Aether who was about fifty yards ahead.

“Watch out!” I shouted as a creature landed just to the side of Vala. I charged it and swung my sword, higher this time, and lodged it in its gut. The damn thing just stood there and then began swiping at us. Its right claw caught my left forearm and broke my contact with it. I fell backward and landed on the grass. Vala screamed and black blood went flying along with the thing’s head.

Panic. Rage. Power.

The air around me thickened, filled with a charge. A wind—almost unnatural—blew from where Aether was, kicking up dirt and blood and filling the air with a haze. I forced myself back to my feet, ignoring the blood dripping down my arm, blinking through the dusty air. I tuned out the pain from the dirt in my eyes and focused on the pulsing of the air. Like a heartbeat I knew well.

The air cleared and Aether stood there, sword poised and feet apart. Around him, at least two dozen creatures lay dismembered, bodies bubbling in pools of black blood.

How did he take that many down in a moment?

Another creature shrieked as Vala removed its head with her blade. I stood there, chest heaving. There were no more creatures nearby, just movement in the brush, behind the tree line. Several black streaks broke through the pines, the brush teeming with those things. More were coming.

I pulled free a dagger with my good arm and stood. This was something I could easily maneuver.

Footsteps pounded behind along with familiar shouts. The battalion, they’d finally arrived. Jared was at the head of the group, sword raised.

One of the upright creatures landed in the outskirts of the valley, focusing on Aether. It raised its head and let out a cry. The other things just froze and then as one unit, they turned and retreated back into the forest.

“Don’t let them get away!” Jared commanded as he led the soldiers forward, following the now fleeing creatures.

I looked around. The ground was covered in bodies. Pools of blood were everywhere. For the first time, I noticed not the dozens of creatures’ bodies dotting the valley’s floor, but several dokimoses’ corpses. They were lifeless, fallen in the once green, now black grass.

I had no idea how many we lost, but my guess was more than half of the circuit’s roster were now dead.

Aether turned, his gaze finding mine.

Power. Peace. Admiration. Lust.

The charge in the air surrounding me doubled, tickling my skin and caressing my mind. He began to stride toward me, wiping his sword on his muddy pants before sheathing it.

“When I give you a command, you damn well better listen to it!” He was angry, the skin at his eyes and mouth pulled tight. “You could have died.” He flexed his hands, knuckles turning white when he curled his fingers inward.

“You needed help!” I was not about to be talked down to for helping. “A thank you would be nice!”

“A thank you?” His eyebrows shot up. “Tell me Tate, how many did you kill? Hmm?” He gestured around him.

“You’re such a bastard.”

“So you’ve said.” He turned as Vala approached. “Vala, next time I give you a command you follow it, no questions asked. If Tate had died it would’ve been on your head. You would have paid for it with your life.” He pointed a finger at her.

Seriously, what was his problem?

“Well, she’s not exactly the type to listen and I didn’t want to leave her and really, she did help even if she didn’t exactly kill any by herself, she was close,” Vala stated my failure like it was worthy of praise. Aether was right, I hadn’t killed any—not on my own. I was a poor warrior and more of an exposure than an asset.

“She. Could. Have. Died.” Aether glared at Vala.

“But she didn’t. She’s stubborn, like someone else I know.”

“She’s right here . I can hold my own and answer for my own actions.” I was sick of them speaking of me like I were a child to be minded.

“Enough. I need to reach out to command and inform them of the situation.” Aether stormed off toward the village, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

I gritted my teeth. The charge in the air dissipated, but the tug on my soul did not relent. It followed Aether as he marched through the valley.