Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 52

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

CHANCE

Shae was where I expected, tucked away in an alcove in the library. I’d passed Arche Damaris on the way in and informed him I’d need a briefing in fifteen minutes. The library smelt of dust and disuse, a true shame and yet not surprising. When I was in prasinos, I certainly didn’t spend much time here. And once I was out? I was much more interested in revelry to be found at the settlements—not ancient words scrolled on papyrus.

“How’d the meeting go?” Shae asked, immediately swiping at the air. She was closing her browser. A few perks of having a technical team member as your hacker, she had all the fun gadgets.

“Not great. We’re at war.”

“Shit,” Shae responded. “And Tate, any word?”

“Nope.” I clenched my jaw. “Leadership denied a rescue convoy.”

“What?” Shae was already standing.

“I know, don’t worry, we’ll come up with something, but first I need to know if you found anything?”

Her chest was heaving, I could see her muscles tightening as her dragon tattoo danced across her back behind her black tank top. “I have. But it seems irrelevant when Tate is out there and needs us.”

“I understand, I swear to you Shae, I will help. But first, I need to know what you’ve found.”

“You’d better.” She blew hair out of her face before nodding at me and pulling out a device. A shield formed around us and then frosted white. “A privacy shield, we can’t use it for long without raising suspicion and I’ll have to delete surveillance footage as these are supposed to only be used on authorized tasks, but it’s necessary.”

She flicked her disk out and projected a screen for me to see. Code filled several lines. After a few swipes, the numbers turned to letters, and I could understand what I was seeing. Documents, briefs, research notes, and files filled the screen. They all had the same two words: dark magic.

“As you can see, my search proved profitable.” Shae gestured. “Not only did I find all these files, but there are incoming transmissions from an undisclosed location that mention ‘dark magic’ in coded updates. I’ve managed to decode the terms they use for ‘dark magic’ but I’m still working on cracking the rest of the encrypted messages.”

“Undisclosed location. Can you GEO locate them?”

“What do you think?” Shae smirked. “I should have it by the end of the day.”

“You’re the best.” I patted her on the back as I scrolled through dozens and dozens of transmissions and files. “Can you send them to me securely once they’re readable?”

“You bet. But I will warn you, internal intelligence pays attention to all disks, leadership included. Not me, but the higher-level team members do. So…”

“So, there’s a chance I’ll be flagged with this data.” That would be problematic if I wanted to continue to operate under the radar.

“It would be, but I wasn’t first in my class for nothing.” She winked at me and then tossed a device to me. “Just open this up, enter the code I wrote on it, then enter your disk’s IP number and you’ll be shielded for thirty minutes at a time. I wish it was longer, but if you’re noticed to be online but inaccessible, it defeats the whole purpose. So, thirty-minute increments.”

“Thirty minutes. Got it. How long until I should have the first file?”

“I have several being decrypted as we speak. Depending on file length, you could have some as soon as ten minutes. But I also have to re-encrypt them to send to you. I developed the device I gave you so it will read my encryption and translate it for you.” She raised her brows and gave me a mock bow. “I know, I’m the best. Now what are you doing for Tate?”

“What indeed.” I ran my hand over my face. “Here.” I handed her the blood bags and then uncorked the bottle of bloodwine with my teeth. Fangs were good for more than siphoning blood.

“Thanks.” She copied suit, ripping the top of the blood bag with her teeth, and then began drinking, blood trailing down the sides of her mouth. She never was one for etiquette. Blood trails looked fierce on most vampires, but the lines just looked comical on her narrow, pale face. Like she was too young and innocent to be a threat.

“Well?” She braced a hand on a hip, widening her eyes.

“I’m going to trace the path they’d take from the circuit, get an update on any incoming transmissions from their leadership, and then see about commandeering a vehicle. Then, I’ll assemble a small team and leave as soon as I can. Hopefully within two hours.” I hated that I couldn’t leave now, but I needed to know where to go and a plan in place or it would all be pointless.

“Need help with that?”

“No, you just focus on those files. The sooner I know what we are up against, the better. And Shae, you’ve been digging into the research lab files as well, right?””

“Naturally.”

“Good, make those priority with the decryption.”

“Will do.” She nodded. The shield vanished and the rest of the library appeared.

I strode out and took a swig from the bottle. Liquid courage. Arche Damaris was still bent over the desk combing through footage. I needed to check in with him and then do my own research into convoys.

“Damaris, you have that update?” I asked, putting the bottle down.

“Hell yeah.” He reached for the bottle, but I swiped it out of his way.

“Talk first.”

“You would,” he grumbled. “I’ve combed through the day of the attack multiple times and honestly, I haven’t seen anything. I mean nothing .”

“So, you’re useless.”

“No, what I mean is I didn’t even see anyone breach the borders. No one approached the data box you had me focus on. Not even the squad making rounds. NO ONE. NOTHING. Someone doctored the video footage.”

That would explain a lot.

“How can you be sure? I started watching the footage and didn’t notice anything.”

“Well, my gift for sensing magic doesn’t only work in person. I can sense a residual effect, even from footage. There’s a split second when the film glitches, the torches flare just a bit and the flags here,” he pointed to the screen, “are moving. But in the next second the torches aren’t waving, the flag isn’t blowing, it’s completely silent. It’s like this for thirty minutes and then the flags resumed blowing and the torches dance.”

I studied the screen.

“Good work. Get this to Shae and tell her what you told me, she’ll take it from there.” I set the bottle down in front of him. “Keep combing through the week before and after, focus on those areas, and also I want you to comb through footage of the research lab entrance and Anax Clark’s office.”

“You’re asking me to spy on leadership.”

“I am.” A moment passed. Damaris looked at me. He could easily tell Anax Clark, and I could be court-martialed. So much was at stake.

“Didn’t think you had it in you.” Damaris smiled and then nodded before swigging from the bottle. “But…I want another bottle and access to the VIP lounge. The blood bags here suck.”

“Done.” If that’s all it took to buy his silence, I could handle it. I just hoped his loyalty wasn’t as easily purchased. “Keep this between us. If someone asks, you’re a part of a task force to investigate the recent attack and are combing through footage of the perimeter.”

Damaris nodded before putting his ear pods in and drinking deeply from the bottle. It would be gone within minutes. Good luck to him.

I left the library and headed down the stone corridor. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but from the windows I could see daylight. A familiar frame filled the hallway before me, sauntering down, hips swaying. If it weren’t for the short bob and squared shoulders, I may have mistaken Holland for someone else.

“There you are,” her last word was spoken slowly.

I approached her and could finally make out her facial features. Her eyes were dilated, her pale skin flushed. She’d just fed.

“Holland, maybe you should go sleep it?—”

“Shh.” She placed a finger to my lips before snuggling her body against mine. “I’ve been thinking,” she spoke slowly as she traced her finger down my jaw and neck to my shirt collar. “I still haven’t seen what all you’re capable of.” She popped a button and bit her lip at the same time.

“Holland, I’d like to explore this with you, it sounds fucking nice, but I?—”

Her lips closed over mine before I could finish the sentence. I could taste cherry and honey as she swept her tongue inside my mouth. A groan escaped me as she cupped my ass in her free hand while her left one dug into the back of my neck. She deepened the kiss and pressed her body even closer to mine.

I cupped the back of her neck and pushed her against a nearby wall. She lifted her legs around my hip, trapping me. Normally I would like to play the role of hostage, but the part of my brain that was still working told me I didn’t have time for this. Life was hanging in the balance: mahogany eyes.

I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against hers. “We need to talk.”

“Do we?” she asked as she began to rock against me, grinding in the most sensual way. Fuck.

“Holland, I’ve found some?—”

Her mouth clamped over mine in a claiming motion, devouring me and momentarily stealing my senses. She deepened the kiss and simultaneously moaned into my mouth.

“Now.” She pulled back and pierced my eyes with her own. “What have you found?”

“Found?” Right. I cleared my throat and set her down. “I believe leadership here is withholding sensitive information regarding ‘dark magic’ and I’ve learned of a concealed facility that I believe is conducting research. This could be?—”

“What the attackers were looking for and connected to the creatures,” Holland finished my thought. She pushed off of me and took a step back, adjusting her shirt. Her lips were still deliciously swollen.

“You’re as hot as you are brilliant,” I said as I traced her collarbone with my index finger.

“Naturally.” She winked at me, but it lacked cockiness. Pink began to spread across her cheeks as she looked around and noticed where we were: a public hallway. The high was wearing off quickly, a feeling I was all too familiar with.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked me, tucking stray honey-brown hair behind her slightly pointed ear.

“We need a transport and a team.”