Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 55

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

TATE

We’d hiked about seven miles, and I for one was hot. My blood felt unnaturally warm and I was pretty sure my face was flushed.

The trees around us were black, they had been for the past several miles. At first, they merely looked black, but the further we went the more eerie they appeared. Many of the trees had white goo dripping from them. The grass didn’t exist up here and the dirt was no longer brown, but grey with black veins webbing from between the trees.

“Almost there. Just try to avoid making any other noise,” Aether spoke lightly, not at all winded. Prick.

“I haven’t ‘made any noise’ since we first started out. I didn’t see the branch lying there. Not all of us have super sight.” Every word came out softer than the last. I thought I was in shape, but this? This was ridiculous. And I was so, so warm. Sweat had pooled at the front of my shirt. I was grateful it was black, hopefully the sweat ring was less noticeable.

“You’ll cool off soon, I promise. Going through reformation, especially in the beginning, usually has a spike in internal temperature.”

“But it goes away?” We hadn’t spoken much on this hike. I wasn’t sure what to ask, and honestly, I didn’t even know if I could process any new details.

“Yes, just need to fully adjust. Your molecular level is rapidly changing. You’re a dragon , Tate, but that gene was dormant until recent events.”

I huffed. That was a mild way of putting it. “You mean like when you burned me?”

“That and when I gave you my blood. But you would have noticed some changes before the burning. The blood sample we collected from the clinic?—”

“You mean the blood Ferrari stole,” I interrupted. Way too much shit had gone down and I was tired of the sugarcoating and side-stepping.

He chuckled. “That blood sample,” he continued, ignoring my jab, “confirmed you had the gene marker and that some changes had already naturally started. Usually, those things include an increase of hunger bordering on bloodlust, external glowing when the cells are becoming active, and unpredictable behavior are some of the common ones.”

I wasn’t about to admit that I was pretty sure I experienced all of those. Bitterness swelled within me. Fletch and my mother had to have known I had the gene. Yet, neither one prepared me. Neither helped me through this, they abandoned me to go through this alone .

The stench in the air grew. It no longer smelt like sour mold, now it felt like the air itself has been corrupted, drained.

“It’s unstable,” Aether confirmed my thoughts. “You can sense it too?”

I nodded. We both fell silent as we crested the top of the hill. He stopped and signaled for me to follow. Down below lay a network of large warehouses. I couldn’t see any movement outside, but smoke plumed from the exhaust outlets of each building.

“This is it.”

The ground near the warehouses was pure black, with an unnatural-looking mud swirling through the ground.

“How can you be so sure? I don’t see anything.” It screamed wrong but I didn’t see any seethings.

Aether rolled his eyes at me. “Just when I thought you’d honed your skills a bit. You have other senses than just sight. Use them. What do you hear, Tate?”

What do I hear? Nothing. No, that wasn’t quite true. I closed my eyes and focused. I could hear the wind blowing through the brittle trees, the cracking of mud under my feet, a buzzing that I couldn’t quite place. Distant crunching of pine needles from something small, a rabbit perhaps?

I could hear the hum of a generator and…there! I could hear voices. Grunts would be a better explanation of it, but I heard languages being spoken that I didn’t understand. I heard cries along with roars and I knew Aether was right. It was the unmistakable sound of seethings.

“I hear them.”

“Of course you do.” There was a look of pride in his eyes and it completely weirded me out. “Ok, so you stay here, and I’ll be?—”

“No way. You are NOT leaving me here, alone.” I wasn’t about to be benched, again. I might not have the greatest fighting skills, the sword may be too heavy, and I may be in a vulnerable state of ‘reformation’, but I had my wits and determination. I could be an asset. I would be.

“Fine,” he responded way too quickly. I was a little shocked. “Stay close, Tate. And stay quiet.”

I nodded in confirmation, and we began working our way down the hill. We crept along the tree line to the closest warehouse and then to the back of it. There was a ladder attached to the building on the side, a typical escape route in case of fire. We climbed it and I held my breath as I inched up one rung at a time. Finally, we made it to the top.

We walked softly, Aether to my chagrin, was light-footed and better at sneaking than I was. Why Arithi wanted me I’ll never know. As far as I can tell, I’m useless and clueless. Or was I? Why had they taken so much of my blood and given me so much attention? Was it a deal with Fletch?

Aether motioned for me to follow as we both dropped and approached a skylight. We moved slowly and then lowered to our bellies, heads just popping over the windowpane.

My breath caught at the sight below. Hundreds of seethings were gathered in a large cage that occupied half the room. It was composed of iron bars on all sides, even covering the floor and ceiling. The seethings restlessly prowled about the cage. Every seething moved on all fours, none were upright like we saw before, and none had wings. They all appeared to be like the smaller seethings we encountered in the circuit and forest initially; nothing like the large monstrosities I witnessed just the night before.

There were several scuffles going on, but the ones not involved didn’t stop the brawling. Not even when sickly snaps occurred and bodies went limp. Just beyond the sea of grey, I spotted another cage. This one held a single individual in it. From here I could just make out a shock of red hair. It appeared to be a small male, human perhaps. He was shirtless and covered in scars and barely scabbed wounds. He gripped the bar tightly with two hands and screamed. Before pressing his face between the bars and weeping. Freckles, he had so many freckles.

Holy shit.

“Aether, when did you start your undercover work with Gari?”

“What?” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“When?”

“I don’t know…about six months ago. Why?” He motioned to below, clearly signaling we had other more important things to focus on at the moment.

“Because I’m pretty sure that’s Carter Johnstain, one of the missing persons Gari was trafficking.”

Aether eyed the cage holding the lone figure. “How sure are you?”

I studied the male. He was much thinner than he was in the picture, his body bore many wounds—some fresh and some old. His face looked sickly with a purple hue, but those freckles. Those common eyes. It had to be him.

“I’m like ninety percent sure.”

He nodded. “This is good. We never clearly ascertained where they’d taken the humans or why. This could?—”

His hushed voice was interrupted by the screeching of the warehouse door. Figures dressed in black and blue entered. Uniforms, I could make out the Glenn’s standard issue uniforms from here. My stomach dropped. This was undeniably Collin’s doing. All other means and reasons had just been eliminated as dozens of guaramen poured through the door. All armed.

They had guns strapped over their backs, daggers on their sides, and several carried a strange weapon I’d never seen before. It almost looked like a fire torch? I couldn’t be sure from here, but it was not standard-issue.

The figure in the middle was tall, female from her stance, with black hair coiled into a bun. She was too far to make out her face, but I’d never forget that posture…the cruelty in her posture. Luina.

My heart raced as images from that glass interrogation room flooded my mind. The smell of burning flesh, the screams, Luina’s cool voice?—

Calm. Comfort. Over.

Peace blanketed my soul and my senses; I was brought back to the present. The warehouse, seethings, that evil female. I didn’t look at Aether, even though I could feel his eyes on me, and instead focused below—I’d been too vulnerable with that male for a lifetime.

Luina’s lips were moving, she was speaking. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on the sounds. Too many began to flood my system. The grunts of the seethings, their heavy breaths, the crunch of dirt under their paws, and the clang of metal as several ran stubbornly into the bars.

Focus, I just needed to focus on one thing.

I heard breathing, the rapid pants of the seethings. Not what I was looking for. I kept sifting through the sounds until I heard only evenly-paced, natural breaths. A rhythm. Bingo. I could hear words and the hum of a voice box.

“These are ahead of schedule,” some high-pitched, nasally voice said.

“Not good enough. After last night, we need to move faster. We need to do this now. Why aren’t they walking upright? Where are the wings?” Luina’s pitchy voice replied.

“The more evolved ones are in the other warehouse. We’ve been dividing them based on batches. This batch is older and didn’t have certain markers in the blood, so it’s unlikely they’ll ever walk upright, and they won’t produce wings. Perhaps if their maker was helpful, they could evolve further, but it’s unlikely,” the nasal voice continued, his hands nervously ringing each other as he stood just to the side of the tall female.

“Mmm.” Luina, clearly the leader, turned and approached the caged male. “And you. Has this time with your failures helped you realize why we need you? What the importance of your cooperation is?” She tsked as she ran her fingers across the metal bars.

The male didn’t respond.

“Still not talking I see.” She huffed. “Very well, leave him for another ten hours. No food. No water. And uh, to make things interesting, let one of the creatures out. Perhaps it can convince him.” She turned on her heel.

“Yes ma’am,” the squeaky male responded before gesturing to the guaramen at his side to follow him.

“Oh, and Carter, dear. You should see how helpful your sister has been. Her creations are truly something to gawk at. They’ve sprouted wings.” The female laughed and chills ran down my spine. It was full of anything but mirth.

They left the warehouse as the skinny male slowly opened the first cage door that led to a chamber before a second door that opened into the cage. Several guaramen entered the chamber, their weapons at the ready. Sparks and fire erupted from the ends of the sticks they carried and scared all the seethings back from the door. They opened the second.

Carter’s head swung up and looked at the beasts. He cupped his ears with his hands, but the whole room was silent. The beasts stopped any noise and froze, as if terrified by the little fire and light coming from the guaramen’s weapons. One large guaraman entered the cage with a stick holding a metal ring at the end. It was about six feet long and he maneuvered it just far enough to drop it around the neck of one of the beasts. It bucked and with it several seethings ran at the male holding the stick. Fire whipped out in a burst of sparks and pops from the other guards’ weapons and struck the beasts. They dropped to the ground with a scream, convulsing.

Carter’s cries rang out as he too had fallen to his knees and was holding his chest.

What the hell? I looked to Aether, he too appeared to be focused on Carter, only he wore an expression of disgust.

They led the collared beast through into the chamber and shut the door, leaving all the other creatures roaring.

Aether tapped my shoulder; it was time to go.

I followed him to the edge of the roof where we stopped. The door to the warehouse across the yard screeched open and I could see the figures filing into it. Moans filled the air, some sounded oddly human.

I surveyed the yard. Dozens of buildings scattered across the muddy ground. This place was huge and a maze, it would take hours to explore it all.

Unnatural smoke filled the air and the whole place smelt rotten, wrong. The moans and cries and shrieks filling the air began to conjoin and form one ominous sound. It was overwhelming.

The figures disappeared into the warehouse and closed the door, and then, waiting no further, Aether began to climb down the ladder. I followed. The metal was cold to my touch. In fact, the whole world seemed freezing. My heightened hearing failed me as everything went from overwhelming to underwhelming. I felt deaf. I couldn’t hear the rustling of feet or the growling of the seethings anymore. I couldn’t even hear my own breaths.

Panic welled up as I quickened my pace. I still had at least a hundred feet to go. I stepped down for the next rung and missed it. Slipping, my feet fought for purchase while my hands dug in deeper to the metal rung. I kicked out with my left foot and found a footing, the icy rung. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I removed my forehead from the cold bar I’d pressed it to and opened my eyes.

Calmness began to surround me, and my nerve endings didn’t feel so sensitive to the cold anymore. The panic in my chest subsided as my pulse slowed back down. I wasn’t going to fall. I was fine. Slowly, this time, I stepped down to the next rung and continued until my feet were on the blessed ground.

Aether nodded at me and then gestured for me to lead the way back to the charred tree line. I led us past the trees and up the hill, amazed at the serenity of my thoughts. The anxiety was gone; I felt at peace. I walked slowly, unrushed, and took careful steps to avoid the moldy pinecones, black pine needles, and dead branches that littered the path. I almost felt like humming. When was the last time I felt this good?

Cresting the hill, we began our descent and then reached a thick swatch of trees that were still alive, but black.

“Nicely done.” Was that a compliment, from Aether of all people?

“Child’s play,” I responded, enjoying this high. I felt good, I felt…the look in his eyes was pure amusement. He was messing with me. “What are you doing?” I growled.

“Just helping you calm down,” he admitted. To my utter horror, I realized he was influencing my emotions.

“That is a total violation of my person. How dare you.” The warm fuzzy feeling dissipated and the anxiety was back. My nerves began rapidly firing and my chest hurt with every breath.

“Happy?” He looked disappointed as he laced his hands behind his back in some act of restraint.

No, I wasn’t happy in the least but I sure as hell wouldn’t admit that to him.

“Let’s go, we need to get back soon unless we want to just head to the Southern Outpost as a party of two.”

I sucked on my fang and blew past him on the trail back. He was unbelievable. Not only could he transform into the fiercest thing I’ve ever seen, a badass dragon, but he could influence my emotions? Has he?—

“Wait.” I stopped abruptly and he bumped into me, bracing my shoulders with his hands. Hands that completely swallowed my small shoulders in a suggestive way. Shaking my head, I tried to regain my train of thought. Violation, yes that was what I was upset about. “Have you ever messed with my emotions before?”

He didn’t answer, but his thumbs began to caress lazy circles on each scapula. The sensation was a distraction, but not that distracting. Not going to work.

“Answer me, Aether,” I demanded.

His fingers stopped circling my shoulder. “Yes.”

“Last night?” The horror of the prospect threatened to overwhelm me. Did he heighten my sexual drive?

“No. Never, I’m not that type of male.” His voice was serious, earnest almost. He tried to turn me to face him, but I resisted. I did not need to melt in those dark eyes.

“Then when?”

“Only one other time. I used emotional manipulation in that duxes’ quarters when I needed you to recall what happened to you and Fletch.”

When he’d made me recall one of the worst days of my life. I swallowed back bile at the scene that filled my head: Fletch limp in a metal chair, blood everywhere?—

“Don’t mess with my emotions.” I yanked free of his grasp and continued down the path. I couldn’t get away from his body heat fast enough. He’d influenced me to relive the most horrific and vulnerable states I’d ever been in. Tears began to blur my vision. How did this too feel like a betrayal?

I knew he was using magic in that room, but to alter the way I felt? To heighten my anxiety or calm my nerves, to influence my emotions? I didn’t even know such a thing was possible. Stupid, I was so very stupid.

We continued down the path in silence, with me leading, until we were about a quarter mile out. Aether grabbed my shoulders and jumped in front of me. Ever the predator.

Screams , I could hear screams and grunts, animalistic shrieks filled the air. We both broke out into a sprint, Aether’s sword drawn. I pulled out my dagger, it felt pathetic in comparison, but at least it was something. I was in control of my emotions; I would not feel inadequate.

We reached the end of the path, right where we’d left the group, but they weren’t there. Shouts came from around the bend.

As one we followed their cries and found the first sign of slaughter. Several dead corpses lay face down in the mud. Four to my count, along with two seethings, the latter already decomposing into black goo.

“Hold!” I could hear Vala command.

She was just ahead, in a small dome with just Jared. To her right, closer to us, was a larger dome that held half a dozen vampires from our group. Only a few of which were standing. Dozens of seethings, small ones thank blood, were pounding on the shield Vala had created. They were holding but were beginning to splinter and Vala was being physically propped up by Jared. I didn’t know much about her magic, or any magic really, but I knew these fields drained her.

“Damn it! Stay back.” Aether flew in front of me, faster than I’ve ever seen, and withdrew his sword. He pulsed at the air and the seethings went flying in every direction but ours. With his blade, he sliced through two seethings who had been blown in his direction. The remaining seethings regrouped and charged Aether. At least two dozen from my count. They lifted their heads as one and called out into the night. Their cry was unnatural and wrong at its very core. I stood there frozen. Aether would need to shift. We were dead if he didn’t.

But instead, Aether pulsed the air again and this time, they flew back a bit further, only to recover quickly. Aether stabbed a couple close to him and continued fighting his way toward the rest of the seethings, some of which continued to attack the dome. The splinters fracturing it further—deep cuts that I could see from here as the shield pulsed in response. Vala cried out and dropped to her knees, even Jared couldn’t support her. The shields shimmered and blinked; she wouldn’t be able to hold for long.

“Hold it, Vala!” Aether commanded. And then, to my horror, he dropped his sword. It sunk into the mud at his feet.

The seethings noticed and left the dome. They began inching toward Aether on all fours. Closer, closer, and closer.

Still, Aether did not move. No way, no way he was sacrificing himself.

I tried to step forward, but the air surrounding me gripped my feet. I couldn’t move. Anger filled my veins. How dare he. I tried again, willing the air to move, but it wouldn’t respond. I was stuck. Damn it!

Howls from the woods sounded and several new grey and black blurs began to pour through the forest. They charged both Aether and Vala. Upon impacting the shield, Vala cried out and collapsed, both domes vanishing the moment her head hit the muddied ground.

I yanked again at the air and this time it budged—a little. I forced a step forward, using all my strength to fight the resistance.

Aether glanced at me. “Stop,” he commanded. The beasts were nearly on him. They were mere feet from Vala and Jared. “Now, Jared!” Aether outstretched his hands and black fire erupted from them in a liquid stream. The moment it touched the beasts, they were incinerated, leaving nothing but charred remains where they once were. He directed the fire toward Jared and Vala. Jared’s hands were outstretched and even from here, I could see the faint form of a shield, about four feet in diameter, and circular. Nothing compared to what Vala could wield, and yet it would be enough. The fire swallowed the seethings and bounced off the shield Jared bore. Incredible.

Four more seethings lunged at Aether, all at once, from different directions. He blasted two in midair with liquid lava, they didn’t even make a sound as their ashes floated through the air. Turning to the other two, he pulled free a dagger and stabbed the one in the eye just as it was about to land on his back before sidestepping and swallowing the remaining one in black flames. It was the most graceful dance I’d seen yet, absolutely mesmerizing.

Cries came from the remaining vampires as seethings began to attack them. Several were being dragged off into the woods by beasts while a few attempted to fight back. They needed help.

I willed my left foot forward, but I couldn’t move it. I focused on the air, the bindings holding me still, and tried to remove them.

Several blurs raced through the trees right toward Jared, Vala, and Aether. They were being swarmed.

The vampires screamed as two of the three who were fighting fell. I palmed my dagger and aimed, throwing it toward the group a hundred feet away. Too far. I reached out and felt the air around the blade and pushed on it, willing it forward. The blade continued its flight, level until it sunk into the brain of a beast about to devour a now unarmed vampire.

Aether looked at me, even as he fought, and smiled before swallowing the remaining seethings attacking the vampires in his flames.

I took a step toward him, relieved that the air gave and allowed a small step. I could do this. I could fight.

The beasts racing through the trees were howling and grunting, increasing in sound. More were coming. I reached for my other dagger at my side.

Crunch! A scream escaped me as pain exploded from my shoulder. I was thrown to my side, the whole world spinning, as a blur of grey assaulted my vision with black, razor-sharp teeth.

The seething sunk its fangs into my left arm next as it pulled back its talons and swiped at my stomach. I twisted away, barely missing its talons, but its mouth was embedded in my arm. Stabbing pain began to shoot through my veins as the monster pulled on my arm with its fangs—drawing. I could feel my nerves coming alive, practically boiling, and energy coursing through me. It was demanding a release. I shrieked as I forced my energy into the beast trying to consume me. I jolted, but its jaw remained locked.

My energy began to be drawn, almost yanked out of my control, as it began to flow from me into the seething. It was draining me. I hadn’t stopped it…I had fed it. I withdrew a dagger and began plunging it into the seething’s side, its neck, and the back of its skull. I tried to control the air, but my focus was fractured. It growled even as it kept its fangs in my flesh before whipping its head side to side, throwing me around like a rag doll.

Another scream escaped my lips as my arm snapped and the bone broke. I began to see circles filling my vision before the seething flipped me onto my stomach and swiped at me with its claws, cutting across my back and digging into my shoulder where it then paused and pressed down. I yanked my face up from the mud, gasping for breath. The whole world was spinning.

You will not die.

I refused to die, especially like this.

I could hear distant cries, Aether’s voice along with Jared’s, but their words held no meaning. Heat raced across my back and the fangs and claws gloriously disappeared. The seething was gone.

Panic. Pain. Regret.

I couldn’t focus on anything as the entire world began to spin. Vomit escaped my mouth as I rolled to my side. A face filled my vision, concerned caramel eyes hooded by dark, bloodied hair.

The forest began to dance overhead, and the rain started up again. I could see the trees swaying and was aware of movement with no sound.

Someone’s warm body was pressed against mine and the steady sway of my body was that of being moved, gently.

“Wha—” I couldn’t even form words to what I was thinking. My vision blurred again as water hit my face in droplets.

Anger. Dominance. Vowed protection.

“Shh, just rest. You will be OK. I promise.”