Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 65

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

TATE

“All set,” Jared spoke into the coms.

“Now,” Aether’s voice commanded as we both broke into a trot from the outer building to the center. I kept up with his strides, though it was likely from his slowing his pace rather than my magically becoming quicker. We had about twenty more yards until we reached the building.

My heart was pounding with the exertion and my vision began to spot with black dots. Not good. I shook my head and focused on the warm night air. The fog was beginning to build all around the ground and hid the muddy spots. Not unlike my vision currently.

We reached the edge of the building and Aether pulled me in tight to him. I could feel his chest pounding against mine. The tension in the air built as a breeze whipped across my face, cooling me down. He placed his lips to my forehead.

“You’re warm.”

Not what I wanted to hear. What was wrong with me?

He released me and stepped back. The atmosphere’s static didn’t diminish as he surveyed me and then the yard. We had a mission to do. We were close, we’d made it to the central building. We just needed to set the charges and then get the hell out of here.

I hopped from foot to foot, trying to release the tingling that was overcoming my senses.

Anxiety. Stress.

Desire.

“I can help?—”

“Don’t you dare.” I was done with him manipulating my emotions, even if it was to help me. If that wasn’t backwards shit, I wasn’t sure what was. Aether’s jaw ticked.

“We have a problem,” it was Jared’s tone that immediately altered my thoughts and captured my full attention.

I glanced around expecting to see seethings pouring out of the buildings, teeth gnashing.

“What’s the situation?” Aether asked. He unstrapped his sword from his back.

“We have company,” Jared’s voice broke at the end in a grunt. His com stayed on, and I could hear shuffling of feet, grunts, and a few sick thuds.

“Should we?—”

Before I could finish my question, eerie screams broke the silent night. They filled the air, coming from everywhere. I knew instantly what it was: seethings. My hands began to shake a bit, the grip on my dagger loosening with the excess sweat I couldn’t seem to control. I glanced up in the direction of the cry and my fears were confirmed.

“Tate, place the charges.” Aether nodded to my backpack then stepped forward and placed his hands gently around my face. “Shit.” He lifted my chin, so my eyes locked with his. “I’m sorry this is happening now, I was hoping it was just a precursory heat flash, but you’re peaking much quicker than normal for a standard changing. Stay close to me, try to focus on one of your senses, and stay away from anyone outside our squad—especially if you care for them.”

What the hell did that mean? I didn’t care for anyone here. A calming sensation began to take over, I could sense Aether’s magic blanketing me.

“Aether—”

Screeches sounded nearer. Damn it. Aether searched my eyes, not looking behind him or anywhere but me, even with the sounds of mud squishing and feet charging.

“Fine.”

He nodded in response, the calming sensation doubled. This time I accepted it and the reprieve from the intensity of all my senses allowed me to take my first deep breath since we’d left the SO. The heat that was eating me from the inside out became mere background noise.

He released my face and turned toward the cries. Just a hundred yards out, a warehouse door was open and seethings were pouring out by the dozens. There had to be hundreds of grey and black streaks pounding the ground, gnashing their teeth, trampling over other seethings attempting to flee containment. Their movement was chaotic, unfocused.

A lone figure walking upright emerged from the building, the seethings giving him a wide berth. His red hair was a beacon and even from three-hundred feet away, I could see the unnatural purple tint to his skin. Carter. He locked eyes with me and then raised his head in the air and screamed. He lifted his left hand and pointed toward Aether and I. The once chaotic swarm of beasts paused, and as one they turned, fixating on us. With another cry from Carter, the seethings began to run toward us.

They were rushing on all fours. Aether gripped his sword with both hands and stalked toward them, certainty in every step. I watched in unphased awe as his sword lit up with fire. Badass. The first group of twelve reached him, but before they could even lunge, they were on the ground in clumps that were smoldering, disintegrating into piles of goo. He took down one beast after another in graceful measures, like he’d choreographed and perfected this very fight. Envy clawed through me along with a feeling of longing.

“The charges, darling,” Aether’s voice cut through the mental fog.

I shook my head. “Darling?”

“Had to break your stupor.”

I could swear Aether was winking at me even as he took down a beast of a seething.

Shrugging off my backpack, I unzipped it and stared at the contents. There were at least a dozen charges in here. Vala showed me how to activate them. I could do this.

I placed the first charge on the building and then jogged down about eight feet and reached for another in the bag. My temperature was spiking, even with the calming effect from Aether, I could feel my senses heightening. Screams and screeches were coming from everywhere. The wall shook as I placed a charge. It shook again and this time I could hear grunts from within. Seethings were trying to claw their way out .

I looked back to Aether. Piles of burning flesh surrounded him, but still more assailed. He projected one hand and liquid black flames shot out, engulfing any that tried to race past him toward me. I was safe—for now.

The screeching of another door sliding open filled the night. The sound that followed was one of nightmares. I dropped the charge and it sunk in the mud. To my left another warehouse door opening. Seethings began to file out, but this time they were on two feet instead of four. Still not the giants we’d encountered at the recoup settlement, but none-the-less frightening.

The pressure in the air built and I began to shake, I could feel my internal temperature increasing. I needed to place the charges. I tore my eyes from the seethings across the yard and searched for the dropped charge. I wiped my sweaty palm on my pants, my vision beginning to blur, and picked up the block. The device was filthy, hopefully with the mud wiped off it would still work. I stuck it to the building and sighed with relief when it suctioned in place. Thank blood for magnets.

“Aether, we’ve got two warehouses on this side that are opening and releasing. Making my way to you, you’ll be swarmed without help. May need to go to plan B,” Vala’s voice cut in. She was panting and sounded like she was running.

I kept moving along the building, ignoring the mud sloshing everywhere, or the way it seemed to be liquefying underneath my feet. I grunted as I pushed the heat from me, ignoring how the side of the warehouse began to whine from my increasing temperature. I wasn’t even touching the wall…this couldn’t be good.

A blissful breeze surrounded me, and I inhaled the scent of musky ash. Aether. Calming me in every way possible. I swallowed the mild irritability at his efforts to manipulate my environment, I could be mad about that tomorrow. For now, I needed the cool air. Needed his presence even from afar.

“Not yet, Vala. Work your way over here. Jared?” Aether grunted.

I glanced in his direction. Eight seethings lunged at him at once. He lifted a hand in their direction and before they even got within eight feet of him, they crumbled to the ground in piles of ash. The ground around Aether was steaming and bubbling.

“Cool down there, darling.” Was he talking to me?

“What?”

“Eyes on the task. Just breathe. Your heat transferring is powerful. Helpful but frying.” He swung his sword and sliced the head from an upright seething who was swiping at him. Duck, slice, project. His movements were liquid.

“Heat transferring?” Vala’s voice rang out, panic lacing it. “Aether, she can’t be peaking yet. Here of all places would not be—” Vala’s voice was drowned out by an unholy scream.

A purple form emerged from the warehouse ahead with the upright seethings. It was bald, muscles bulging from it, even from its scalp. The fact that I could see that from here, hundreds of yards away, was concerning—even with my increased eyesight. With every step it took, a black aura ate at the air, the land turning black and white under its feet and in an outward circumference of ten feet. The upright seethings turned and looked at the lone figure emerging from the darkness. It pointed its hands in my direction and screamed. The seethings changed course from Aether and began to run toward me.

What the hell?

The lone figure threw back its head and pulled at the air with its hands. No not the air, it pulled at me with its hands. I could feel my magic spiking within me, rebuffing its pull, recoiling within. Pain blossomed in my chest, shooting up and down my legs. I felt icepicks hacking into my mind as my ears rang. I cupped my hands to my head and doubled over, clenching myself, willing the pain to stop. My magic protested the prodding, the pulling of that thing , but the wall I tried to build around myself wasn’t strong enough. It began flowing from me.

I pulled back against it.

“Block it, Tate!” Aether commanded.

I tried to form a mental wall, but I couldn’t. I could feel the energy being taken from me. I was being drained. My temperature was spiking with the force in which it was being yanked from my very being. My nerves screamed out as the flow of magic from me increased, like my very skin was being peeled from my flesh.

I screamed and stumbled forward.

I will not fail.

I willed the air around me to block it, I could feel it buffering, protesting, before bending to my will. There! I’d formed a shield, small and not big enough to stop the pull, but it slowed the flow. I straightened and took a step forward, all while the world spun.

The pull on me ceased instantly. I glanced up and saw a shimmer encasing the figure who was now enraged.

Aether. His concentration was fully on trapping that figure in a shield, a glass closet. The seethings noticed and changed route, ambushing Aether. Even with blocking their path with fire, they were swarming him, passing him to surround me—it was only a matter of time.

“Vala,” Aether called, grunting with the force.

You will not fail.

Aether would succeed. He had too, I felt it in my soul.

Two upright seethings managed to get around him, one landed a slice on his back. Blood sprayed out from everywhere and Aether screamed as he dropped to his knees. He pivoted and sliced one in half, but the other seething evaded him before landing another strike. Aether readied his weapon, but not fast enough as the seething lashed out, knocking the blade from his grip before backhanding him. Aether flew backwards, toward incoming seethings, and rolled in the mud before stopping himself. The seething stalked toward him, talons raised and ready.

“No!” I stretched out my hand and the seething attacking him froze, suspended a moment before I forced it backwards through the air. I threw out all my energy toward the oncoming heard of seethings now upon Aether, and to my utter delight, the air around them seized them, and then ignited with a pink flame. They burnt up within a moment, their screeches filling the air and then going silent.

Any euphoria I felt was short-lived. My temperature climaxed and my control vanished. The flame died out as I remained doubled over on my knees in the now boiling mud. I grunted as I tried and failed to stand.

Several seethings were bypassing him now, heading for me. The shield around the lone figure was fading, flickering, and I could feel its pull growing stronger, now reaching for me. It had tasted me and wanted me. Malice in its eyes.

Placing a hand on the building, I tried to brace myself and get up. The metal instantly whistled with my contact and turned bright red. Warm, I was so very warm.

“Tate!” Aether’s voice was a distant cry, muffled by the fog enveloping my brain.

The entire side of the building began to hum and glow. BOOM! The charges blew.