Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1)

by Addae, Sydney

  Dizzy, she by-passed the house and headed to the pasture where the cows lay resting. Her gums tingled at the sight of Beth, her granny’s old milk cow. Hunger ripped through her belly and she bent forward again.

  Something was wrong.

  Ingrid knew it but didn’t stop moving toward the old cow. Tears rolled down her face as she picked up the machete hanging on the tool rack in the shed. The pounding in her head ramped up as she tried to change direction. Her hand shook like a leaf in the wind but didn’t relinquish the heavy blade. Not when she lifted it over Beth’s neck, not when she whacked over and over again through skin, flesh and bone, and not when the cow dropped dead on the ground. The machete continued to shake in her hand in a morbid dance.

  A light flicked on in the distance. All thought of family and the dead cow disappeared. Drawn by the brightness in the midst of darkness, blade in hand she moved forward.

  Chapter 11

  Asia ran faster, trying to escape the faces of the wolves. They’d be lucky to make it through the week. Why hadn’t the wolves left with Tobias? Guilt weighed on her. She’d given them their freedom and it may cost them their lives. What should she do? Not abandon Hawke that’s for sure, her wolf would never allow that. And those two would never travel with him.

  “What is your name?”

  “Asia,” she said out loud without thinking and wished to could recall the information the moment it left her mouth.

  “Asia? I’ve heard that name somewhere. Where have I heard that name?”

  She stopped and looked down at him. “Good question. Where?” She crossed her arms, and waited. When she met Angus he mentioned a group overseas had been asking questions and looking for clues into her past.

  “My memories are returning but not fast enough. I am getting snapshots that don’t make a lot of sense yet. Some things are crystal, but personal information, pack, littermates, where I’m from… all of that is blurred.”

  Asia’s heart pounded at the familiar confusion. She had experienced the disorientation, trying to bring order to chaos.

  “This is the first time.”

  “What?” She had no idea what he referred to.

  “That I have been able to think clear for any length of time, to win against the computer chip in my brain. The chip doesn’t have full control like before. Before it would’ve forced a shift, to return to human.”

  That bit of information surprised her. “That’s unusual.” She slipped again. “I mean… I thought nothing affected the chips after installed.” She did not want him to know anything about her previous connection to the Liege.

  “Yes. I thought that as well. Where are we going tonight? I need to rest.”

  Asia blinked at the change in conversation. Perhaps he didn’t trust her either. Smart man. “I have been sleeping in the tree.”

  “Tree?” Hawke sounded surprised. “But I need to access the database I uploaded to the cloud. If I don’t log in with the correct password, the file will self-destruct and the chips in the minds of those wolves will stay live.”

  “What?” Asia hadn’t heard correctly.

  “I didn’t wipe out the files; I moved them into a lockbox that no one else can access. I froze the codes so that Master… damn. So that the Liege cannot activate the chips and destroy the test wolves. But that is just a delay mechanism. There’s more work to be completed in the program to permanently deactivate the chips.”

  “What about your chip?”

  “I never had control of mine. Just the test wolves.”

  Asia nodded. “Maybe there will be one on the plane.”

  “Plane?” Hawke took two steps backward. “What plane?”

  She completed another scan, no one was near. “We can talk about this in the tree. I need to rest as well.” The amount of energy she’d used to rescue him cost her big time. Each step became harder to make. If she didn’t rest soon, she’d be vulnerable and dependent on him. That notion stiffened her resolve.

  “What plane?”

  “To take me home.”

  “I understand but I must undo the damage first, otherwise the wolves will be recaptured and tormented worse. This must be done and I need your help.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to go do it, but Jasmine’s face flashed in front of her with a warning. “Okay.” She turned and climbed the tree without a backward glance. Her wolf whimpered and then stopped when he climbed behind her. By the time she reached the three branches, she realized he’d have to find limbs to support his weight. She had no intention of sharing her space.

  Asia grabbed the bag from the short limb, pulled out her canteen and drank. The large meal from earlier had long gone. She pulled out an apple and dried fruit from another purchase that day. Hawke settled in the next tree on two limbs and watched her.

  “Hungry?” she held up the apple and fruit.

  “No, you eat.”

  She returned the canteen and zipped the bag. Lying across the branches she gazed at the half moon and ate.

  “Mistress?”

  “Asia?”

  She told Jasmine everything that happened since their last communication. “A place to access a database? I’ll ask Silas. He’s meeting with the Alphas now, when he’s done, I’ll get back with you. He may insist this gets done before you leave. That way he can use that information as a bargaining chip with the European packs.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Although disappointed with the delay she understood it would be easier to insure damage control’s successful implementation before leaving. Otherwise, she’d need to return. She waited for Jasmine to tell her La Patron’s response at her disobedience.

  “So how is it?”

  Asia frowned. “What?”

  “Being mated? How does all that feel?”

  Since Jasmine didn’t bring up her recent infraction she didn’t either. She thought about it for a moment. Neither she nor Hawke addressed being mates or talked about Gunnolf. She needed time to re-energize for both issues. “He’s bossy, annoying, caring and is sad. I don’t know what to do with him.”

  Jasmine laughed. “His wolf and memory is returning, give the man a few days to regroup and you won’t need to know what to do with him.”

  Asia scoffed. “Sex is easy and meaningless. What I mean is Hawke throws off these emotions, like a juggler. Happy, sad, embarrassed, pleased… I’m not sure what to do with all that.”

  “Hmmm, you have forgotten some things, nothing about mates is meaningless. But I’m not going to get into that, mating’s too hard to explain. Remember when you were locked in the lab, you went through the same thing. You said you were free to feel, that could be what he is experiencing. He’s lucky you’re his mate, you can help, make his transition easier.”

  “Perhaps…”

  Jasmine sighed. “Asia. You won’t win. Not if Hawke’s your mate. I’m a breeder and I couldn’t hold out against Silas. You’re a wolf, so is he. If you take too long, your wolf will take over. I’ve seen that and so have you. Don’t play with this.”

  “I don’t want a mate.”

  “You don’t want a mate or you don’t want Hawke?”

  “Both.”

  “Tough. Deal with that. Everyone else has. Don’t throw this gift into the face of the Goddess.”

  “I’m… I don’t know what to do. I’m not you. I don’t nurture. I destroy. I fight. I don’t think things through and I work better alone.” Asia hadn’t meant to expose so many of her fears, but once released she breathed easier.

  “I know sweetie. But he’s your mate, both of you will accept each other’s flaws and all. Once you bond he will see the strong, courageous woman you are and thank the Goddess daily for your love.”

  “Love… I cannot love him, or anyone. The Goddess has decreed I am his mate, but I have no love to give.” Love consisted of four letters with no meaning. Nothing touched her any more. In the beginning, the killing had been hard, she’d return to the lab sick over her brutal actions. Now, she plowed
her fist through flesh and bone, yanking out body parts to remove computer chips without blinking. She’d cut off a hand, break a neck, dismember anyone who stood in the way of her completing a mission and not blink. She didn’t chat, or laugh, or hang around people, she had no friends, no expectations from anyone, except her Mistress. And that was new and scary. Instead of thanking the Goddess, he would curse the day he united with such a broken mate.

  “I want you to be happy, you believe that right?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Good, I’ll contact you with information on the computer.”

  Asia had been so engrossed with her conversation with Jasmine she’d forgotten Hawke sat in the next tree. “I asked for help in locating a computer, we may need to travel into the city.”

  “I cannot shift from my wolf or hybrid form into human, going into a populated area will be risky.”

  “You ask me to help and then tie my hands,” she snapped.

  “I fear the chip will retake control in human form. I cannot risk that, not until the test wolves are free and I destroy the research information.” That made sense even though it would make things difficult.

  “Why destroy? Some of it may be useful. You can send the files to La Patron so he can look at them. What kind of research took place in the lab?”

  “Why do you refuse to speak to me through this link? You speak to others through a link but refuse me, why?”

  Asia stared at the moon and counted to ten. How could she explain her fear? According to Jasmine it would happen sooner or later. The very idea of bonding with him through their link sent chills skittering through her body. “I’m not ready to bond with you. I share a link with one other person, my Mistress.”

  “You aren’t ready to link with me? But it would be safer for us to communicate in silence.” Hawke didn’t bother masking his surprise.

  Asia didn’t bother masking her annoyance. “I’m working on it.”

  Chapter 12

  Greggor moved slightly and held his jaw. Pain radiated through his face as he sat. The haunting silence in the building screamed his failure. Hawke had left. How had this happened? For the first time in his recollection someone penetrated his uncle’s fortress and from the looks of things, shut down the labs.

  He stood little by little and looked at all the damage. Burn marks from the laser decorated every wall. He winced in remembrance. Jerry had scared him before, but nothing like earlier today. The man moved as if possessed, he’d never seen anything like it, not human at least. The glass wall and door to the communication room were gone. Greggor stared at the empty space for a moment and then stepped across the debris into the area.

  Gathering courage, he typed in his password with a silent prayer. When the screen normalized he smiled and clapped. Hopeful, he brushed the glass from the chair and sat. After entering more commands, he grinned as dot after dot appeared on the screen giving him the locations of the test animals and Hawke. Excited, he would take the three remaining Hybrids in the harvesting truck and retrieve his inventory. The animals could starve in their cages for all he cared, or he’d have the hybrids feed them. As long as he reported success after his failure, his uncle may forgive him. He rubbed his hands with determination, and clicked the button to download the information to the truck’s locator device.

  Nothing happened.

  Confused, he frowned, looked at the dots on the screen again, and clicked the download button. Next he refreshed the screen and instead of the download button appearing, one by one the dots disappeared. Mouth agape he stared horrified at the blank screen.

  “Where’d they go? Where the hell did they go?” He slapped his keyboard and hit the refresh button over and over. The screen blanked. The next second a picture of the castle filled the screen.

  “What the…?” He re-logged and the same picture appeared. He couldn’t access anything in the data base. Not the security cameras, the automatic doors, or lifts. Again, he’d fucked up. Stomach tied in knots he laid his head on the keyboard. Desperate, he searched every nook and cranny of his mind for a solution and came up blank.

  “Wait.” He pushed away from the monitor and stood. Hawke’s system wasn’t connected to the main system.

  The lifts didn’t work. Instead, he headed down the stairs to the lower level and entered Hawke’s lab. Everything looked the same. No sign of a struggle, no blood on the floor. He searched the room for clues and came up empty. Pulling a chair in front of the key board he entered his code, the welcome screen appeared.

  “Good.” He still had access. Rather than search for the test wolves he searched for Hawke and found him. Next, he widened the map, wrote the co-ordinates and then printed a copy. Pressure eased off his chest as he locked down the castle, regained control of security and rebooted the cameras.

  He needed to think in steps, secure his uncle’s property and main investment. Hawke left. Greggor’s mind refused to wrap around that fact. The wolf had been a staple here for over thirty years. What happened? The footage from the cameras showed more of him and the blasted laser than anything else. There was one clip with Hawke and Jerry fighting and then nothing.

  Dammit, he needed more answers than questions when he talked to his uncle. He needed help. His uncle had left a number for him to use in case of an emergency but cautioned him against using it for any other reason than Hawke. This situation fell in that category and more. Rather than wait, he headed up to his office, and made the call.

  “Why are you calling here?” The gruff voice said before Greggor spoke.

  “I’m at the castle, Hawke is missing.” There was a pause.

  “Missing as in kidnapped or missing as in escaped and do not say you do not know which.”

  Greggor snapped his mouth closed, stopping those very words from leaving his mouth. He had no idea.

  “Well?”

  Since he couldn’t imagine anyone kidnapping the arrogant bastard he went with the other choice and hoped he was right. “Escaped.”

  “Damn it. How the hell did that happen? Where is Boris?”

  “In the states.”

  “How many hybrids do you have left?”

  Greggor blessed the man for not suggesting they involve his uncle for this retrieval. “Three.”

  “Three? He left nine.”

  “The test wolves created a number of security challenges,” he said in a stiff tone at the imbecile comment muttered low enough so he could ignore it.

  “Have you at least tracked him?”

  Greggor bristled at the derision in his voice. “Yes. I have the co-ordinates, he is in the forest.”

  “Why haven’t you recaptured him?”

  “I think he had help when he escaped and I don’t want anyone interfering on the retrieval.”

  “Help? Who?”

  “Looked like Jerry, the security guard. But he didn’t fight like him. Something strange happened. I don’t want interference when I retrieve my uncle’s prize.”

  “Give me the co-ordinates, I will send assistance. Make sure you sedate him and keep him locked beneath the ground until Boris returns. He can sort this mess out then.”

  Greggor smiled, thinking of ways he’d keep Hawke confined. “I’m going to activate the hybrids and leave within the hour.”

  “Sounds good. Make sure your hybrids shoot the right wolf and not any of mine. I want no casualties behind this.”

  Chapter 13

  Hawke sat still on the limbs of the tree and watched Asia. That name reminded him of something, something significant, but every time he pressed to remember pain shot through his skull. She looked like Jerry, a man who’d worked at the lab for the last ten years, yet her real name was Asia. How had she accomplished changing her appearance? More importantly, why didn’t he know something like that could be done? For decades he’d worked in the lab decoding text and solving the most complex riddles and he had no inkling such a thing could be accomplished.

  Even without the computer chip controlling his mind, he
wanted to study this new phenomenon yet he realized the need to protect her secret. Lord Boris would do anything to have the ability to change appearances at a molecular level. Nothing could happen to her. His wolf claimed her, and that settled matters for him. Asia was his to protect and cherish.

  Hawke frowned.

  But she seemed unwilling, and uninterested. Had he been a captive so long he couldn’t recall bitches being so touchy, temperamental? Her stubbornness made no sense. Did the test wolves’ comments about his past actions turn her sour on him? He remembered her defense, she sounded as if she’d spoke from experience.

  A well of pride rose in his chest. In the past thirty hours, she’d done what others attempted for decades and succeeded where they failed. For the most part she’d shut down Lord Boris’ lab. All the research Hawke completed in the past decade waited in a cloud. He’d sent a virus to Sir Boris’ files and whenever the man opened them the virus would change letters in the reports at random. Once started, the virus couldn’t be shut down or reversed, rendering the information inaccurate and for the most part, unreadable. A fitting end to the man’s reign of butchering innocents.

  Hawke had no idea how long he lay staring at the object of his desire, the longer in her presence, the stronger his mind and need for her grew. He vibrated with wanting her.

  His head lifted, and he sniffed. A familiar scent hit him.

  Greggor. And since “coward” described the man, Hawke knew there were hybrids nearby. He peered down and saw two hybrids circling the tree. He glanced at Asia and called through the link.

  “Asia.” Because she hadn’t opened her end of the link, his warning didn’t penetrate her sleep. He ground his teeth in frustration and scented the air to seek Greggor’s location. The man hid a few feet away in a copse of trees with another hybrid.

  Determination to lead them from Asia blazed through him. He leapt from the branches, and shifted to his hybrid form midair and landed on a nearby tree. The hybrids on the ground raced behind him. He continued moving deeper into the forest, pulling them away from her place of rest and didn’t stop until Greggor left that area altogether.