Sword of Mercy

by Sydney Addae

  “Gordon? Is he here?” Asia remembered the dapper man she’d seen a few times over the years. Back then he wore a goatee with long sideburns and had thick bushy eyebrows over dark brown eyes, being one of the shorter Lords he always seemed to stand out.

  “Yes. He arrived yesterday,” Silas said. “This one is different than Lancaster, not as slippery. He works directly with LOBO which I believe is in the states. Leon and Brix are searching possible locations right now. Gordon’s old school aristocracy, blue blood. I don’t have a lot on him, but I sent Angus a copy of a picture when he was a younger man.”

  “Great,” Asia said. “How can we get in touch with Ulric? He mentioned to Angus that Lancaster arrived, hopefully he can give us some information that will point us in the right direction.”

  “Why haven’t you linked with Angus yet Hawke?” Silas asked.

  “We just never got around to it. Things are moving fast,” Hawke said. “We need to tell Angus of our change of plans. He and Chacal were headed north this morning. Chacal wanted to check a place that they’d seen before. He thinks they missed something.”

  “He mentioned that. How large is Radoff’s pack?” Silas asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve seen fifty in one place,” she said thinking of the hotel where they first met the Alpha. “There may be more.”

  “You’ll need to pull Ulric into this as well for backup. Understand, you two have lead on this, especially since the pack cannot kill Lancaster and Gordon until the contract is broken, it’s important to keep them alive until then.”

  Asia frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “Imagine if you were human and had the advantage of the fountain of youth for decades. Your body healed, you lived well, made millions of dollars and your enemies could not kill you. Two men threatened all of that, what would you do?” Silas asked.

  “Damn, they would eat their own. To keep that deal they’d try to kill Lancaster and Gordon.” Asia looked at Hawke. “We need to take a plastic bag and a cup of ice in case they’re bleeding. They can send each other to their personal hells for all I care, but we will get the blood to break the covenant.”

  He nodded.

  “Asia, Hawke, watch your backs,” Jasmine said. “You are the other half necessary to break this thing. If they could destroy either of you, they’re safe. Don’t forget that.”

  Asia sobered recalling the tenacity of those men. “Yes, Ma’am. I have his back.”

  “I’ve got hers. This time will be different.” Hawke paused and then cleared his throat. “I killed my sire. He died ten years ago attempting to rescue me from Lancaster Castle. Ten years ago an enemy attacked and I pulled the switch to the roof, killing them all. It does not matter I had no idea who he was. I created and improved security at the castle. I am responsible for every failure my sire encountered trying to rescue me.” He exhaled and she held his hand, knowing he needed to say it. “This time, there will be no failure. On my sire’s honor, I will break this contract.”

  No one spoke.

  “How normal is it to seal a contract in blood?” Jasmine asked. That had sounded barbaric to Asia as well.

  “Very common for that time period and given our nature and respect for blood, it signified the importance of the covenant. I suspect there is more involved. Maheegan is researching it and should know more when you return.”

  “Return? We are bringing one of the Lords here?” Asia asked looking at Hawke.

  He shrugged.

  “Yes, back to the place it began,” Silas said.

  “Understood.” Asia looked out the window. Bringing either man all the way back here would require additional planning.

  “We are in agreement then. The covenant will be broken through the shedding of blood, just as it was created,” Silas said.

  “Yes, Sir.” Hawk and Asia said.

  “What about Niall and Granira?” Jasmine asked. “Maheegan contacted us about the contract you sent Hawke and she believes it’s valid. But why would Granira have had a copy? Does Maheegan have copies of contracts for you, Silas?”

  “No, but I have Jacques. In smaller packs it may be customary to allow the historian to secure important documents.”

  “In that case we should be grateful she has a few missing pieces to the puzzle. Thanks to her help this should be over within the next few days,” Jasmine said.

  Asia nodded. “Yes, Ma’am, that is the plan.”

  “Good. Hawke when this is all over, I would like to meet you and your brother. Please extend an invitation on our behalf.”

  Asia sensed Hawke’s surprise even though his outer appearance appeared calm.

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Hawke’s eyes widen and then he shut them tight.

  “Damn Silas that hurt,” Angus said joining the conversation.

  “You linked us?” Hawke said, opening his eyes and then looking at his mate.

  “Yes. Time is short and you need to know what each other’s doing,” Silas said and then brought Angus current.

  “I’ll talk to Ulric and get that information. He’s been waiting for something like this. We need to get Gordon or Lancaster out of the city, away from humans. Question, when you say we cannot kill them does that mean we cannot hurt them or they will not die from whatever we do to them? Because I cannot kill my litter mate, but we can fight,” Angus asked.

  “I believe it would be the same with Lancaster and Gordon,” Silas said.

  “Good to know because I plan to beat the shit out him over and over before the son of a bitch dies.”

  Asia laughed. “We can have one of those lines we saw on the movies, Mistress.”

  “Conga lines?” Jasmine said.

  “Yes. Beat their ass, let them heal and then the next person can beat them to a pulp and then let them heal. It could be a part of the celebration and a way to collect the blood,” Asia said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Angus said. “We need to find the slimy bastards first.

  Chapter 22

  Angus and Chacal stepped through the doorway of the building they had visited two days before. Chacal wanted to check a room that had appeared suspicious the other day, but forgot about it after they saw the charred remains of the animals.

  “There’s been a change of plans Silas is sending us after the Liege Lords. Gordon and Lancaster are in the area,” Angus said through his link with Chacal and then connected with Hawke. “Ulric had a team watching their movements. Right now they are out of the city on a large farm with two large connected buildings. They’ve seen a couple blue birds and hybrids guarding the area. If we’re going to take them it should be now while there aren’t many humans around.”

  “Give me the coordinates,” Hawke said.

  Angus gave them to him. “Ulric contacted Radoff to coordinate security around the building in case the Liege tries to leave. He sent several of his pack members to help. Ulric and the rest of his pack will meet us at the farm, but won’t engage until we give the word.”

  “Have they prepared against the tranquilizer?” Hawke asked.

  “Yes, they seem to like the nasty shit. We will be on the road in a few, just need to check out something.” He followed Chacal down the hall.

  “See you later.” Hawke disconnected.

  The area smelled different than the section they’d been in before, something bitter to his senses hung in the air. He tapped Chacal’s shoulder to get him to stop. Someone or something was in this building that was not here the other day or they hadn’t picked up on them. Chacal sensed it as well and looked around.

  Angus stepped to the side and inhaled. The pungent odor stung his throat; he wiped his nose and cleared his throat to rid it of the toxic smell. “What do you think that is?”

  Chacal shook his head and turned back the way they had come. “Too strong, my beast… he’s not… too strong.”

  Angus agreed and followed, but glimpsed over his shoulder down the hall toward that door. He stopped. Something wasn’t right. They needed to know wh
atever stood behind that door. He glanced at his chameleon bracelet, touched the wall to merge and inched backward. The wall vibrated as he drew closer to the door. Whatever hid behind these walls held an elusive scent, Angus couldn’t determine if it were human, wolf or other. It was the “other” category that disturbed him.

  By the time he reached the door a low grade hum filled the immediate area. Low rumbling sounds bled through the cracks. What the hell was in there?

  “Are you coming?” Chacal asked through their link.

  “In a bit, I need to check this out. Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you.”

  “Go? Where? And leave you here with whatever that is? La Patron will have my head.”

  Angus didn’t want to point out Chacal had already left him in the building, and remained quiet on that score.

  The door shuddered as if something hard hit it from the opposite side trying to break free. Angus fell to the floor and returned to his natural form. That seemed to make it angry. Loud heavy thumps and thwacks like someone kicking on the door resumed with more fervor it seemed. Guttural, inhuman sounds made the hair stand on Angus’ shoulders.

  Another thump and the door creaked on the metal hinges. Another and a dent appeared in the middle of the metal door. Angus took a couple steps back, bulked to his hybrid and waited. Fist clenched, he wondered if he should alert Silas, but nixed the idea since he had no idea what was coming.

  “You need me?” Chacal asked.

  “No.” Angus watched as another thump made popped the top hinge. He took another step back as another dent appeared in the door, with a loud sound. A few more hits and it would open.

  Bending forward with one foot slightly back, arms and fingers loose, he watched as the door broke free from the hinges and slammed against the wall. Dust billowed from the room blinding him for a moment. The stench grew stronger and he jumped on instinct as something, ran out the room and hit the opposite wall. The room shook beneath the impact. Angus tried to see but the dust was too thick. The growling sounds persisted. He moved to the side and glanced into the room. A row of what appeared to be incubators lined a wall.

  A snort was the only warning he had before the thing charged, barely missing him but hitting the back wall so hard a shelf of glass beakers and jars hit the floor, breaking on impact. A loud screeching sound filled the ear, so piercing Angus covered his ears as his knees buckled.

  “What the Goddess is that noise?” Chacal asked

  “Don’t know. Looks like they left something behind. I can’t get a good glimpse of it yet, too much dust.” He pushed away from the wall and watched the smoke waft toward the ceiling. “The chemicals are burning it.”

  “Can you save it?”

  “Give me one reason why I should step into that room. It looks like an experiment gone bad. From where I’m standing whatever that thing is, it was left behind on purpose.” The screams turned to mewling sounds and the movements slowed to an occasional arm swing. Angus leaned forward to get a better look in the room and stepped back when the thing growled. From where Angus stood, he could make out a row of razor sharp teeth in a long snout and little else.

  The agonizing whine continued from the thing on the floor. Hearing footsteps, Angus looked over his shoulder at Chacal. He stopped level with Angus and watched the thing writhe on the floor, spreading more of the chemical on itself. The wretched smell diminished with the opening of the door.

  Chacal stuck his head inside the room, looked around and stepped inside. The thing growled, but ended with a whimper as it tried to move toward Chacal and couldn’t. Now that the dust settled, Angus noticed a thick, long tube filled with some type of powder on the ground near the door and realized the creature had used it to get out. He stepped into the room. The creature stopped. His eyes flicked toward Angus and their gazes clashed.

  Blue speckles dotted the skin of the animal who was the size of a large Rottweiler with a malformed snout and odd shaped head. Angus looked closer, the chemical had burned through the animal’s skin, down to the bone. Metal gleamed in one leg and bone in the others. The animal’s eyes didn’t blink, he continued to stare at Angus.

  “What the hell did they do to you?” he murmured, looking at the padded feet of the, what dog? Miniature wolf? He had no idea what the thing was, it looked like a combination of things.

  “Look at this,” Chacal called from the corner of the room. He wore a heavy lab jacket, gloves and goggles. Angus looked around, grabbed similar gear and walked toward him.

  “What you got?” he stared at the rod Chacal held.

  “They were cross breeding, nasty stuff.” Chacal put the rod down and walked to a large incubator with the sides broken out. “I think they left him here and took the others. There are six of these, all held something, we don’t know what.” Chacal toward the animal lying on the floor. “What do you think of it?”

  Angus looked at each incubator, and the equipment surrounding it. Top notch, someone spent millions of dollars here. Why walk away and leave it? The equipment alone would be invaluable.

  “It’s smart, recognized someone was near and somehow used that tube to knock down the door.”

  “Impossible,” Chacal said walking toward the door. “How’d he hold onto it? Plus that tube is heavy.”

  Angus moved closer, looked at the door, then the animal, and then the tube. “How’d he knock that door off the hinge?”

  Chacal strode to the heavy metal door, bent down, looked at the dent marks and then at the animal struggling to breathe and then at the door again. “Body slammed into it. Probably stood on top of the tube once or twice but whatever it is knocked a solid steel door off the frame.”

  Both of them stared at the creature for a few minutes. This was more Hawke’s area, Angus couldn’t begin to guess what was going on with the creature. But he needed to move out and meet Hawke at the farm.

  He pulled off the gear and dropped them across one of the tables. “Matt and Passen would have a field day in here.”

  “What?”

  “The doc’s back at the labs, this is the kind of thing they dream about. Pity we can’t contain the area, now that the door is down. Someone is probably returning for this stuff.” He looked around and then back at the animal on the floor who continued to stare at him.

  “We gotta go.” He turned and left the room with Chacal behind him. “See if you can pull up the layout from the records of the farm, it’ll help knowing what’s inside.”

  “This isn’t the states where everything goes through planning and blueprints are followed exactly. Whatever I find, if anything, has probably been modified without going through proper channels.”

  “Got it. But anything you can find will help.”

  Chacal pulled out his laptop and got to work. They were driving down the long dirt road that led away from the abandoned lab when Angus noticed a small dust cloud coming up behind them. When he reached the main road, he stopped for oncoming traffic and heard a low growl near the driver’s door.

  “Don’t tell me,” Chacal said trying to see out the window. “I thought it died. What is it doing?”

  Angus turned onto the highway and looked in the rear view mirror. “It’s following us. But it didn’t attack the truck. That’s a good sign.”

  They drove the next few miles in silence, monitoring the beast. When Angus sped up, it did as well. It maintained an even pace and never dropped back. Impressed, Angus pulled into an abandoned petro station and opened the door. Curious, he watched what now appeared to be the ugliest breed of dog he had ever seen. The beast slowed from the trot and walked near but didn’t come close as Angus stepped out. They stared at each other for a few moments and Angus searched for a link with the animal.

  “I’m Angus, a wolf shifter. Can you understand me?”

  The thing turned his head to the side, continued watching him, but moved a few steps closer. “Okay, no links, didn’t think so, but I had to try.” Angus reached forward to touch its head and pulled back when the an
imal growled.

  “I just wanted to touch to get a reading with my bracelet, it won’t hurt.” “Why am I speaking through a link? Habit.”

  “And there is a chance he understands some things even if he cannot return communications with you. Keep trying it can’t hurt,” Chacal said from inside the car.

  Angus moved slowly while murmuring through the link that he just wanted to touch, that’s all. The tingling sensation from his link activated just as his fingertips brushed the blue speckled head of the animal. He listened for a computer chip and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard no mechanical devices. Good, the Liege wasn’t using this animal. He stroked the beast’s head a few times.

  It purred and sat on its hind legs. Angus delved deeper and searched for information on the origins of the animal and learned nothing other than the beast was a part of the Canidae family. But so were foxes, wolves, coyote, jackals, and dogs. He scratched the animal’s head and stood. The animal stood as well. The blue speckled plate wasn’t as obvious on the back and sides as it was on the head. Thick muscular legs, short tail, wide and long snout made this beast the weirdest looking animal Angus had seen in his three hundred years.

  “You need to make up your mind what you plan to do with it, we need to go meet Hawke.”

  “Yeah, I thought I’d be able to find out something, but that didn’t work.” He moved to the door and the beast jumped forward. Angus ducked and watched the animal hop into the back seat.

  Chacal remained frozen in place and didn’t move.

  “You didn’t stop it?” Angus looked at the animal who returned his stare and then settled into the back seat as if it were about to nap.

  “No, I did not stop it. Not sure I could have either. That animal knocked down a solid steel door. He likes you, let’s hope that lasts. I’d hate to be in its way if it decided to leave.”

  “You going with me?” Hawke asked as he slid into the driver’s seat. The animal’s head lifted, he stared at Hawke and then rested against the seat. “I’ll take that as a yes. No chewing or biting anything. I’ll get you something to eat later.”