Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) (3 page)

Chapter 4

“Tate, you’re on to take these beauties to his majesty. Since he didn’t kill you the other night for the late meal, you get to spend more time in the lab. Exciting, right?” Chuck laughed and pointed at the cages. “Plus it’s mating day, chances are he’s hot and ready to get the party started.” Chuck slapped the top of two cages earning snarls from the bitches behind the bars. Asia gritted her teeth at the crude remarks and pushed the cart.

“Oh yeah, here take this.”
Chuck threw a dog whistle on a long chain to her. “Sometimes he needs a little help to shift, use this. I don’t know why but it helps.”

Lips pressed together,
she exhaled and pushed the cart forward. “A dog whistle, what the hell?” she murmured once she cleared the lower lift. “That’s insulting as fuck.”

She
placed her hand on the scanner, the door opened and she pushed the cart inside the lab. The wolf stood on all fours a distance from the door; she exhaled and tossed the chain aside. “Good you’ve already shifted, no need to help you then.” The cart seemed heavier, and she gave it a hard shove sending it further into the room and then lowered it on a lift. He trotted in her direction and she looked at him. “Shit.” Certain she was seeing things she shook her head. “Oh shit, you’re a black wolf,” she said looking at the magnificent beast. “How is that possible?” The lift moved down, and she continued to stare. Her wolf howled and pushed to be free.

The black wolf whined as
he watched her move downward. Once the lift reached the bottom, she opened the cages. Snarling and snapping, the bitches leapt out the cages and ran to the other side of the lab. Safe behind the cages, she hit the button, and the lift moved upward.

The black wolf howled.

Asia really looked at him. The only other wolves she had seen close to his size were La Patron and his brother Angus. He ignored the bitches and stared at her. His sad sherry colored eyes tugged on her heart, which made no sense.

“Easy big guy,
I’ll be back,” she said knowing cameras were everywhere. She hated her black wolf outburst and hoped she didn’t get in trouble.  Following Tate’s script she continued. “It’s that time of the month, have fun with the ladies. Fingers crossed, we need pups.” She raised her hand displaying crossed fingers.

Another breeding project,
she should have guessed. But why allow the full-blood access to computers? Too many questions and as Mistress said, answering them about a black wolf was not the mission.

“
Please, help me
.”

Those three words sent shock waves through
her system. The black wolf spoke to her on a link burning in her mind. What? How? She didn’t understand. No one had been able to access her links after her re-birth. Was this another trick? New technology?

Time
to leave.

The black wolf howled again and jumped
at the landing where she stood. His howls turned to snarls as he continued leaping toward the railing.

“
Please, I’m a prisoner
.
What’s left of me can only speak as a wolf. Please, help
…” The plea burned in her mind, but she didn’t trust him. First Gunnolf accessed her through a link, now the wolf tapped into her mind. She needed to find out if Gunnolf lived and get out of this damned castle.

Frustrated and confused, Asia placed
her palm on the security pad. The door opened. She waited for the scan to complete and then stepped into the hall. The howl of the black wolf sliced through her, causing her to stumble. Sadness, heartache and pain were braided into the sound. In a few seconds, the wolf accomplished something no one had done in decades.

He
made her feel.

Chapter 5

Asia noted the cameras lining the hall and headed to an area of the building where staff gathered. She nodded to the two other lab techs, grabbed her clip board and veered to the right.

“How was
his majesty today?” Chuck asked.

“No different,”
she said sensing their low opinion of the full-blood.

“Did
he thank you for the gift?”

“Did
you tell him not to kill the bitches this time?” Henry asked. “I’m running low on stock. As hard as he fucks them, you’d think they’d be spitting out pups ten at a time.”

Asia’s forced a smile, certain the lackey whose form
she occupied would. Their words concerned her, and pissed off her wolf.

“
I’m a prisoner here
…” His pitiful words bled through her thoughts. Despite her wolf’s displeasure, she disregarded the wolf and continued down the hall away from that lab. The moment she turned the corner a barrage of scents and sounds hit her.

Henry met
her gaze and shrugged. “For some reason they’ve been noisy today. Could be a reaction from his Majesty making all that noise. What’s wrong with him today? Bastard’s nose is usually too stuck up his ass to say thank you when we send bitches for him to mate. Today he’s making all kinds of noise.”

“What’s
he doing? Is he mating with them yet?” She asked, allowing Tate’s personality to surface.

“Not yet,
I might need to give him a sedative but then he’d try to kill me if he ever saw me again. But how else can I get the bitches out of there?”

“Sedate all of
them, then get your bitches.” At least this one would be out of the way while she checked the castle one last time for Gunnolf.

“
Hmm, I might have to do that. Let’s hope he’ll settle his big arse down and do the job. So far just two of his pups survived. If we don’t want to be looking for other jobs we need to up those odds.”

Asia nodded, although the thought ran through Tate’s mind that
their bosses would kill them before firing them. As she walked to the area Tate worked, she rifled through his memories again to search for clues. Since he’d never been upstairs, he had no idea what it looked like or who ran this business. Once, sometimes twice a day he reported to a supervisor who never came below but saw and knew everything that happened. Poor guy never expected to leave or have a family. For a new worker he had a pretty dismal view of the place.

“Where are
you from?” the old man asked again. His mate glanced at her and then turned aside.

She
ignored his question. The door slid closed, and she headed toward the desk and stopped. Tate would do a visual check on each wolf. With long steps she moved down the aisle uncertain what changes she needed to see. These wolves had undergone multiple surgeries and treatments, but since Tate didn’t know the kinds of experiments, neither did she. They were a pitiful bunch. Cuts and bruises marred their faces which surprised her. Those should’ve healed clear.

A lone cage sat a few feet from the others. A
few feet away she paused, sensing tighter security at what she assumed were someone’s remains, until he released a tired sigh. The old man lacked both legs and an arm. The one arm left had been cut off at the elbow. Could he see? When he lifted his head she noted the empty sockets and her heart dropped. A wolf would rather be dead than caged, this type of mutilation smacked of a sick mind. The need to leave this place burned in her gut. Sorrow and heartache rose in her chest for the old guy but she didn’t speak or move closer, instead she returned to the desk. The moment she did, the monitor blinked.

“Report.”

Asia gave a concise report based on her observations of the caged wolves. “Very good.” A pause and then. “Hawke is ignoring the bitches and trying to jump over the railing. Did anything happen when you were in the room?”

“No.
He had shifted already, in preparation I suppose. Guess he knew we’d bring the bitches this time today. Seems he whined a bit, which may be unusual but other than that, he seemed fine.”

“Okay. Finish
your report and help the others. There won’t be a shift change today, we are short staffed.”

A shiver ran through Tate followed by the sure knowledge
his replacements had been permanently terminated.

“
Mistress?”

“Asia?”

“I am in the main area and haven’t found Gunnolf, or heard from him. The lab tech I am wearing fears there’s no way to leave alive. Everything is automated.”

“
That’s not acceptable
.”

She
exhaled, looked at the caged wolves and brightened. “
Can Jacques teach me a virus to shut the place down for a short window?”

“
One sec
.”

Asia filled in the computerized forms on each wolf in case someone paid attention.

“
Jacques says he needs information on the computer, can you send him anything?”

“No.
I don’t have access other than the lowest level.”

“
Jacques says that is enough. Type this
.”

After clearing the screen, she
typed the strings into a file he specified expecting a flashing sign or neon lights. Nothing happen. The cursor stopped blinking, and the screen returned to normal. She looked at the wolves again. The old male gazed at her but didn’t speak. Unable to face them, she left the room.

“Over here,” Chuck waved at
her. She jogged closer to help him with the cage. “Word came down to sedate Hawke and the bitches. Then take them out and let him sleep it off. I’d say cut off the bastard’s balls if I didn’t think they’d cut mine off first.”

Not interested in conversation,
she nodded and helped push the platform holding the cages. Asia mimicked human behavior and resisted moving down the hall at a faster pace. The vision of the mutilated man nauseated her and she could not rid her mind of the image. Why would anyone do that to someone? What happened to his limbs? His eyes? How did he still survive?

“
Heard they tanked Chives and Henly,” Chuck said in a lowered voice, but not low enough that the cameras wouldn’t pick up the conversation. “Now we’re down to the four of us, they expect us to live down here with these animals full time. Fuck that. I didn’t sign on for that bullshit.”

“Be quiet before
you’re tanked like the others,” she said amazed at his stupidity.

He
snorted. “There’s only one guard on duty above ground and the super. Chances are the super and the guard are somewhere shagging each other and not paying us a bit of attention, eh the bastards.”

Maybe
he wasn’t stupid. “How do you know about them?”

Chuck preened. “
You’re new, the super used to work down here with us. Last super disappeared, they moved him upstairs. Everybody knows Hawke runs the place, the super is just to make sure the equipment doesn’t fail.”

Asia
nodded, calculating the odds. The other three on this floor were no problem to dispose of; the real challenge was the super and the security guard. First, she needed to get through security to reach them. Moments later they stopped in front of the lab door.

Her
wolf whined and pushed to break free, surprising her. Henry met them holding a tranq gun. He looked at the cages and then punched in the security code. A beep sounded, and the door opened, he walked inside. A howl and then snarling anger filled the air.

“
No!
” That one word filled with hurt, anger and despair shot through their link. She closed him out. He was not her mission. Gunnolf and freedom were her only concerns. A thumping sound came from the room. Chuck pushed the cart and then looked at her. She snapped out of it and helped push the cart into the room.

“
I’ll stand here with the tranq’s,” Henry said. “Put the bitches in the cages, leave him on the floor. He’ll be mad as fire when he wakes but I’ll show him the damn tape if I have to. Son of a bitch gave us no choice.”

Chuck snorted. “That’s not going to matter to Hawke.
Bastard thinks he’s perfect.”

Asia helped pick up the sedated bitches and placed
them inside the cages. When her wolf whined over Hawke’s fate, Asia ignored her completely.

Henry wiped the sweat from
his forehead and stretched. “I’m going to the back, get rest while you can. It’s going to be a long night.”

Chuck nodded, walked off in the opposite direction, opened
his area and stepped inside the hall.

“Let’s grab a bite before
I go upstairs to take this stuff back.” Henry waved her forward.

Asia nodded. The moment
they walked into the break room, Henry grabbed her close. His hands roamed everywhere, kissing and touching. She pushed him off her.

“Wait, wait…
I thought you and Armand were a couple.”

Henry smiled. “
We are.” He reached for her again.

She
held him at arm’s length. “I don’t want any trouble. Leave me out of this.”

“
It’s okay, he knows, he’s cool. I’ll see him later. Come on; let me initiate you into the brotherhood.” Henry pulled her close again. Sensing the cameras, Asia played it out a bit even though she wanted to punch him for being an asshole, instead she used the chameleon. The familiar tingling raced through her body making the exchange while wrapped in his arms. Once done, she sat on the ground holding Tate’s new body for a few moments. Kissed his cheek and stood.

“Welcome to the lower level, go ahead and sleep now.”
She stepped out the door and spoke into the wrist communicator. “I need access to level B to return tranq gun and tranquilizers.”

There was a delay and then a small voice spoke. “
Proceed.” Excited for the next stage in her mission, Asia headed for the lift, placed her palm on the key-pad, and entered the door. Seconds later the door opened, and she met the lone security guard. A quick scan showed he was the only person on the floor. She had no idea where the super was.

“
You got him?” The guard asked turning to walk down the hall.

Asia
followed. “Yeah. Took two shots in him and one each for the other two.”

“
Whew, he’s going to be pissed,” the guard said opening a cabinet filled with weapons.

“Yeah. But
I followed instructions, he wrote the damn protocols.”

“Funny, but
he didn’t mean for them to be used on himself. Bastard never imagined himself out of control in the first place. Not to mention passing up two bitches in heat, he’s going to be real angry,” the guard chuckled putting the weapon away.

“No question,”
she said wondering how a full-blood had risen in the ranks of the Liege and commanded this kind of fear and respect. They headed back toward the lift. She noticed the guard appeared distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

The guard frowned. “Nothing, he’s been acting weird all day, locked himself in the computer room, watching cameras.” He waved toward the camera in the hall. “Dance with me Henry, that’ll get a rise out of him.” He grabbed her and started dancing.

Asia laughed and grabbed
a portion of his memories. His name, Jerry. His lover, Ponce. They’d started the same time, and he helped his lover get his current position by telling lies on the old supervisor. She bypassed all of that information for something she could use to find Gunnolf and leave the building.

After waving goodbye to Jerry,
she headed into the lift, typed in a code and stepped out when it stopped. Immediately she typed in another code to hold it. She sensed Ponce in the room to her left. Something had spooked the young man. Chances were he realized she was on the floor. Using the code from Jerry’s memory, she entered the communications room and tackled Ponce to the ground before accessing the database. Within minutes, she knew everything she needed to know.

Gunnolf was dead.

Hawke killed him. Liege Lord Boris Lancaster owned this place but hadn’t visited in years. Her hopes of discovering more about herself ended. The information she’d received from Gunnolf was now suspect. How would she ever know if the things he shared were real, another memory stolen from someone else or manufactured to suit the Liege’s purposes?

Anger, boiled and rippled through
her. A masterful hand had played her like a well-tuned violin.
Son of a bitch
. She grabbed and threw the half empty bottled water across the room.

Ponce
knew computers, and this system was high tech. With a series of keystrokes, passwords and security over-rides, she shut down and disabled every camera in the building erasing everything in the past twenty four hours.

Ready to leave,
she unlocked and opened every door and exit. She swallowed her anger over the treatment of her fellow wolves; she turned on the loud speaker and howled long and loud. After a scream or two, she heard the mass exodus of her brethren.