"Get up. The Veil is sealed and you're fucking bleeding everywhere."
Cassius opened his eyes and winces as he was blinded by a harsh light. Felix, the Exterminator on his SWARM, stood over him holding a flashlight point in Cassius's face. Cassius lifted his hand to push it away from his face, but his movements were weak. Just trying to keep his eyes open was a feat on its own. He thought back to when he was trapped inside the Third Eye with the beast. It had been a creature from beyond the Veil, something he never would have thought could exist.
But it was real. Whatever it was, it was the reason why he'd lost the Mekiah's trail. Fuck.
Felix kicked him in the side. "I said get up. The other Mekiah took the worst of it. You're fucking lucky you didn't end up like him."
Cassius snapped out of his stupor. Katson was the other Tracker on his SWARM. He wasn't meant to be in the Veil since he hadn't even passed his entry test.
Cassius pushed up off the ground. His body ached and he could barely hold himself up, but he made it to his feet. The ground swirled and he thought he might throw up. He held it in, glancing around the hotel room and wished he was anywhere but here.
He ripped the connectors from his arm. More blood pooled out from the small wounds, dripping down to his wrist.
He coughed, glancing around the room to find something to grab onto. He crawled up onto the bed beside him and fell onto his back. His head swam and his body felt like it was on fire.
Felix walked across the room, looked out the window, and tsked. It was a sure sign Cassius wasn't going to be let off when they made it back to base. He'd fucked up. It wasn't even his fault either. He was right where he should've been and was a moment away from finding the trail of the Mekiah.
That was until he was ambushed by the freak with red eyes. But that wouldn't matter to General Iza. He would skin Cassius's ass raw when he found out about this screwup. If he didn't already know.
"How's Katson?" He shouldn't hope. Katson had just joined and was barely able to channel his own wave of energy.
Felix closed the curtain and made his way back to Cassius. He crossed his arms and glared down at him.
"Burnt to a fucking crisp. We were lucky to save your ass before your mind was fried."
Cassius is staring at the ceiling fan. There's a part of him that wants to yell and scream, but there's nothing left in him now. Katson wasn't a friend. He was just another Mekiah assigned and that was it. He hadn't known him for more than a month.
There's a sickening feeling creeping through him. Just another day in Xtavia serving the Exteru.
The hotel room smells like shit and Felix's presence doesn't make it any better. He can smell the blood on his clothes and can feel it drying on his skin.
Then he remembered—
Shit.
He grabbed his neck. He searched for the wound, the bite that should have killed him, but when he touched the spot where the demon's teeth had sunk in, there was nothing. His hand was covered in blood, sticky and crusty like it had happened hours ago when it had been minutes. His heart raced, unsure if he should tell Felix. There was an uneasy feeling in his gut, one that told him that he should keep his mouth shut and to act like nothing was wrong. The panic and the crazed thoughts were there, taking over him before he could even think about calming down.
What the hell had happened in the Veil? And why was he still alive?
No. He had to keep this a secret. It didn't matter if this was a pressing matter or not if he told anyone this he'd end up on the chopping block. Or shipped out to god-knows-where for being more than he should be. The Exteru were always sniffing for rebellion. Finding out a Mekiah was stronger than what they allowed, they would kill him without a second thought.
He wouldn't talk about it. For his life's sake and his own sanity, he would do what he did best: shut up.
The hotel room was a one bed, one bathroom, piece of shit that smelled like sex and vomit. The curtains were an ugly brown stained with yellowish spots and the bedding was no better off. The blankets were stiff as a board and the smell coming off of them was worse than the uncleaned bathroom.
This was where the Mekiah had been seen last. The manager hadn't thought to call in when he saw a Mekiah, too fucked up in the head to stand right. This was a hard place to find a trail. The Mekiah had known this as he made sure to pick a place he had no attachment to. From the scraps that had been left behind, Cassius had to dig his way through the filth to find just a sliver. From there, he'd entered the Eye searching for the Mekiah to bring him back for punishment.
It was his job and he'd failed.
"Enough." Felix grabbed Cassius's arms. He pulled out two metal cuffs and locked them around his wrists. "General Iza is waiting outside."
An enchanted chain was slipped between the cuffs. Cassius let the chains latch onto him. The weight of the metal was comforting in a fucked up way. He'd gotten used to it in the twelve years he'd been a Tracker.
Felix jerked the chain, yanking Cassius from the bed. He stumbled, but Felix didn't stop. He was led from the room, the freedom of the Third Eye a bitter memory.
He was thrown into the backseat of the SWARM's issued car. Behind him, Felix held his shoulder in a tight grip to keep him from falling on his face. There was no greeting from the two Shadows sitting in the front.
He wasn't expecting one.
Felix pushed him again. He moved to settle into the middle of the seats and glared from under his bangs.
"Get that look off your face," Felix said as he sat down in the car.
It was a small space. Their legs pressed together.
The door to Cassius's left opened.
General Iza had been general for over fifteen years. It was before Cassius's time and before anyone else on the SWARM. He was a no-bullshit kind of man. He didn't laugh and sure as hell didn't care about anyone. His black hair was speckled with gray hairs and though he had many wrinkles, he was handsome. It was the angry look he wore most often that made him look like shit.
In Cassius's opinion.
"Well?" General Iza sat beside Cassius and immediately lit a cigarette.
The car started and they pulled out from the hotel.
"He was thrown out."
"And Katson?"
"He's gone."
Iza took a long drag. He grabbed Cassius by the back of his neck and jerked him forward. Cassius closed his eyes. Hot smoke blew over his face.
"Two months. Two months and you haven't picked up anything." Iza shook him. "Look at me."
Cassius opened his eyes. Iza slapped him on the cheek. He jumped from the sting but tried not to move. Iza's hold on him tightened.
"Find that little bitch or I'll trade you in. Got it?"
Cassius nodded.
Iza leaned back, his eyes still on Cassius. He slipped the cigarette between his lips.
"Good."
***
General Iza slipped the chain between the arm of the metal chair and latched it into place. He turned to his desk and opened a manila folder.
Cassius moved to place his hands between his legs, the chains rattling with each move. Iza glanced at him from the corner of his eyes then looked down at the papers. His broad shoulders filled out his white shirt.
Iza finished off his third cigarette and reached for his fourth. He'd gone through two on the car ride and one just walking into the building. Cassius had seen the man go through a pack in one sitting. That had been on their first job together.
Iza leaned against his desk. His eyes landed on Cassius once more. The look on his face was nothing new. He was an open book with his emotions. They were bland though. Anger was washed down with disinterest and annoyance was served with a side of sarcasm.
Cassius had made it a game to draw out the worst in Iza. It had been fun for the first few years when he was just a small boy. The beatings had ruined the game.
"Capital has already contacted me for our next brief." He sat the file back down on his desk. "There was an unidentified surge in the Veil."
"Check my vitals, the wavelengths, or whatever." The wires they hooked him up to every time he went into the Veil was made for this exact purpose. He didn't know why the hell they were asking him about it instead of looking it up.
Iza's face hardened. "The surge not only fried Katson's mind. It fried the scanner as well."
It took a second for Cassius to process what Iza was saying. They hadn't been able to record what was going on in the Veil. Meaning, they wouldn't have been able to detect the wavelength when he connected with the Third Eye or when the demon had entered the Veil.
They had to rely on his word alone.
He could feed them a load of shit and they wouldn't even know it.
He cooled his expression. "It was a demon."
That was his get-out card. It was the truth, but it wasn't all of it.
Iza studied him. The long moment made Cassius wonder if he'd thought too poorly of Iza's bullshit lense.
"Take him away." Iza was stilling staring at him as Felix entered the room.
His burning gaze was still trying to call Cassius's bluff. There was just a bit of doubt in him that made Cassius worry that this was going to come back to bite him in the ass.
Felix unlocked him from the chair and hauled him to his feet. He was led out by the long chain that was attached to the cuffs.
He was being taken back to his cage. His home made of enchanted steel and cement where he'd lived since he was a boy and where he would die.
Seeing Felix hold the degrading leash, only furthered his hate for the Remu and the Exteru.
But this was his life.
This was how it would always be.