Chapter 19
Cal watched as Juston was shoved into a therapy room before him, then stumbled when the police officer pushed him forward after his brother. The dark feline laughed, then kicked his leg out from under him so Cal fell, his face slapping the cold floor and causing his head to ring.
He pulled himself away from the line of police boots and struggled to rise, his hands fastened behind his back. He reached his feet again just as one of the officers slammed his baton into his brother’s gut.
Juston gritted his teeth and bent at the waist, but he gave no other indication of the pain he must have felt.Good man.
He took a moment to take in his surroundings. During his short time at RPS, he’d become familiar with the types of rooms the facility possessed. There were residents’ quarters, private offices, nurses’ stations, guard shacks, and numerous therapy rooms. Some were more comfortable and cloistered, with cushiony chairs and subtle watercolors on the walls. Others were for physical activity or hydrotherapy. And some seemed to involve observation and evaluation.
The walls of this room were painted a sterile gray and held only a couple metal chairs and a desk. The wall to the hallway held a large picture window, doubtless made out of some unbreakable substance. His attention was drawn back to his captors when the dark-pelted feline stalked forward, her pointy grin making Cal’s stomach roil.
“You think the little trick your brother played on our king would be allowed to stand?” she yowled, her grin turning feral. She shoved him backward into a chair, then leaned over into his face. “Did you think you could hide that the Vartiks still live forever?”
Juston let out a smalloomphas he landed in the chair next to Cal. His brother’s eyes were filled with rage, and Cal knew he was only moments away from attempting to fight the dozen guards that filled the room. That would be a mistake that would risk them all. Cal couldn’t let that happen.
If the Vanfians knew about his people’s existence, then his entire planet was in danger. He turned to his brother. “Calm down, soldier. We need to use our brains, not our brawn, if we’re going to get out of this.”
Juston was breathing heavily, his eyes glazed. Sure, his brother had always been a hothead but not beyond his capacity for reason. Something else was going on here that was pushing his brother over the edge. Cal tried to make sense out of what was happening.
Turning back to the female, he tried to ignore the horrible stink surrounding him. Vanfians smelled more powerful than they looked, and this female was likely stronger than him. “How did you find us?”
The female didn’t answer, instead turning her attention to Juston. She peered down at her claws as if inspecting them, then swiped them across his face, leaving a track of bleeding lines.
Cal felt his fury rising but tried to keep his head. “Who told you we were here? No one else knows we exist.”
The Vanfian ignored him, using her claws on the other side of Juston’s face. Cal realized the cuts were deep and could leave his brother scarred. Medical technology could remove most imperfections, but Vanfian wounds rarely healed right.
Was she toying with them, like a cat with the proverbial mouse? His experience with most Vanfians had taught him that they enjoyed playing with their prey. However, they were also vain and boastful creatures.She should be jumping up and down to broadcast how clever they’d been in capturing us. So why isn’t she?
The feline straddled Juston and started lapping at the cuts. His brother recoiled from her tongue but she held him by his hair.
The door opened and Dr. Dunkel strolled in. Except Cal knew her name wasn’t Dunkel. She was a Seeker, a creature of evil. Had the Seekers involved the authorities? To what end? Didn’t they want to claim the Vartiks and the Guardian for themselves? Why bring in another group of miscreants to add to the pile?
Cal watched the Seeker’s expression darken. She didn’t like the sight of the other female in Juston’s lap.
Dunkel quickly disguised her reaction, asking calmly, “Do you need assistance?”
The Vanfian looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m doing just fine on my own, doctor.” Then she pulled Juston’s head back, exposing his neck. Quick as lightning, she raked her claws over his throat and put her mouth to the wounds she made.
Dunkel started as if she’d been slapped.
“Mmm, so tasty,” the Vanfian groaned as if ecstasy lived in his brother’s blood. Cal knew their blood had mystical powers, and perhaps it did taste good, but he got the feeling the feline was putting on a show for the doctor.
“Enough,” Dunkel ground out after a moment. She strode across the room and grabbed the woman, pulling her off Juston.
The Vanfian yanked out of her grip, putting her hand over the place the doctor had touched her. “Ouch,” she griped. “Cut out the freezer shit.”
Cal narrowed his eyes. There did seem to be a patch of frost on the fur of the Vanfian’s arm. This Seeker’s powers clearly involved cold in some way. But how could the feline know that?
Outside the window, Cal saw one of the inmates run past, his hands over his head as if batting at invisible birds. He bounced off a wall and into the glass, slamming his hands into it and screaming.
This was a sanitarium, after all, and perhaps this guy was just having a good old-fashioned freak out, but then again, Cal had not yet seen anyone act out to this level. The residents were well medicated and usually walked around like zombies.
Another one careened into his view. She walked up to the screaming man, turned him around, and tried to kiss him. The man pushed her away but she tried again, gripping him tightly while he struggled to escape.
Cal turned back to the scene in front of him. The police stood there in line, looking bored. The doctor was staring daggers at the cat creature, who had a haughty smile painted across her face. His brother kept his eyes fastened on Dunkel, as if he couldn’t see anything but her. The feline turned back toward Juston, a wicked expression on her face.
“No,” Juston moaned suddenly. Cal looked in his direction, confused. Nothing was happening. Everyone was just standing there as they had been a moment ago. “No!”
