Chapter 143
Katelina and Jorick were almost to a gas station when a beat up car pulled over. The driver's window wound down and a man stuck his head out. A shapeless felt hat perched on his head, long gray and black hair trailed over his shoulders, and thick matching beard hung from his chin. His voice was rough and tinted with a faded southern accent. "So, you're out already?"
"Yes," Jorick answered, and approached the car. Katelina tried to place the unfamiliar vampire. As if in answer to her silent question, Jorick said, "This is Baltheir; he was once in Oren's coven."
"You mean Jesslynn's," Baltheir corrected gruffly. "Do you want a ride? I've driven all this way."
Jorick nodded. "Of course. Thank you."
Katelina was tempted to object, then decided that it was better than calling her mom from a payphone. Wordlessly, she climbed into the backseat. She twisted around a mound of junk, her nose wrinkled.
"I'm not used to passengers," Baltheir barked by way of apology.
Jorick slid silently next to Katelina, folding up tightly in the available space. He gave directions to the hideous green house and leaned back as best he could. His dark eyes still burned angrily.
"How did you get out so fast?" Baltheir asked as he pulled back onto the road.
"Ask Oren. Apparently he saw fit to get Lorson involved."
Baltheir didn't hide his surprise. "You don't mean -"
"Yes, that's exactly who I mean! I'd like to know how he managed it."
Katelina shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. She didn't understand why Jorick was angry about the lawyer, though she suspected if he knew Verchiel had called him, he'd be even angrier. Still, he'd find out soon enough. "I don't think Oren did that." She hesitated. "I think that was Verchiel."
Jorick's eyes popped in furious disbelief. "Why do you think he's responsible for Lorson?"
She already regretted her decision to tell him. "Because he called him."
Jorick swore loudly. When he saw Katelina's confusion, he explained, "Lorson is The Guild's official lawyer."
The Guild. The word made her shudder. "He's not a vampire, is he?"
"Of course he is!" Baltheir snorted.
"A vampire lawyer? Don't people notice he keeps practicing law? How does he pull it off?"
"Carefully." Jorick rolled his eyes. "He's one of the few who didn't turn everyone he knew. He left his family human so they can keep churning out descendants. There's a new Lorson lawyer every generation. Of course, he just needs them for public appearances." Jorick growled in his throat and changed the subject. "You were right. I should have killed the redheaded clown when I found him."
She hated to disagree since it had been her idea, but she supposed it was for the best. Oren's only contribution had been to send Baltheir to break him out. "He's not that bad," she murmured vaguely. "At least he isn't trying to snack on me or calling me a stupid human."
"I have a bad feeling about him."
"So did Oren," Baltheir commented. "He was adamant that your human should stay away from him."
"Yes." Jorick kept his eyes on Katelina. "And she should have. I don't understand why he was even there!"
She was still uncertain herself. "I don't know. He just appeared at Mom's house as they were taking you away, and said he wanted to help."
He stared at her with bulging eyes. "He was at your mother's house?"
"Yes. He took me to your apartment so I could call Oren. Then he called Lorson, or whoever, and we went to the police station."
Jorick made a noise of outrage. "I've been very careful. I didn't tell anyone about this trip, and yet this idiot got involved, and now he's told The Guild right where we are!"
If there'd been room in the backseat, she'd have put her hands on her hips. "But you said they aren't looking for us! You said it was all settled! You said -"
"Yes, I said!" Jorick shouted. Katelina flinched at his anger and he sighed resignedly and caught her hand in his. He drew a deep breath and when he spoke again he was calmer. "Despite the war coven's decision not to punish you, The Guild may wish to intervene and have their own trial. Or they might want to punish me. Or, failing that, they may want to question me about Oren. You do remember that Senya was looking for him? Either way, now they'll know where to look."
"We won't be here long," Katelina pointed out. "So, it won't do them any good."
"I've been careful not to share information about you, such as where you came from or where your relatives live. Now, the idiot not only knows, but The Guild will too. If Lorson is my lawyer, they'll have given him all the details, including your name and address! Do you think The Guild is any less ruthless than Claudius?" He groaned audibly. "I was hoping to sneak out of the country unobserved but now they'll be following us!"
Katelina blinked at him in surprise. "Really? Where are we going?"
"Were," he corrected. "We were going someplace warm."
"But why can't we go? The Guild already knows about me - everyone seems to. They all point and stare at 'Jorick's human'. Besides, you make it sound so certain that they're after us."
"No," Jorick snapped and then relented. "Maybe. I don't know. I'm just irritated right now. I had to let them badger me so it didn't look suspicious, and to be honest, there were several tense minutes when I wasn't sure that they had brains to manipulate!" He waved his hands, and his voice gained volume. "And they took my damned fingerprints! I knew they would! I'm in a database now!"
Obviously he was determined to look at the bad side of things, not that she didn't understand. "You have a driver's license, so you're already in one."
"That's different, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a photograph and some fake dates. Fingerprints, however -"
"Don't mean anything either," she interjected. "Everyone has their fingerprints on file. Look on the bright side; it could be your DNA they wanted!"
"You're all idiots for living that way. You shouldn't stand for it."
She rolled her eyes impatiently. "You act as if people have a choice. They make laws and you either follow them or you go to prison, it's as simple as that. There is no other option. You can't just decide you're not going to follow along. Ask The Guild about that."
As if to save Jorick from admitting she'd won, Baltheir cleared his throat loudly. "Oren asked me to give you a message."
"Yes?" Jorick massaged his temples.
"He wants you to pay him a visit on your way home, if it isn't too much trouble." Baltheir hesitated. "He wants your opinion on someone's motivation."
Jorick was momentarily distracted from his irritation. "Who?"
"Traven," he answered haltingly. "His coven made a pact and offered to help with the war on The Guild, but Oren's not sure of their intentions."
Jorick frowned. "He mentioned Jeda to me yesterday. He said she'd returned to her own coven a couple of days ago, but that he thought he'd see her again. I can't imagine her being interested in this anymore. I'm not sure why she was, in the first place."
Baltheir nodded. "Exactly. Which leaves Traven."
"Who's Traven?"
"Her mate," Jorick answered absently. "We'll leave tomorrow night, I hope. If we don't have to make many stops, we might be able to reach him before dawn."
Katelina's shoulders sagged. "I thought we were done with them. Remember? That's why we left? We weren't getting involved!"
"Yes, but this warrants investigating." Jorick smiled for the first time since his release. "Come, little one, it won't be so terrible, and it isn't as though we'll be staying long." His tone turned serious. "I'm not involved in The Guild war and he knows it."
She managed to nod, but a very bad feeling settled in her stomach and refused to go away.
