Chapter 145
After being up all day, Katelina spent most of the trip asleep, which suited Jorick and his "few stops" plan. The eastern sky was pale lavender when he shook her awake and told her they'd arrived and there wasn't a moment to lose.
She blinked and sleepily tried to come to terms with their new locale. They were parked in a row of cars next to an unfamiliar house. Instead of the normal dilapidated monster, it was a ranch style made of cheerful red brick and trimmed in white. The roof had a perfect coating of snow on top, and dark green flower boxes hung under the front windows. Katelina expected to look in a cheerfully lit window and see a happy family Christmas scene, but yellowing roller blinds hid the interior.
Jorick made a noise of impatience in his throat. "Katelina, I'm going inside."
In her groggy state she had a hard time reconciling his urgency. "This is Oren's? It looks a lot better than the last place." In fact, the only thing it had in common was a lot of cars and a bunch of trees nearby.
"It's not Oren's, but he's staying here. Come." He opened the door and swung out quickly, moving so fast that he'd opened Katelina's before his own was shut.
"I'm coming." A blast of cold air slapped her in the face and forced her awake. Jorick jerked the suitcase out of the back seat and grabbed her arm. He hurriedly dragged her across the yard, following the mass of footprints to the back of the house. They'd barely reached the door before it opened wide to reveal Oren. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a white button up shirt with the cuffs undone. His face was pale and smooth, and held a sort of feline grace. His long mane of tawny hair and his strange, amber colored eyes added to the lion-like appearance.
"You're cutting it close." He stepped back from the door and allowed Jorick into a utility room whose windows were garbage bagged.
"Aren't we?" Jorick tugged Katelina after him. When the door was safely shut he released her and dropped the suitcase to the floor. Then, he turned to study their host and his guarded expression. "How are you keeping, Oren?"
"As well as can be expected. I imagine you're doing better today than you were last night?"
Katelina ignored Oren's sarcasm and let her eyes wander over the shelves of cleaning products and the matching washer and dryer. She thought immediately of the garbage bags of clothing in the car. She hadn't seen any of them for a couple of months and having them back - and clean - would be wonderful. She deserved something good since she was stuck in a den of vampires. Again.
Jorick also ignored Oren's remark. "You've acquired a lot of vehicles."
Katelina gave Jorick a quizzical look and started to remind him about Baltheir's message, but Oren held up a hand and talked over her with a false casualness, "We have guests."
Jorick feigned surprise and Katelina huffed an impatient breath. More games.
"Anyone I know?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." A tight smile flickered over Oren's lips and then died. "Traven's coven, or most of it anyway."
"Traven? It's been a long time since I've seen him."
Oren nodded to Jorick and a silent conversation passed between them, until Loren blundered into the room. He stopped just inside the doorway and blinked. "Jorick? Katelina?" A smug light blossomed in his large, brown eyes as he pieced it together. "I wondered why Oren was still up."
"We were passing and thought we'd visit," Jorick said crisply.
Loren wasn't fooled. "That's convenient." A grin spread across his face. "I heard about your stint in jail, by the way." He looked from Jorick to Katelina. When no one spoke he took the broad hint and said stiffly, "Anyway, I'm off to bed."
"Why don't you take Katelina with you?" Oren suggested. "No one will harm her," he added as if he sensed Jorick's reluctance. "Traven's coven is in the cellar. We didn't take enough coffins from the stronghold to have the guest accommodations they expected, so they have the basement and the rest of us have moved the coffins upstairs."
"Rest of us?" Jorick asked skeptically.
"Myself, Loren, Torina, Micah, Fabian and Luna. None of them would harm her, and besides, they're all sleeping already, or should be," Oren added, with a suspicious glance at Loren. "Since it's dawn, I assume the two of you will stay. Though I don't have an extra coffin, I believe that the black plastic bags over the bedroom windows will suffice to protect you. And should you like, there is plenty of bedding. The old woman was fond of linens."
The past tense bothered Katelina. "Was?"
"Yes. She died. Rather suddenly." Oren sniffed disdainfully and then turned back to Jorick. "Katelina will be fine with Loren."
Jorick weighed the situation and then nodded slowly. "All right." He handed her the suitcase. "Loren will show you where to go." He offered her a smile, then brushed a quick kiss across her lips. "He hasn't tried to kill you, yet."
"Yet," she muttered darkly and moved to follow Loren. What was the point?
"Don't worry," the teen vampire commented as he took the luggage. "I won't let anyone snack on you."
"Oh thanks, I feel so much better."
They filed through the fussy old woman-style house. Though the windows had blinds, the sun seeped through the edges. Loren cringed away from the light and clung to the shadows. His tense muscles made her think back to what Jorick had said when she'd once asked if he'd turn to ash in the sunlight: "Not immediately. Loren might."
Loren relaxed when they reached a windowless hallway, and he unceremoniously opened one of the doors, careful to stay behind it. Inside was a prissy bedroom that was growing lighter by the moment. "It's up to you whether you want to sleep in here or with us."
"Isn't Jorick sleeping with you?" She stepped over the threshold and the musty scent of disuse met her nose; a guest room. The large bed did look inviting though, and she couldn't get much safer than to be drenched in sunlight.
"I assume so."
Her eyes skipped from the flowered wallpaper to a shelf of porcelain dolls whose blank eyes stared dully. She thought suddenly of the old lady. She was probably the last one to step foot in this room. Undoubtedly, she was the one who'd carefully made up the large bed, tucked in the sheets, and fluffed the pillows. Katelina's imagination conjured forth a wrinkly ghost that made her skin crawl. Suddenly the bed didn't look so inviting.
"Let me get some blankets." She stripped off the heavy comforter and pillows and was back in the hallway in record time. She was sure that the dolls stared at her accusingly as she slammed the door.
"This way," Loren said, but Katelina caught his arm and he came to a stop.
"What's going on?"
Loren shrugged. "Traven showed up yesterday. He seemed all right to me, but Fabian, Oren and Torina have been buzzing in each other's ears since he got here."
Though Jorick had already given her a vague answer, she asked anyway, "Who is he?"
"You remember Jeda, the one who was supposed to get the coven until you murdered Kateesha and -" Her expression stopped him from finishing the sentence. "Anyway, he's Jeda's 'mate'. I don't know if it means they're married or what, but that's what everyone keeps saying. I think Oren's worried that Jeda's holding a grudge over not getting the coven." He broke off and offered her a semi-apologetic look for mentioning it again. "Traven promised to join in the war so long as Oren agrees to a few things."
"What things?"
Unlike the other vampires who clammed up when she started to ask questions, Loren seemed to enjoy sharing. "For one thing he wants Kale and his new coven to come here. He thinks they need some kind of official understanding." He rolled his eyes. "It was as official as it can get without someone getting killed - though the main trouble was Anya's group, and they're not here now." Katelina nodded her head, urging him to continue. "The rest of it is all conditions on what happens if they manage to kill Malick."
Malick. Though there was no face registered in Katelina's memory, the name still meant something to her. Not only was he the head of The Guild, but he was also the vampire who'd turned both Kateesha and Jorick; Jorick's master.
She made a strange noise in her throat. "They want to kill him?"
"Of course. How else are they gonna overthrow The Guild?"
His logic was sound, but she suddenly understood Jorick's tenuous position. Join his friend and help kill the one who'd made him, or side with The Guild and help kill his friend. No wonder he was so pissed off whenever Oren invited him to join.
Loren went on, "Anyway, long story short, I think Oren's suspicious, and Jorick probably is too. I know he's a grumpy ass sometimes, but he's smart, you know?"
She nodded vaguely. Despite their past disagreements, Jorick was the one who'd found Loren and saved him from a band of rogue vampires. That had to form some kind of emotional bond, even a tenuous one.
Loren interrupted her thoughts. "I'm tired. I only stayed up to see what Oren was doing. I'm usually in my box by now." He gave her a wide, fanged grin, clearly enjoying his vampire humor.
Katelina rolled her eyes and hitched up the armload of blanket. Acknowledging it would only garner more undead jokes. When she failed to react, he shrugged and led her to the door at the end of the hall. Inside it was dark and, instead of furniture, six hulking coffins took up most of the floor space. Loren deposited her suitcase and pillow in an empty spot against the back wall. She gave him a nod of thanks, and then set to arranging the bedding. He crossed to one of the more modern caskets and swung open the lid with obvious relish. She refrained from commenting that he slept in a bed at his house, and let him have his "creepy vampire moment".
"Have a good day," he said cheerfully and then pulled the lid closed with a satisfying snap.
"Yeah, you too." Alone, she fluffed the pillows and stripped off her coat. It wasn't worth changing into her pajamas, so she lay down fully clothed and waited for Jorick. It was stupid to send her off, and she intended to tell him so.
She was still awake when Jorick and Oren crept into the room. Jorick found her easily. He slid beneath the blanket and pulled her close. She rolled towards him, but waited until she heard Oren's coffin shut before she whispered sarcastically, "Have a nice chat?"
"Yes." He ignored her mood and grazed her cheek with his knuckles. "I'm sorry, but he wanted to speak to me alone. He's afraid one of Traven's members is a mind reader, and might be able to learn something from you if you know what I'm doing here."
"But I already know why we're here!"
He cut her off with a kiss, then released her lips. "Yes, I know, but once in a while you have to humor people, Katelina. You can't always have your own way."
"I suppose." She didn't completely buy his excuse.
He pulled her head onto his chest and absently ran his fingers through her hair. "Did you and Loren have a nice talk?"
She stiffened. Had he been poking around in her mind? His soft laughter confirmed it. "Stop that."
"I have to do it every now and then." He moved his lips to her ear. "Without your constant whirl of thoughts, I find it's too quiet sometimes."
She was semi-pacified by his excuse, however flimsy it might be. "I think you're just nosy."
"Perhaps there's that too. Now, go to sleep, little one. We have an interesting day ahead of us tomorrow." He broke off, then added, "And try not to think about anything important until I can determine if they have a mind reader or not." He smiled thinly in the darkness, "It shouldn't be too hard for you."
He didn't even grunt when she jabbed him in the ribs.
