Chapter 164
When they reached the elevator, Malick's spell evaporated, and with it went all of Katelina's strength. She leaned against the elevator wall to keep from falling. Every inch of her trembled. Warm tears ran down her face and she fought to pull herself together.
Malick hadn't physically touched her, still there was a similarity between the way she felt now and the way she'd felt after Claudius' stronghold. As with him, it was the mental invasion that was the worst. Malick had invaded the inner most recesses of her mind and taken glimpses of her secret thoughts. Though more probing, it hadn't been as painful as Claudius, which was just as well because Jorick wasn't there to make it okay. There was only Verchiel who casually watched the Atrium slip past outside and whistled to himself.
The song ended abruptly.
"It's like that for most people, the first time."
She wiped her face clumsily, though she refused to look at him with her tears. "What?"
"Malick," he answered nonchalantly. "It isn't as bad if you don't try to fight him."
She could only stare at her feet and snuffle miserably. The elevator stopped. Before the doors could open Verchiel smacked a button, and sent them towards another floor. She gave him a curious glance but looked away when their eyes met.
"Riding the elevator is fun," he said simply, and leaned back against the wall, his hands in his pockets.
They rode up and down for several minutes. Verchiel watched the Atrium through the green tinted glass and Katelina slowly calmed down. When she could stand on her own, he let the doors open on the fifth floor and they headed towards the room she shared with Jorick and Oren. With each step she reminded herself that they'd be leaving soon and they'd never have to come back.
Verchiel opened the bedroom door with a keycard and stood to one side to let her enter first. "I thought you'd want to freshen up," he explained as he followed her inside. "Then we can find something to do. Jorick's going to be some time, if for no other reason than it amuses Malick. And since you were 'requisitioned' they put you in the boring block of rooms. You don't even have a TV."
She snapped the suitcase open and rifled through it for her makeup. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Aw, come on. Don't be like that. You know I didn't do anything."
She slammed the suitcase and glared at him. "Like hell! I'm here because -"
"Because Malick wanted to see you. I was just sent to get you. It wasn't my idea. It was a lucky break running into you with Hectia, though. I might have gotten stuck with her for weeks." His smile grew and her anger deepened. "Oh, come on. Malick was just hoping you were really a bloodthirsty killer. If you were, he was going to turn you. You were never in any danger, and Jorick isn't either. Hell, even Oren doesn't need to worry. Malick finds his war amusing."
She stared at him with wide eyes, oblivious to his last two points. "Turn me?"
He slouched against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Of course. What did you think he wanted? To punish you over Kateesha?" The answer was in her eyes and he laughed. "He'd probably like to now, but when he heard about it he was excited. It's not like she was listening to him anymore. He planned to replace her with you - even better that his favorite son Jorick actually liked you - but then you didn't turn out to be what he was looking for. I don't know why you're acting so surprised. I mentioned that back at Oren's den."
"He wanted to make me a vampire? But he can't! I don't want to be a vampire! I don't -"
He talked over the top of her cries. "He isn't going to, now. Geeze, calm down. It's not like he was planning to kill you or anything."
"That's easy for you to say! You're already one!" She shuddered lightly then spun on her heel and slammed her way into the bathroom. Her hands trembled as she splashed cool water on her face and tried to relax from too much fear in too short a time. She'd been afraid that Malick would kill her. Turning her had never entered her mind, past Verchiel's comments back at the brick house. She'd thought he'd only said it to piss Jorick off. It never occurred to her that there was any seriousness to it.
When she was calm, she freshened her makeup and headed back into the room to find Verchiel where she'd left him. Though he still looked amused, he didn't comment on their previous conversation. "Ready?"
"I guess." She stuffed the makeup back in her bag. "Where are we going?"
"That depends. We can go hang around the lounge upstairs with the rest of the humans, or we can go to the first floor. It's a lot bigger and much more interesting, but it's mainly vampires down there and I wasn't sure you were in the mood to deal with them."
"Not really." She'd rather be left alone, but it seemed unlikely to happen.
"Shall we?" He held out his arm, though she ignored it. He chuckled and took the lead.
***
The sixth floor looked the same as it had the night before. They stopped outside of the restaurant and Verchiel jerked his thumb towards it. "Hungry?" Her nerves were still too raw, so she shook her head. "You're sure? It's one of the few places all the humans mingle. You might find some interesting people in there. I think there's some kind of government emissary here."
"What do you mean all the humans?" She suddenly thought of the three people in the "humans only" section the night before and peered into the restaurant curiously.
"The floor's divided up to keep the squeamish humans away from the hungry monsters and their gnawed upon friends. Some of them get really upset about the idea of so many blood drinkers, so they're kept separate so that they don't have to think about it. Makes them feel better. We can roam up here as much as we like, so long as we stay out of their section."
"Gnawed upon friends?" Her nose wrinkled as she remembered the waitress from the night before.
He snickered at her disgust. "Especially the junkies."
"You make it sound like they're drug addicts."
"Some of them are. They get addicted to vampire blood. You can drink it for years without being turned or linked, as long as you don't drink a huge quantity of it at a shot. Things get complicated, though, when they start drinking off of various vampires. All those mixed allegiances."
She imagined someone drinking that much blood and her stomach churned. "Ewwww." Suddenly, the restaurant didn't seem appealing.
Verchiel led her past another corridor and through a large set of double doors. With scattered couches and chairs, the lounge reminded Katelina of a hospital waiting room. Instead of the usual small TV, there were three large plasma screens and a bank of computers and chairs. A miniature Christmas tree sat blinking on one of the glass topped tables, and fake spruce garland ran around the room, trying to remind the humans about the impending holiday.
There were very few people using the facilities. Two women were on computers and a short man watched something on one of the televisions. He was the only one to notice Katelina and Verchiel as they walked in, but his attention didn't linger.
Verchiel stretched and looked bored. "You can watch TV or 'surf the web' or whatever it is you do for fun. I'll just hang around on guard duty."
She didn't bother to hide her annoyance. "And what are you guarding me from?"
He leveled his gaze with hers. "I don't know. I can't read Malick's mind, even on a good day, and I can't guess what he was thinking, unless it was to annoy Jorick."
"That should amuse you then." She rolled her eyes and moved towards one of the TVs.
He followed. "Why does everyone think I like irritating people? Maybe I want to be liked once in a while."
"I'm sure you do," she muttered with no conviction and took a seat on the couch. She snatched the TV remote from the nearby tabletop. At the press of a button, the screen lit up with a colorfully sharp commercial full of smiling people. They could have been advertising anything from q-tips to motor oil.
Verchiel unfastened his long black coat and dropped casually onto the couch. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back into the sofa, his attitude one of relaxed comfort. "You are planning to watch something interesting, right?"
She didn't answer and he stayed silent as a sitcom flashed past, followed by the news. The too pretty anchors related a list of disasters the world over. Katelina found it almost comforting to know everyone else was suffering too.
As the minutes passed, the meeting with Malick turned into a blur. The exposed, humiliated feelings faded and the tension in her body melted. It was as if, when faced with the reality of TV, her rational mind decided that Malick and his chamber were just an absurd dream.
They had to be.
