Chapter 166
Jorick strode across the room, his face a thundercloud waiting to unleash its fury. His angry eyes landed on Verchiel and flashed. He'd found his target.
"Well, hello." The redheaded vampire got no further.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Well," Verchiel mocked as he stood and met Jorick's eyes. "It looks like I'm guarding your little human, like I was told to. Would you rather we stayed holed up alone in your bedroom?" He packed too much meaning into the last word. "I didn't think you'd appreciate that, but if you prefer -"
Jorick punched him.
Katelina stifled a cry as Verchiel fell back on the couch. Jorick snarled and swung again. His fist connected with the couch; Verchiel was already standing behind it, his hand to his bleeding nose.
"I suppose I deserved that?" he asked through his fingers, his eyes dancing.
"You deserve a hell of a lot more than that!"
The three people in the lounge stared wide-eyed, and Katelina quickly grabbed Jorick's arm. "What are you doing?"
He rounded on her. "In case you've forgotten, he kidnapped you! Do you remember that? And I have him to thank for calling the police!"
She took a step back. "What?"
Jorick jabbed an infuriated finger towards him, but Verchiel held up a pacifying hand. "I didn't want the cops chasing you while I was trying to bring you in. It could have gotten complicated. Better to get it over with quickly."
"I'll get something over with quickly!" Jorick waved his fist. "Stay away from us. And stay away from Katelina."
Verchiel batted his eyes innocently. "You don't still think I'm planning to kill her, do you?"
Jorick ignored him and turned to Katelina. "Are you ready?"
She nodded and Verchiel asked, "You're leaving already? What a shame, and just when we were getting along so well." He wiped the blood off his face and flashed a fanged smile at Jorick. "I'm sure we'll see one another again. I'd hate to think this is my only brush with The Hand of Death."
Katelina looked to Jorick for some explanation, but he was too furious to notice her. "I abandoned that name long ago!"
"So I hear." Verchiel took a step towards the door. "If you must go, then I'll take my leave." He gave Katelina a wink. "See you later, Kately." And with a final wave he sauntered out of the room.
When he'd disappeared, she tugged on Jorick's arm and asked, "What did he mean by that?"
Fury seemed to render him deaf. His only reply was, "Come."
***
When they got to their room they found Oren seated in one of the chairs, his face furious. As much as he hated it there, Katelina had expected to see him packed and ready to go. "Where's the luggage?"
"Ask Jorick!" His fists clenched and unclenched, as if he'd like to punch someone, too.
She turned to the raven-haired vampire, but he looked away. "We haven't been released yet."
Her eyes bulged as his words sunk in. "What? You mean-"
"We're staying here!" Oren roared. "Until Malick sees fit to let us go!"
"I thought he was done with us? Verchiel said- "
Jorick rounded on her suddenly. "And what did that clown colored buffoon say?"
She flinched away from his fury. "He - he said Malick thought I was a blood-thirsty killer and wanted to replace Kateesha with me."
"Yes," Jorick spat, though some of his anger cooled. "Apparently you weren't what he was expecting."
"That's what -" she stopped from saying "what Verchiel said", and rushed on. "So why can't we leave?"
Jorick's jaw tightened. "Because Malick's bored."
Though she didn't understand, something in his eyes made her sink into one of the nearby chairs. "He can't keep us without a reason, can he?"
"Obviously he can, you stupid human!" Oren shouted. "Or we wouldn't be here!"
Katelina stared wide-eyed at the sudden attack, and Jorick spun towards him. "That's enough! Don't take your anger out on her!"
Oren stood too quickly and the chair fell backwards with a crash. "It's her fault! We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her!" He broke off into a wordless cry of fury and stormed out of the room. He slammed the door so hard that it bounced open again.
Katelina stared at the spot he'd vacated. She'd seen Oren angry before. She'd seen him furious enough to be scary, but not like this. He was damned near terrifying.
Jorick kicked the door shut, then flung himself on the couch and ran an aggravated hand through his hair. "As if I enjoy this!"
She didn't know what to say, so she stared at her lap and tried to convince herself that they'd be able to leave soon. Malick couldn't really keep them there!
Jorick cut in on her thoughts, "Yes, he can."
Her head snapped up and she met his eyes. "But-" There was nothing else to say. It was just as she'd thought. The Guild and those in power could do as they pleased. Verchiel was full of fine words about laws and reasons but, in the end, what mattered was where you were in the food chain, and Malick was on top. "How long will he make us stay?"
"I don't know. A day? Maybe two? His attention span is short and he'll be bored before too much time has passed." They fell into a thick silence and it was some minutes before Jorick broke it to ask her, "Do you remember speaking to him?"
The topic change surprised her, but she went with it. "Mostly. He had a tirade about vampires being weak and turning everyone, and he-" she broke off and looked away. "He was in my mind, looking at things I didn't want him to see."
Jorick sat up and caught her hand in his. He held it tightly and absently traced his thumb over her knuckles. "Yes, he does that. I doubt he thinks it's wrong, anymore. He didn't say anything to you, did he?"
The idea was horrifying, though if Kateesha could do it, undoubtedly Malick could. "No. I don't think so, anyway."
"If he did, you'd probably know. He obviously wanted you to remember it. For most, the first meeting with him is just a blur of fear and color. He overpowers them without effort. He must have been careful to ensure that you were coherent. I don't know why." He glared past her at some unseen phantom. "What else did Verchiel say?"
"Not much. He said that Malick finds Oren's war amusing."
"As I suspected." Jorick nodded for her to continue.
"I don't know. He said that you can't read his mind because you couldn't read Kateesha's."
Jorick's scowl deepened. "Yes, Malick told me the same, though in different words. He was an unusual choice for her. She must have been desperate at the time."
"He says he doesn't have any memory of who he was before that."
Jorick dropped her hand and sat back. "That can happen, sometimes, if it's botched. Though I wouldn't trust it to be the case. Chances are he's lying."
She started to ask why he hated Verchiel so much, but stopped. By all rights, she should. And she did. Didn't she?
