Chapter 172
Katelina and Verchiel got off the elevator on the sixth floor, and Verchiel bundled her along to the lounge, though he didn't look enthusiastic about it. "She's already searched up here," he explained. "So they probably won't look again."
She started to ask how he knew, but she figured it out. His stress induced mind reading was working again.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is! So now would be the perfect time to play twenty questions. You pick first."
"Ha ha."
The lounge was nearly as deserted as it had been the day before. Verchiel dumped her off in front of a computer and promised to return, then he sailed out of the room. It wasn't that she was sorry to see the infuriating vampire go, she just wasn't keen on being alone. Especially not with Senya after her.
"I wonder what she wants?"
The computer didn't answer her. With nothing else to do, she decided to check her abandoned email account. That was a mistake that amounted to roughly six thousand unread mails, so she closed it as fast as she could, and then stared at the blank search page. Randomly, she tapped in her own name and hit go.
There were far too many results to make her comfortable. She scanned through apparent news articles and found, fourth entry down, the website her mother had mentioned.
"Oh God, you have to be joking!"
Morbid curiosity made her click on it. Her senses were instantly assaulted with a tinny MP3 and a horrible blue background. There was a collage of photos of her and Sarah with their names underneath: Katelina Mauldin and Sarah Townsend missing since -
Brad hadn't bothered to update the site, obviously.
She surfed through the pages. Her stomach got tighter and tighter with each click. There was a too detailed account of the "last time" she was seen at home. On the update page were grainy images of Jorick, no doubt taken from the hospital's security cameras, and one blurry shot of Oren's big blue car in the parking lot. She silently thanked God that the license plate was missing from the back.
If those weren't bad enough, there was a report about her injuries. Her cheeks flamed as she read it and then furiously hit the x button. That was her private medical history. How dare the hospital tell anyone and how dare Brad post it! If she got her hands on him again, she'd kill him!
The pictures and details about Sarah made her sick, so she finally closed the page all together. Vampires were so much better in movies. The heroine ran away with one, or killed one, and then the credits rolled as the happily ever after screen flashed by. There was no aftermath to deal with, no scarred family, no broken lives to piece back together. Why couldn't real life be like that?
"I'll rip your heart out."
The voice in her ear made her jump. She spun in her seat, but there was no one there. Her eyes raked over the room; jerking from object to object, but there were only two people watching TV in the far corner.
She waited for the unseen speaker to appear. The minutes ticked by and nothing happened. She thought suddenly of what Jorick said about echoes. The voice had been masculine. Could it have been a stray memory of Claudius or even Troy? That sounded like something they'd probably said. If it had really been a killer vampire behind her, they wouldn't have just said something. They'd have done it.
The logic didn't comfort her, but with no immediate danger, her vigil soon grew tedious. She turned back to the computer and randomly searched for vampires. Then, she spent the next two hours reading page after page of myths, legends and fan fictions, with no interruptions from any random voices. Verchiel reappeared just as she'd gotten to a particularly interesting story.
He feigned shock. "I can't believe you're reading that smut! Tsk. Tsk."
"Bite me," she muttered thoughtlessly, but closed the page before he could read anymore.
He was too close suddenly, leaning over her shoulder, his warm breath on her neck. "I can if you want me to." She stiffened and then he backed off and laughed. "I don't think Jorick would like it though. And speaking of our grumpy friend, he's on his way back to your room, and he's in a bad mood. I'm sure you'll know how to soothe his battered ego." He cocked a lascivious eyebrow. "Especially after reading that."
She refused to let him rile her. "Fine." She closed out the browser window and stood. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to wait for him or not, and decided against it. She didn't really need an escort for one floor.
He tagged along anyway, chattering uselessly. "He's been to see Malick, of course. Then he went to see Jamie, and then Malick called him back to tell him you'd disappeared with me, and now he's really mad."
"Why would Malick do that?"
"Maybe he thought Jorick should know? Or maybe he thought it was fun?" He tipped her a wink as the elevator stopped. "Not that I'm scared of Jorick, I just think it might be better if I left you here. I have a feeling my presence will only make his mood worse."
She stepped out into the corridor, and tossed back, "You're afraid of getting punched again?"
"Me?" He batted his eyes innocently. "Never. Bye bye! See you soon!" Then the doors snapped closed.
It took Katelina a moment to gather her scattered thoughts and walk towards the room. Verchiel was weird under the best of circumstances, but today had been the icing on the cake. What was he up to?
Weird or not, he was right about one thing; Jorick was in a bad mood. She was barely in the door before he turned on her and, with a face like a raging bull, roared, "Where have you been?"
She didn't know whether to be scared or angry, so she bit back, "The lounge, why?"
"I told you to stay here!" He closed the gap between them. "Is it true? Did you go off with that clown?"
"You mean the idiot?" She crossed her arms over her chest, as if that somehow made her stronger. "Sort of. We went down to the atrium and then he stuffed me in a tree -"
"What?"
"- because Senya was there, looking for me. Then he dragged me to the lounge and dropped me off, and I've been there on the computer ever since."
Jorick stiffened, his face a shade paler than usual. "Senya was looking for you?"
"Yes. Though, I don't know why."
Jorick snarled an obscenity under his breath. "I can guess. I should have wondered how Malick knew you were with the buffoon." He saw Katelina's confusion and added, "Obviously Malick sent her to find you."
"Why would Malick do that?"
Jorick didn't answer, but she remembered what Verchiel said, "Maybe he thought it was fun?" The thought made her shiver.
