Chapter 178
It was two gas stations later and nearly five a.m. when they stopped at a nice motel. Oren paid with a credit card and the three headed to their rooms. The doors were next to each other. The men met one another's gaze silently before they separated, though their disagreement was left standing.
The curtains were heavy enough that Jorick didn't need to stack the furniture. Katelina was too wound up to sleep, so she flopped on the bed and flipped through the TV channels. Jorick growled about it, and she finally got dressed and wandered to the lobby where they had a free "continental" breakfast. It was just a fancy term for "serve yourself", but the waffle maker was intriguing enough to make it worth her time. She wasn't that hungry, but she made two waffles for fun. The early morning sun sparkled through heavy glass windows, so she ate the first in the little breakfast area. Other guests appeared and, after a round of casual "good mornings," they had nothing to say to one another, so she grabbed her last waffle and her coffee and headed back to the room. Jorick had to let her in and, though he didn't say anything, she could almost feel his aggravation. As an appeasement she ate in silence. By the time she climbed into bed, he was already peacefully asleep.
Despite her late snack, she was hungry when Jorick woke her the next evening. She thought about the restaurant on the sixth floor of the Citadel and suddenly missed it. The company was bizarre, but the meals were good. All she had to look forward to now was gas station food. Not an amazing prospect.
Dressed and bundled up, she climbed into the backseat of the sports car and prepared for hours of "road trip from hell". Surprisingly, Jorick seemed to be in a better mood and he and Oren managed to have civilized, though boring, conversations.
They traveled for most of the night. Even though they made a couple of stops, Katelina was certain she'd lost the use of her legs by the time the small brick house came into view. As they parked, she noticed the shattered living room windows, now taped and wrapped in layers of plastic. She remembered the fight and all the blood, and suddenly the house was a place she didn't want to be. Not to mention there was the possibility of Senya or Alistair waiting for them.
Despite her fears, they were unmolested on their way from the car to the utility porch where Loren waited for them. The teen looked unusually anxious. Once he could see they'd all returned, he relaxed a little, though his curiosity was barely contained. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Oren spat dangerously. "We lost four days for nothing." His brows drew together. "Where's Micah? Did he do as I asked?"
Loren nodded. "Yeah, he thinks he found a place about four hours away." He turned his attention to Jorick. "What did they want? They went to a lot of trouble for nothing."
"Malick was hoping for a new companion." Jorick's eyes stole to Katelina for a second. "But he changed his mind."
"So it wasn't over this?" Loren waved his hands around to indicate their new coven.
Jorick shook his head to the negative. "No, in fact he isn't interested in it at all." His face grew serious. "I don't doubt the others would find it something to look into, if they knew."
"What others?"
"The other four members of the High Council. I doubt they know anything about it. And if what -" a look of distaste wrinkled Jorick's nose. "- that buffoon says is true, which I don't doubt for once, Malick finds it amusing and probably has no intention of telling them. I suspect he's looking forward to it."
Loren seemed uncertain how to reply. He didn't have to because Torina and Micah suddenly appeared. Katelina tried not to look at the stump where the bald vampire's hand had been, yet her eyes were drawn to it against her will. She was surprised to see that instead of a stump, his hand was back where it belonged and looked as normal as ever.
She wanted to ask if it had grown back, but the vampires were too busy talking amongst themselves to notice her. Oren and Jorick gave an account of what had happened and then started over when Fabian and Luna showed up. They'd nearly reached the end when Traven entered.
"And so you return. I thought perhaps they had meted out your punishment."
"Hello, Traven," Jorick said coldly. "I'm surprised to see you're still here."
"But of course. We made an oath to assist in the war against Malick, and so we shall." His smile grew in width but not in warmth. "All the excitement with The Guild had nothing to do with us. I saw no reason to get involved."
Micah snorted through his nose. "No, better to run away and hide in the basement."
Traven regarded Micah as though he was an insect, then he turned his probing gaze on Katelina. The room suddenly felt too small and had too many vampires in it. She took an unconscious step backwards.
As if he'd noticed her thoughts, Jorick glanced from her to Loren and back again. "Why don't you and Loren go ahead? We'll join you shortly."
Though Loren sulked, he took the suitcase from Jorick and led the way through the house. In the dining room the picture window was wrapped and taped but the rest of room was unharmed. The front room wasn't so lucky. The carpet was stained in a myriad of places with big splatters of brown. The two chairs were gone, and the couch was ripped and similarly spotted. There were holes and marks on the walls, and several of the pictures were missing.
Even without mind reading, Loren seemed to guess her thoughts. "We cleaned it up, but blood doesn't come out very well."
She didn't want to think about it. They cut down the hall and into the master bedroom. It looked the same as when she'd left, including the bedding in the corner. Loren flipped the light on, then perched on the lid of one of the coffins with an air of dejection. "Why do I always get stuck doing something stupid? Jorick always left me behind to watch the house and now I'm -"
"Babysitting?" she asked sarcastically and flung herself at the pile of blanket. "If you have more important things to do, then go do them."
"I didn't say that!" He kicked the side of the coffin ruthlessly. "It's just a stupid excuse to get rid of me."
"I'm sorry I'm such a problem!" It wasn't as if Loren was her first choice. She'd have rather had Jorick with her.
Loren looked repentant. "I didn't mean that. It's just that I'm missing all the plans."
"I wish Jorick was! We have enough problems without Oren!"
"Oh?"
The story about Alistair tumbled out, and when she'd finished, Loren was wide-eyed. "There really was someone there? Seriously? I swear, I didn't see anyone!"
"That's because he can hide himself, or whatever." She rubbed her temples. "If Jorick had been in the room, he'd have killed him and it would be done with."
"Where was Jorick?"
She told him about Senya and her secret mission. At first the teen looked troubled, but then he shrugged it off. "It shouldn't have anything to do with us. Not if Malick really thinks the war is funny."
"Yeah, I guess. But then why would Verchiel leave the note?"
"So who is Verchiel? Is he that Executioner dude who kidnapped you? What's the deal with him anyway? He acted like he knew you?"
