Chapter 179
Loren's eyes suddenly reminded Katelina of Jorick's: full of nosy curiosity.
"Does Verchiel know me? Of course he doesn't!" When Loren's grin got bigger, she snapped, "Quit being an idiot."
He snickered and leaned back on his arms. "When he took you, Jorick was pretty pissed, you know. He was raging, determined the guy was gonna kill you, or molest you, or haul you off to Timbuktu and keep you forever, or some shit. I mean, I've seen his weird fits before, but some of the others hadn't. Micah finally threw the car keys at him and told them to go before his head exploded." He laughed. "It was great! And, of course, Torina kept saying that it was foolish to go chasing after you. Oren all but agreed with her. Then he and Jorick got in a helluva fight. Dude, seriously, I've never seen Jorick go off like that. He had Oren against the wall and threatened to tear his head off, and of course Fabian got pissed. But, he was still in pretty raw shape, so Luna was trying to hold him down and Torina was trying to haul Jorick off of Oren. Then some of Traven's batch stuck their noses in it and Micah started threatening them, and anyway, in the end Oren said he'd go but only if Jorick promised to help him the next time he asked."
She flinched at the agreement. Was that what they were discussing now?
Impervious to her thoughts, Loren continued. "I hope they didn't scratch Micah's car. Man, he'd be so pissed if they did." Her expression was sour, so he rushed on. "He's really not so bad, you know. Yeah, he says a lot of stuff, but it's just stuff. He got left on his own, after he got turned. The guy just abandoned him, so he had to figure it out on his own and make friends and all. When I first joined up with Oren, he was the only one who didn't want me to go home and send Jorick back instead."
She shifted uncomfortably. "Speaking of Micah, his hand grew back?"
Loren laughed loudly, and then sobered. "Of course it didn't grow back! When he got in his coffin, we just laid it at the end of his arm and when he woke up it had grown back together."
"What if you hadn't put it in there with him?"
"The he'd have a stump, I guess."
"Oh." She was ruminating on the idea of missing vampire parts when Loren interrupted her thoughts.
"So, what else happened at The Guild, like with Malick and stuff? And I don't want the rushed version Jorick's telling, either!"
She sighed reluctantly, but launched into the long story. Loren sat on his coffin nodding and interjecting comments. As she recounted the recreation room conversation, Loren broke into snickers. "What?"
"So Jorick got a good punch in?"
"Yes." The weird thing was, she wasn't sure if she was glad or not. Retelling the story, she should have been. She'd wanted to kill the redhead herself more than once. But, at the same time-.
"So you think Malick is planning on a blood bath?"
Her head snapped up and her surprised eyes landed on Loren. "What?"
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "You described it as being pretty much impregnable and then Malick finds the war amusing. I'm not stupid, you know."
She nodded absently, her brow creased with concern. "I hadn't really thought about it, but you're right. I don't think that you guys have much of a chance. Even if you can get in and actually get past the guards, Malick, and probably the rest of them, are all in the basement, and to get there you have to have a key."
"I think we're just after Malick, since he's the head of it all."
"It won't do any good if you just kill Malick. One of the others would take his place and it would all be the same."
He looked at his feet, his shoulders hunched. "I don't know. I don't think Oren is planning on making any changes, just getting revenge."
Jorick's voice cut in on their conversation. "I don't think he's planning to live through it."
The pair looked up in surprise, but Jorick only nodded crisply. "And anyone who plans to go with him shouldn't count on it either."
Loren stayed silent as Jorick walked past him and dropped to the blankets next to Katelina. He caught her hand and squeezed it tightly. "He won't be persuaded. I can do no more."
Katelina looked from him to the teen vampire. Loren only shrugged in reply and stood up. "I'll go uh... yeah," and without specifying further he disappeared through the door.
"He'll lead them all to their deaths," Jorick muttered. "They're idiots."
She nodded vaguely, terrified that Oren was calling in his favor. "Maybe he'll change his mind?"
Jorick drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "No, I don't think so. He's seeking death to end the pain of his loss." He stared straight ahead at nothing. "Not that I haven't felt that myself." He swallowed hard and then continued. "If he wants to die, then so be it. I can't make him want to live. I can't keep him alive by my sheer will power, but to take others with him is wrong, and he knows it. To lead them blindly to their deaths," he paused and shook his head sorrowfully. "That is an unforgivable sin."
Though she had no words, she nodded her agreement. She laid her other hand on top of his, offering silent commiseration while he fought with the remnant of his inner demons.
The battle apparently over, he turned his face to her and gave her a very tight smile. "Enough of this. The others will be here soon."
Her eyes dropped and she asked hesitantly, "Are we going home tomorrow?"
"I don't want to leave until I understand what Traven is up to."
Her sigh was sulky and melodramatic. "I knew that's what you'd say." She let go of his hand and flopped onto her back. "Just wait, we'll end up in this damned thing yet."
Jorick made no answer, only closed his eyes and leaned against the wall in silence.
