Chapter 180
Katelina woke to the howl of the winter wind. To her inner child, the sound meant snow, hot cocoa and Christmas trees. To her adult side, it was just an inconvenience; she'd be forced to troop through a blizzard when Jorick went to feed. Yay.
A dream clung to her subconscious; a dream full of blood and fighting vampires. It was one she'd had before, but the point of view was wrong. It was like looking through Alistair's eyes again. She'd seen herself with the heart, she'd felt the overwhelming heartache and then - then she'd woken up.
She pushed the dream away and stared at the celling, willing herself to think happy thoughts. The vampires woke slowly. Jorick was first and within half an hour they were all awake and talking among themselves about Traven and his coven. Uninterested, Katelina slipped away to the master bath to take a shower. It wasn't as if they'd ask her opinion.
She was drying off when someone strolled in. Her initial reaction was one of tense horror, but then she recognized Jorick. Though she relaxed, she didn't lower the towel. It was too hard to sound "in command" when she was naked. "Well?"
Jorick raised an inquiring brow at her tone, but declined to comment. He caught her by her bare hips and pulled her to him. He nuzzled her neck. Slowly, she relaxed against him and the animosity drained out of her. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "Well?"
"It's storming outside, and I see no need for you to be in it. Oren and Loren will remain with you until I return. I don't trust Traven, nor his coven."
"All right, but when are we leaving?"
He smiled softly and ran his thumb over her cheek. "Patience, little one. We'll leave soon."
"When, exactly? You do realize that we have a different idea of 'soon', right? To you it means - what? A hundred years?"
He chuckled and tightened his arms around her. "No, that would be a little while." She didn't laugh at his joke and he sighed. "Katelina, I know how you feel. I promise we will go home soon." He released her and caught her chin, tilting her face to his. "You do trust me?"
The fight went out of her as she gazed in his dark eyes. It was no mental trick of his, just her own sense of guilt. "Yes, I trust you, but I - I know how you end up in things when you say you won't. We weren't going to get involved in the last war either."
"Katelina." His voice was weary but serious. "I will not fight against The Guild. It's futile, and I won't throw away my life, or yours, for nothing. If he wants help to kill Senya or those who murdered his family, then I'll help him, but that's all."
"All right." His answer did nothing to comfort her. Jorick had originally said he wouldn't fight at all. Apparently he'd changed his mind and was willing to go after Senya. How long would it be before he changed it further, or Oren demanded he pay back that favor? How long before they were charging an assault on the heavily fortified citadel?
Jorick left and she dressed. She found Oren, Micah and Loren lurking in the master bedroom. Oren stood near the door, his arms over his chest and his face unreadable, while Micah lounged against one of the coffins. Loren was perched on the lid of another coffin. His head bobbed in time to whatever was on his MP3 player. The music must not have been too loud, because he glanced up as she walked in and gave her a crooked grin.
She nodded and, uncertain what to do, she dropped back to the bedding. She didn't know what to say, so she drew her knees to her chest and stayed silent. Micah, on the other hand, didn't have that problem. His chatter was gruff and offhanded, if not annoying. Loren talked with him while Oren stared silently at something no one else could see.
Jorick returned. Large flakes of snow melted against his raven hair. He shook out of his long coat and dismissed her guardians with a nod. Oren waited until the other two vampires left, and then met Jorick's eyes. Their silent conversation was brief and, with a crisp look of understanding, Oren slipped away to follow the others.
"I take it no one bothered you?" Jorick asked as he brushed the snow from his hair.
"No. They basically pretended I wasn't here, as usual."
Torina's voice suddenly floated to them from the bedroom doorway. "Traven's coven have gone out to feed."
"All of them?" Jorick asked and half turned to look at her.
"Yes, they do everything in a pack. They're like hunting dogs." A smirk played across her full lips. "Cowardly dogs, of course."
"Traven is many things, but for once, he's right. Their agreement didn't include the situation we were in."
Torina scoffed. "An ally remains an ally, no matter the enemy."
"Do they?"
"Yes." Her green eyes bored into Jorick, challenging him to disagree. "Would Oren not help you, no matter the cause? Has he not assisted with your human, despite his misgivings and kept her safe? Did he not go to The Guild for you, even though he thought he went to meet his death? And yet, will you help him when he has most need of it? No! You refuse! You walk away and you offer him nothing!"
"It's because of me he's still alive! That you're alive! If I hadn't claimed him that night, the Executioners would have killed him because of the children!"
Torina's tone was cold, though her eyes snapped flames. "And does he thank you for it?"
"You do. You can't survive without your brother, and you know it. You made him turn you first, before his wife."
"So? Do you expect me to fall at your feet in gratitude for saving him?"
"No! I saved him because I don't want to see him die, any more than you do! If you value his life, you should try to dissuade him from the path he's chosen!"
Something shifted in Torina's eyes and her voice took on a thick, sorrowful quality. "He will not be dissuaded. If you valued his life so highly, you would help him."
"The end would be the same." Jorick turned his back on her, as if to keep from being affected by the look on her face. "I'll stay until I've discovered what Traven is up to. I promised Oren that I would." Jorick took a deep breath and when he spoke again his voice was detached. "You should try harder to talk him out of this madness. We both know he goes to die."
Torina's answer was as cool as Jorick's, "Then we will die with him." Without another word, she swept from the room.
Jorick shook his head remorsefully. "She is so certain my assistance would make the difference, only because she's never seen the others. Compared to the High Council, I'm a child, and Oren and the others are even less. None of us have a chance against them." He met Katelina's eyes and forced a strained smile. "Come. Oren said they haven't cleaned out the kitchen since they took possession of the house. Perhaps there's something edible."
