Chapter 190
When Jorick went to feed the next night, she tagged along again. It was an uneventful half an hour, and when he'd finished, they walked back to the house and then drove the short distance to Loren's. It was becoming a familiar location. As they entered, the fat white cat, now at home on the kitchen counter, hissed and dashed towards the bedrooms.
"You've made a friend for life," Jorick commented as he moved to the phone.
"How do you know it hates me and not you?"
Instead of answering, he called Oren. Though their conversation was a mutual exchange of information, it was short and ended with, "I suppose there's no other choice."
He hung up the phone and turned to her, his forehead puckered.
"Well?"
"Oren wants to go rescue him."
She'd known that answer was coming, but asked anyway, "Why is Oren so keen to help him?"
"If he does, Kale is bound to help him with The Guild as recompense. And if there are any vampires still loyal to him, they'll have to join. With Traven recruiting, Oren needs to as well."
She sighed heavily and surrendered. "So when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow." Jorick drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's a sixteen hour trip."
"So another two days in the car?" She tried to hide her lack of enthusiasm.
If Jorick had looked uncomfortable before, he looked doubly so now. "No, actually. We thought you could drive during the daylight hours."
"Me? And where will you be? In the trunk?"
"Oren's going to borrow Fabian's van. We can sleep in the back." He took in her horrified expression and sighed. "There's no other choice. If Oren leaves first thing tomorrow evening, the soonest he could be here is three or four in the morning. If we wait to leave, it would be two more days before we'd reach the institute Kale's being held at, then possibly another two back. I was hoping to have the travel arrangements made by then so we could leave."
She perked up. "What travel arrangements? Where are we going?"
"I assumed you wanted to go somewhere tropical." He grimaced. "The main attraction of those places is the sun, you know."
"You'd go somewhere tropical? Really?"
"Maybe. But it will probably take at least five days to make the arrangements, maybe a week. I can't go on spur of the moment trips anymore. Between luggage x-ray and security checks, it's hard to travel with a vampire in a trunk. So, the sooner we get Kale and get back, the sooner we can go."
Though she wanted to argue, she couldn't. Alistair was lurking around, Traven was up to something, Oren was trying to rope them into a war. Yes, the sooner they left, the better. They could relax in tiki huts and sip coconut drinks while Oren committed suicide. It sounded like a great plan.
"All right, but if I have to drive all day, when will I sleep?"
"Tomorrow night? You'll have until three or four in the morning. That should be plenty of time."
The thought of switching to a normal schedule seemed weird, even if only for a day or two. "How do you know where Kale is?"
"Oren did that. You remember Hectia, the woman we found at Claudius' Summer Home? As luck would have it, she's settled in that area. Disturbingly, it was Traven who knew that." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "I'm curious how he is so well informed."
Katelina nodded and signaled for him to go on.
"Eventually they located her cell phone number. She knows where the institute is and has agreed to meet us there. I can't imagine what help she'll be, but who knows."
The rescue mission promised to be a disaster, and Katelina just hoped they lived through it.
***
When they got home, Jorick went first. He did a quick scout of the area, sniffing as he went. When he made it back to the front he still looked unsettled. Katelina hurried to join him.
"What is it?"
"I smell blood."
The words made her shiver. "Where?"
"I don't know. Here." He pointed to the house. "Stay behind me."
He didn't need to tell her twice. She let him lead the way up the porch. He listened for a moment before he slotted the key in the lock.
He didn't need the key.
He swung the door open and his frown turned into a snarl. Katelina peered around him, and the sight made her gag into her hand. Draped around the Christmas tree like grotesque garland was what looked like intestines. Blood dripped from them onto the plastic branches and the tarnished ornaments, and gathered in puddles around the base of the tree. In the middle of the living room floor was a pile of miscellaneous entrails. The multicolored Christmas lights twinkled merrily around the gore; tiny fairy sparkles in a nightmare.
Katelina gagged again and Jorick turned to her, indecision in his eyes. "Cover your nose and come inside. And don't look."
She couldn't stop looking. And, though she covered her nose, the smell still seeped between her fingers and filled her nostrils; a sick, warm smell that meant death. Her stomach heaved again and without warning she took off for the bathroom.
"Dammit! Katelina!" Jorick pounded after her and deftly slid into the bathroom before her, his eyes darting around. "He could still be here!"
She tried to nod, but another heave filled her mouth and she vomited into the toilet. The smell was burned into her nose, and another wave of nausea splashed over her.
Jorick's lip curled, but he stayed with her until she stopped. "Stay here. I'll go clean up the mess."
She nodded and leaned back against the cool tile wall. Though she didn't want to think about where the internal organs had come from, her brain kept turning to it. Were they from the owner of the skull? Or had Alistair killed someone else? Why was he doing this? If he wanted to kill her then why didn't he get it over with? Why was he dragging it out?
There were no answers to her questions, though they buzzed around in her head again and again, until Jorick opened the bathroom door and announced it was safe.
"Why don't you go change?" he suggested.
She nodded numbly and headed down the stairs and to the bedroom. The piece of paper in front of the door should have made her apprehensive, but she picked it up without much thought. When she opened the door, the smell of death blew into her face. She stumbled back, gagging, then stubbornly flipped on the light.
"Jorick!"
Dead animals were heaped on the bed, their stomachs ripped open. Glassy eyes stared at her from their mangled faces. Blood pooled around them, bright against the white sheets, and ran over the edges to thick puddles on the floor. Underneath the heap was a garbage bag, as if Alistair had just thrown it on the bed and ripped it open without bothering to dump the contents out.
Jorick pounded down the stairs and her legs gave way just as he arrived. "What?" He looked from her to the mess on the bed and his face twisted in fury. "That god damn son of a bitch!" His gaze swung back to where she sat on the floor, tears sparkling in her eyes. He moved to her and crouched down. "It's all right."
"No it's not! Dammit, he was in our house! He left this in our bed! How is this all right?"
"I don't know what you want me to do! I can't fight an enemy that won't show himself!" She flinched under his fury and his voice softened. "I'm sorry, little one. Just- I don't know. Go to the bathroom and wait for me."
The paper crinkled in her hands and the sound reminded her it was there. She unfolded it and stared at the terrifyingly neat handwriting.
Did you enjoy my present last night? You wanted to know who it belonged to. She looked a lot like you, and she screamed like you're going to. It's a pity that Jorick won't stay out of this. I didn't plan to hurt him, but I might have to if he doesn't back off. Or maybe not. He can't stay with you every moment. As soon as he turns his back, you're mine. You're going to suffer like my Kateesha did when you mangled her still living body. You gutted her like an animal, and I'm going to do the same to you.
Katelina gasped and dropped the note. Jorick snatched it up and wadded it into a ball as she broke into sobs. "Oh my god, he's insane! How much more of this do we have to go through? Every sound I hear, I'm sure it's him! And now he's been in our house! Nowhere is safe!"
"Yes it is." He didn't sound convinced. "Just go to the bathroom and wait for me. And shut the door."
For once, she didn't want to argue.
