Chapter 191
Katelina retired to the bathroom as Jorick instructed. She huddled in the corner of the windowless room and listened as he made several trips up and down the stairs, dealing with the mess Alistair had left them. Finally, he opened the door, a heavy garbage bag in one hand, and announced that it was finished.
Her eyes moved to the bag. "What's that?"
"The bedding. We have more, and it isn't worth trying to save this. Why don't you go ahead and change?"
The bedroom smelled like a mixture of floral Lysol and some kind of cinnamon cleaner. Though the mattress was stripped and flipped over, she knew what was on the underside. "Maybe the garbage bag caught most of it." Though she didn't believe the optimistic thought, she clung to it, anyway.
When she went upstairs she found Jorick in the freshly scrubbed front room, surrounded by maps. She noted the absence of the Christmas tree and wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. He glanced up and gave her a tight smile, then went back to his work as if nothing had happened. She wanted to scream at him, but she knew he was just as frustrated as she was. As he'd said, how could he fight an enemy who wouldn't show themselves?
She watched him work, apprehensive at the confusing honeycomb of lines he drew on the maps. She was the one who'd have to make sense of it all while they slept. When he finished, she made him write each of the turns, changeovers, and important directions in a yellow tablet. The step-by-step instructions would be easier to follow than the squibly tangle of ink.
Bed time came too soon. The bedroom still smelled like cleaners. It burned her nose and made her sick. Jorick gallantly cleaned out part of the junk room so that there was a space on the floor big enough for them to fit. Katelina spread the blankets out, and then snuggled up against Jorick. She buried her face in his chest and willed tomorrow to be better.
***
She woke from a nightmare. Dead animals screamed while she cut them open and pulled out their insides and draped the gory masses over a Christmas tree. Then, the animals turned into Kateesha. The vampiress's arms flailed and her legs kicked while Katelina dissected her. She plucked out her heart and impaled it on the top of the tree like a star. Suddenly, the battle scene flashed past, again through the wrong eyes, and she woke sick and horrified.
Though she knew she had to spend at least part of the next night sleeping, it was better to get up with Jorick then risk the dream's continuance. She bundled up and went with him on his "feeding" expedition. It was only five P.M. but the wind was already cold and the darkness complete. Stars shivered over their heads and dead weeds crunched under their feet, lost beneath a thin coating of new snow.
She shuffled behind him, huddled in her coat. Every sound made her jump and her mind kept replaying the letter over and over again. "I'm going to do the same to you."
A nearby noise broke into her terrified thoughts. She looked to see Jorick similarly alert. He sniffed the air and waited. An opossum rolled out of the weeds and landed in an unhappy ball. It uncurled, glanced at them, and took off.
Katelina relaxed and started forward, but Jorick stopped her with a hand to her arm. When she looked to him questioningly, he only shook his head and brought his finger to his lips. They stood there for several tense seconds. Nothing happened. Finally, she took a step away.
That's when he struck.
In a blur of motion and cold she was suddenly slammed to the ground. She spit out a mouthful of snow and weeds and tried to get up. There was someone on her back. It only took her a second to figure out whom.
Alistair.
Before the thought finished, Jorick slammed his fist into the vampire and knocked him aside. He landed in a roll and then seemed to disappear and rematerialize behind the raven-haired vampire. Katelina sat up, still choking and sputtering, and tried to point him out, but he was too fast. He'd already slammed Jorick in the head and kicked him in the back before either of them reacted.
Jorick was much faster than her. He spun in a blur and snatched at Alistair, but his attacker was faster still and all he clutched was empty air.
Alistair was suddenly behind Katelina, one arm around her neck. His angry eyes met Jorick's. "I don't want your blood, only hers."
"You'll get neither." Jorick lunged towards them.
Alistair growled low and squeezed her throat. She choked and gagged and tried to hit him. Her hands found his face and by instinct her thumb worked toward his eye.
And then he let go. She coughed and looked up to see Jorick grappling with him. His face was a mask of twisted fury and his fangs flashed in the cold moonlight. Alistair snarled back, more animal than man, his hair in disarray and his eyes too clear and cold to be sane.
Jorick slammed him on the ground and Alistair lay stunned for half a second. It was long enough for Jorick to ready a death blow. It never landed. Alistair rolled away and seemed to disappear into thin air, leaving the words, "I'll be back for both of you."
Katelina pulled herself to her knees, one hand to her bruised throat. Her terrified eyes darted around the winter landscape. Jorick waited the span of a heartbeat and then, when no attack came, he hurried to her and knelt down quickly.
"Are you all right?"
She gave an experimental cough and nodded, afraid her voice would betray her terror. It had been so fast. One moment they were walking, the next she was choking, and now Alistair was gone. It was like riding on Verchiel's back; too much motion to comprehend.
Jorick pulled her close and stroked her hair, murmuring useless phrases that were meant to comfort her. There was nothing that would comfort her anymore. Each incident with Alistair was worse than the one before. Next time he would probably kill one of them.
Jorick helped her to her feet and led her back to the house. He tucked her safely inside and told her to go to the makeshift bedroom and get some rest.
"You still need to feed."
"I can lure something to the porch. Don't worry." He gave her a soft smile. "Just rest. You'll have a long day ahead of you."
She nodded, not because she thought sleep was a good idea, but because the basement seemed safe. There was no way Alistair could pull off a sneak attack through layers of earth and concrete. Or was there? He'd been in the bedroom, after all.
Once downstairs, she flopped on the floor in the junk room and stared at the ceiling. She was far from tired. In the aftermath of the adrenaline, she felt sick and twitchy, not to mention she'd woken from a full day's sleep only an hour or two ago.
She gave up and braved the smell in the bedroom to pack the black gym bag with a few essentials. It was supposed to be a short trip, so she didn't need the big suitcase. If it went as fast as Jorick thought it would, she wouldn't even need the gym bag, but better safe than sorry.
When that was done, she retreated to the junk room again. Time passed slowly. She wondered if Jorick had lured something, and if it was that easy why he bothered to go hunting at all. She wondered where Alistair was and what he was doing. She wondered if Verchiel was still in the area.
The last thought made her feel guilty, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe because Jorick hated him so much. But if he were there, Jorick could just leave him with her, while he hunted Alistair down. If the lunatic did sneak around and attack her while he was gone, Verchiel could probably handle him. Alistair's advantage was his speed, and Verchiel was just as fast as he was. He could probably pin him down easily.
She shook herself. How could she contemplate having the redheaded idiot around, especially in a situation that required someone reliable? The last thing she wanted was to see him again!
Wasn't it?
Despite everything, a sort of sluggish sleep eventually found her. Caught between dreamland and reality, random monsters chased her; fangs flashing and clawed hands ripping. When she woke at midnight she was less rested than when she'd gone to bed.
Though she craved the safety of the basement walls, she couldn't stand another moment alone with her thoughts and fears. She changed her rumpled clothes and headed upstairs. She found Jorick in a front room chair, his attention on the book in his hands.
"Make sure you put that back when you're done." It was her attempt to tease him.
"Maybe." He studied her. "Feeling better?"
Her hand moved to touch her throat. "Yeah. It still hurts a little though."
"Oren should be here in a couple of hours."
She nodded. There was nothing to do but wait. She hated waiting. Better to get on with it than to sit, staring at nothing and dreading what was coming.
