Chapter 193
Jorick met Katelina's eyes. With no time for conversation he simply shouted, "Stay!" and then ran towards where Alistair lay prone in the snow. He grabbed Alistair by a leg and an arm and swung him into the tree. He twisted in midair and took the impact on his side. Katelina heard the crunch and imagined broken ribs. Despite the injury, he dropped into a roll and pulled to his feet.
Meanwhile, Oren had recovered. He swiped stray hairs from his face and gave Katelina a cursory glance. Then, he dashed past her to tackle Alistair. By the time he'd landed, the brunette was gone.
Oren growled in wordless frustration. Jorick spun, his dark eyes searching for their enemy. His shirt was ripped and Katelina could see that the blood had come from a wound in his chest. She wanted to call to him and make sure he was all right, but he found who he was seeking and took off after him.
Alistair leapt to the top of the van and then down again, landing next to Katelina. Jorick changed directions mid stride, now barreling towards them. Alistair grabbed her arm. This time he threw her into Jorick. The raven-haired vampire caught her. He had to stop to set her carefully aside. Alistair took advantage of the delay to jump behind the vehicle.
Oren was up and he followed Alistair, but the brunette bounced back to the roof and then landed on the other side of Jorick. The dark haired vampire grabbed Katelina's arm and flung her behind him. She stumbled, and then caught herself. He released her and swung his fist towards Alistair.
The vampire jumped away and made to run around the front of the van. Oren, on a similar path, crashed into him. He grabbed Alistair and heaved him in the air as though he weighed nothing. He slammed him into the hood. His head bounced against the windshield and the glass cracked. Blood splattered across it. When Alistair got loose, half of his face was crushed and bleeding. A trail of crimson ran from his eye like tears; the tears he'd cried while Kateesha was killed.
He met Katelina's terrified gaze and charged at her; there one moment gone the next. Jorick was prepared this time. In a move too fast for her to see, he shoved her out of the way so that Alistair slammed into him. They grappled, hands scrambling for purchase. Alistair feinted left, then bit into Jorick's shoulder and ripped. Katelina saw the blood and something snapped in her. With a savage cry she jumped on Alistair's back. She tightened her knees around him and grabbed his face. She jabbed her fingers into his injured eye. He roared in pain and fury. Jorick slammed him in the stomach, and he bent double, then spun around and threw her off as though she were a rag doll. She hit the ground hard enough to jar her shoulder and rolled, coming to a stop against the tire of the van. She looked up in time to see Oren flying overhead; leaping from the vehicle's dented roof.
He landed, grabbed Alistair, and pulled his arms behind his back. As if the move had been prearranged, Jorick slammed his fist into Alistair's face and then grabbed him by the throat. His dark eyes glittered dangerously and his savage fangs glittered in the moonlight. He was raw, dark fury made flesh.
"Are you alone?" he roared to their injured captive. "Or are you following Anya's orders?"
Katelina wondered why he didn't just read Alistair's mind and find out what he wanted to know. Maybe he wanted the fun of making him talk.
Alistair sneered and tried to break free. Oren was ready for it, and kicked him in the back of the knees. Surprise and pain flickered over his face.
Jorick repeated, "Are you here on Anya's orders?"
"Fuck Anya and fuck you, human-lover."
"That's what I thought." And, with a nod to Oren, Jorick slammed his fist into Alistair's chest with a sickening crunch and a splatter of blood. The vampire held Jorick's eyes and snarled a final time. "You'll get yours one day, you and your filthy human." Then, Jorick pulled his hand back with a sloppy squelch. Gripped in his palm was a slimy red mass. Wordlessly, he dropped it to the ground and stepped on it. It exploded and shot crimson out into the snow.
For just a moment she could see the red, gaping hole in Alistair's chest. Then, Oren released him, and the dead vampire crumpled to the ground. Jorick shook the lumpy gore from his hand and attempted to wipe the splatters from his face with the other.
Oren stepped back and looked down at his ruined clothes. His tone was peevish, "We'll have to change."
"And shower." As if Jorick had suddenly remembered Katelina, he turned to see her huddled against the van, eyes wide. "Are you all right?"
She swallowed hard and nodded. "Are you?"
He followed her eyes to his chest and shoulder. "Yes, little one. They aren't deep. I will be fine tomorrow." He looked to Oren. "You?"
"Nothing rest won't heal. We're running late as it is."
Jorick cocked an eyebrow at his impatience. "You can shower first. I need to deal with this." He pointed to the bleeding body.
Oren made a disagreeable noise in his throat, then he jerked open the van door, grabbed his black overnight bag and disappeared into the house.
Jorick moved to Katelina and knelt in front of her. He reached for her, but stopped when he noticed the gore on his hand. He dropped it quickly. "It's all right. He's dead."
She nodded numbly. "Did Anya send him?"
"No. When she refused to war against us, he left her coven. However, I saw something in his mind about Thomas."
Katelina's eyes went wide. "Anya's brother? Did he send Alistair?"
"Not so much sent, as encouraged. From what I could gather, that's why Thomas didn't bother to complain to The Guild. He thought Alistair would beat us."
"He should have known better," she said weakly. There had been several moments when she wasn't sure.
Jorick reached for her again, but refrained from actually touching her. She held up her own bloody hands, to show that she was already messy. He didn't get the hint. Instead, he said "When Oren finishes you can have the bathroom. Go on inside, I'll finish this."
She knew she should offer to help him, but the red puddle spreading from the dead body was too much. She didn't think she could deal with turning it over to see the familiar gaping hole up close.
She nodded to Jorick and used the van to pull herself to her feet. She carefully skirted Alistair and the puddle. Though she tried to look away, her eyes were drawn to it. A sick terror filled her. Was this a premonition of what awaited them on this trip? Eileifr had sent a message to tell Jorick to stick to the plan. Rescuing Kale hadn't been part of it.
She kept the thoughts to herself and walked inside. She peered out the window to see Jorick heave Alistair's ruined body up onto his shoulder, and then walk around the house. A brief image flickered through her mind of police digging up Jorick's miniature vampire graveyard. It wasn't a happy picture.
Oren was out of the shower before Jorick returned. He was dressed in new clothes and toting his overnight bag, his bloody gray coat folded over his arm. He met Katelina's eyes briefly and gave her a crisp nod; the signal it was her turn.
When she'd bathed and changed, she went back to the front room to find Jorick waiting. He offered her a reassuring smile and then dodged past her to the bathroom.
With nothing to do, Katelina dropped into a chair and stared at her hands. They were clean now. It was funny how the shower washed it all away on the outside, but did nothing for the inside. When she closed her eyes she could see Alistair's face pressed too close to hers, followed by a blurry, red tinted battle scene set to the screams of heartbreak.
Oren paced restlessly. His amber eyes moved from object to object, and she focused her attention on him. Better that then what was behind her eyes.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
Oren snapped around. He seemed to consider whether to answer her. "I don't want to be away longer than necessary."
She couldn't blame him, not with Traven there. She didn't trust him any more than Jorick or Oren did. "Do you guys have a plan?"
"Ask Jorick. I don't know how much he wants to tell you."
The answer made her angry and did nothing to fill her with confidence. Just then, Jorick emerged, clean and changed. He looked to Katelina, "Is your coat dirty?"
"Not too bad. I wiped it off."
Oren snorted. "Mine won't come clean as easily."
"Mine either." Jorick disappeared and returned with another one. He handed it to her. "Take the spare."
"This one's fine. You need one-" she stopped. No, he didn't. Neither of them did. "All right."
She swapped out one too big black trench coat for another and transferred the contents of the pockets. When she'd, finished Jorick asked, "Are we ready?"
"Yes!" Oren nearly jumped for the door. "With the delay, we only have a little over an hour until sunrise."
"Well I'm sorry for the inconvenience! Maybe if you'd pinned him down back at the Citadel, it wouldn't have been a problem!" Katelina turned to Jorick, expecting to see admonishment in his eyes. Instead, she saw amusement.
Oren didn't answer and they filed out of the house silently. Alistair's body was gone, and the spot was roughed up; dirt on top of the snow. Oren opened the driver's door, and then stopped to examine the van. She could almost feel him wince as he moved from one dent to another and finally stopped at the broken, bloody windshield.
"Fabian will have to deal with it," Jorick commented.
Oren ground his teeth but said nothing.
Jorick opened the van's back doors and helped Katelina in. There were two long wooden boxes on either side with a narrow aisle in between. A heavy curtain cut the back off from the front seats and, with no windows, the compartment was lit only by a single dome light.
Jorick pulled the doors shut. He sat on one of the boxes and motioned Katelina to join him. She'd just sat down when Oren slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door. The little light went out and plunged them into darkness.
Jorick squeezed her hand. "You can sit in the front."
She didn't like the idea of sitting alone next to Oren, so she shook her head. Even in the dark, Jorick's vampire eyes could see the motion.
"It won't be long before you'll have to drive. Perhaps you should take a nap?"
"I know." She absently patted her coat pocket to make sure the folded stack of directions was there. "This isn't going to be a blood bath, is it?"
"No." He amended, "It shouldn't be. The building will be closed and Hectia says there is no security. We will be in and home before you know it."
"And then?"
"And then off to some horrible tropical place." His voice was teasing.
She nodded again and snuggled up against Jorick. The smell of soap and his usual musky scent filled her nose and she felt her body relax. The horrors of the world she inhabited now couldn't touch her so long as she was with him. Not Traven's plan, not Oren's war, not even The Guild and their terrible Executioners. Let them scheme and fight. She was safe from all of it, so long as she had Jorick.
Wasn't she?
