Chapter 206
Oren left. Half an hour later, Katelina realized that she needed food, only her transportation was gone. Rachel cheerfully shoved a list of supplies, including four cans of paint, at Kale and told him to take Katelina and Jorick with him.
The nearest town was a smattering of houses, a gas station with a big sign that said "No gas," and a tiny chain store that didn't sell paint.
"She can get it tomorrow." With no remorse, Kale steered them towards the food department - which equaled four aisles.
Katelina surveyed the selection sadly. Three liters of soda, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread and two bags of chips later, they headed for the checkout line.
The lone cashier rang them up and asked unenthusiastically, "Would you like a free newspaper?"
"Sure." Kale grabbed the bags and the checkout girl shoved the paper into Katelina's hands and sent them out the door with a lukewarm, "Have a good night."
The trip home was quiet. Katelina flipped absently through the paper and thought about her conversation with Rachel. When she considered the lousy articles, it was no wonder that local papers were going down the drain. The county wanted to add chlorine to the rural water. The school's Christmas pageant was a success. There might be a new gas tax. The paper didn't have comic strips, and everything except the local news were little clips meant to sum up the important events.
A mini headline caught her eye: Maine Murderer at Large.
She thought instantly of the vampire murder that Verchiel had investigated. A quick skim settled those fears. On December nineteenth police were called to investigate a domestic disturbance- the body of a young woman who'd been shot in the face- her roommate is still missing- a 5'7" woman with dark hair and dark eyes- may be a suspect- police are waiting on a positive ID on the body but believe it is Benny Junnelson.
"Hey." Katelina shoved the newspaper at Jorick. "How far is this from us?"
He skimmed it. "I don't know. I'd have to look at a map. Maybe an hour. Why? Are you afraid of being murdered?"
She snatched the paper back. "Not with you around. You'd take them out before they knew you were there."
His grin looked a little too self-satisfied. "I'm glad to see you have confidence in me."
She flipped the page and a familiar name leapt out at her: Dr. Noah C. Miley. The headline read, Double Tragedy for Paranormal Research Facility. There were three tiny paragraphs.
Firefighters were called to a blaze at the privately owned Michigan Institute of Supernatural and Unexplained Sciences at 3 a.m. on December 22nd. Local Police officers were first on the scene and were inside when the building collapsed. Five bodies have been recovered from the wreckage.
Later that morning, Dr. Noah C. Miley, head researcher at the facility, was found dead in his home. His throat was slashed and the body drained of blood. Police have ruled the case a homicide, though there are no leads at this time. It's unclear if the two incidents are related. Jilly Cormwell, director of the institute, was unavailable for comment.
Both Dr. Miley and the institute recently came under fire when they claimed to have captured a real vampire.
"Jorick?" She shoved the paper at him again. "They killed that doctor and burned the building down!"
He read the blurb. "Before you feel sorry for him, it's his own fault. They couldn't leave him alive after everything he'd discovered."
"But did they need to burn the whole building?"
"How else were they going to hide the cops' death? No doubt the idiot meddled with the minds of anyone who heard the gunshots." He glowered, as though it was an unforgivable sin, despite the fact he did it all the time.
He started to hand the newspaper back, then folded it and stuck it under his arm. "On second thought, that's probably enough of the Murder Digest for anyone. No wonder people don't bother with the paper anymore!"
***
When they got back to the house, they found Alex and Yaul hunched over the laptop in the dining room. Alex's fingers danced over the keys and he didn't bother to look up, even when Yaul whined, "It's my turn. You're hogging it!"
"Then get your own." Alex laughed at something on the screen.
"That is mine! I killed the guy fair and square!"
"So? I'm the one who found it in his luggage because you were too busy feeding."
Katelina cringed at their casual attitude, and her opinion of them dropped a little.
As if sensing her discomfort, Jorick squeezed her hand and turned to Kale. "I'll take Katelina to feed now." She raised her eyebrows at the terminology, but let him tug her upstairs to the room they'd waited in last night.
With no utensils, Katelina had to use a potato chip to spread the peanut butter on the bread. The result was lumpy, uneven and had bits of broken chip in it.
"The kitchen would have been a better place to go."
"Possibly, but I doubt they have dishes."
She sighed heavily. "Why did you agree to stay?"
"I thought you'd want to. You were excited about Christmas before we left."
"Oh." The memory of the bloody Christmas tree swam behind her eyes and her stomach turned. She didn't know if she was really interested in Christmas anymore or not.
***
Though Rachel was disappointed about the paint, there was plenty of wallpaper and all the downstairs rooms needed done. Katelina got roped into helping, as did Yaul and Alex. Kale drifted in and out while Joseff and Saeed shuffled furniture from one room to another. Jorick, meanwhile, oversaw operations, his nose in a tatty paperback.
It was early in the morning when Katelina took a break for supper. Rachel surveyed the miserable peanut butter sandwiches and admonished Jorick, "You're leaving her to eat that?" When he didn't answer, she went on, "Don't worry, hon. I've got to get paint tomorrow, and you can come with me. We'll go to the bigger town - what's it called? Anyway, we'll find something better than that." Her eyes skipped to Jorick and she made a clicking noise with her tongue. "Really!"
Joseff and Saeed disappeared and then reappeared later with a "present for Rachel": a new couch - or a different couch, at least. Rachel gushed and then gave them final directions for arranging furniture.
As dawn approached, the vampires changed into their night wear and made their way to the basement. Katelina looked at the pink flowered pajamas in her bag. She couldn't bring herself to wear the silly "little girl" outfit in front of the others, so she followed fully dressed.
Since Oren had left the box from the van, Rachel and Kale moved back to their boxes. But, even with the extra box, they were still one short, so Katelina and Jorick still had to share. Though unappealing, another night of being jammed up with Jorick was better than being without him.
***
When Katelina and Jorick woke the next evening, they found Saeed's box open and empty. As they stood frowning at it, two more boxes opened and Kale and Rachel climbed out. Kale wrapped his arms around Rachel and pulled her into a deep kiss. He released her, suddenly aware of their audience. "Good morning. I trust you slept well?" He followed Jorick's eyes to the empty box. "He's out hunting."
Jorick raised a questioning brow. "This early?"
"He wakes before the rest of us, and seems to have a higher sun tolerance. Not a lot, but enough that he can go outside before we can."
"Convenient," Katelina muttered darkly. That was probably why Kateesha had used Saeed as a personal guard. Someone who woke first would be handy, especially since all the vampires seemed as trustworthy and loyal as teenage girls.
Rachel caught Kale's hand. "Let's get dressed and go feed. Then Katelina and I have a trip to make." She waved cheerfully, and led her mate upstairs.
Katelina's shoulders sagged. It wasn't that she didn't like Rachel. The idea of being alone with her - and without Jorick - made her uncomfortable. She knew nothing bad could happen as long as he was around, but without him...
He interrupted her thought. "You'd best take a shower and change."
