Chapter 209
Katelina jerked awake to the sound of Rachel's voice, "Wake up! Merry Christmas!" Before she could focus on an answer, she heard the vampiress move away to the next box, where she rapped and repeated her greeting.
Jorick groaned. "I suppose this is inevitable." And, without further comment, he lifted the lid. They climbed out to find the others were already up.
"Why are you dragging us out so early?" Yaul yawned dramatically. "The sun's barely down!"
A deep voice came from the stairs, "It's snowing and the sky is dark early."
"Well thank you for the weather report, Saeed." Yaul scratched his belly and yawned again. "All right, all right. We're up."
Rachel was still in her flannel nightgown. "It's Christmas! That's worth getting up for!" She caught a shirtless Kale in a hug and planted an excited kiss on his lips. "Now come on! It's time for presents!"
She led the way upstairs. Katelina and Jorick hung behind. "Presents?" she asked softly. "From who?" Jorick smirked and she added, "Don't say Santa Claus!"
"I was going to say Father Christmas, but I imagine it's the same thing."
They found the six pajama clad vampires arranged in the front room. Yaul and Alex looked half asleep, and Joseff glared at the world as though it had done something terrible to him.
Rachel stood next to the tree, handing out brightly wrapped packages. "And this one is- ah! Katelina, here you go!"
Katelina stared at the red present thrust into her hands. Rachel shoved a green and silver package at Jorick, then moved off to force presents on Alex and Yaul, leaving Jorick and Katelina bewildered.
"This is unexpected," Jorick finally said.
"You can say that again."
With a shrug, Jorick tore off the paper and discarded it. He was left holding a wad of black cloth. When he shook it out, it turned into a long sleeved black pullover.
"I guess she didn't feel adventurous." Katelina glanced around to see Alex and Yaul with a handful of CD's, Saeed holding a book, and Joseff with some kind of tool set.
"Better open yours," Jorick advised.
Katelina peeled back the paper to find a soft, fuzzy pink sweater. She held it up to herself and noted the silver snowflakes.
Jorick surveyed it. "It looks- sweet."
"Sweet as in 'that little girl looks sweet with her lollypop' or sweet as in 'awesome'?"
"The first one?"
"That's what I thought."
Rachel seemed to materialize in front of them. "I hope those are all right. I wasn't sure what you'd like. Considering how small your luggage is, I figured you could use clothes, and that's so cute!"
"They're fine. I mean, great. I just-we didn't get you anything."
"I don't need anything, hon. After a hundred or so Christmases, you start to run out of things you want. Kale and I agreed we didn't want presents this year. We didn't even get each other anything. That made it easier for him to help do the shopping last night."
As if summoned, Kale stopped next to her and slipped his arm around her. She snuggled against his naked chest and Katelina looked away.
"We should change and go feed." Kale nodded to Katelina. "She can eat while we're gone. Then we'll see what torture Rachel has planned."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think I was the only one that likes the holidays!" The twinkle in Rachel's eyes showed there was no venom in her words. "Let's go dress."
Jorick scanned the room uncomfortably. "I don't know about leaving you here alone."
Katelina wasn't sure either, especially with Joseff lurking around, but she didn't want to troop through the snow.
She watched the others leave, Joseff behind Rachel and Kale. Saeed picked up stray wrapping paper from the floor and then followed them. Only Yaul and Alex were left, chattering over their CDs.
"I guess it might be all right."
Jorick frowned. "It's your choice."
She agonized over it, then a small part of her laughed. What kind of life was it when deciding whether to stay at the house or go outside was a major decision? Joseff and Saeed were gone and, as she debated, Alex and Yaul left to join them. Surely she could handle being alone.
"I'll stay."
Jorick brushed a kiss across her forehead. "All right. I'll be back quickly. If anything happens-"
The sentence was unfinished and Katelina didn't know what the rest of it would be. If anything happens - what? Scream for him? Hide in the basement? Make a cross out of artificial holly? She doubted he knew either, so she didn't ask.
When he was gone she fetched the gym bag from the basement and headed to the bathroom. Rachel was right, she was out of clothes. The jeans she changed into were the same pair she'd worn to rescue Kale and she didn't want to think about the underwear. She needed to do laundry, though she hadn't noticed a washing machine. Maybe they went to a Laundromat?
Though the fuzzy pink sweater was warm, it made her feel like an overdressed doll. Barbie: the winter vampire edition. Nice.
Her food was still tucked into the snow drift outside. She sifted through it and pulled out a semi frozen summer sausage, ice cold cheese, and a box of frosty crackers. Once inside, she couldn't hack through either the meat or the cheese with the plastic knife. They'd have to thaw.
She dropped onto the couch and stared at the Christmas tree. In her mind's eye, she pictured the tiny tree she and Jorick had bought. The scene shifted; the tree was covered in bleeding entrails, a puddle of gore at its feet.
A sudden noise pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Joseff standing in the doorway, fully dressed, his dark eyes narrowed. She looked away quickly, refusing to let him see the fear on her face.
His voice was a low growl, "I have my eye on you - both of you. Kale might be ready to forget, but I remember that night." He stepped closer. "I remember coming in the front door to find the destruction; Claudius' head on the floor and his heart in Kateesha's hand! I remember the self-satisfied expressions on Jorick and Oren's faces when Kateesha demanded our allegiance. And I remember you." He was so close that he could have touched her if he wanted to. "You stood pressed against the wall, covered in blood and quaking. Funny how you don't quake any more. Jorick's trained you well since then."
Katelina jerked away from him and tried to stand. He was suddenly in the way and knocked her back onto the couch. She struggled to sit up. He leaned over her, his face close to hers. "You don't fool me. They claim everything's forgiven. It isn't. The hatred, the anger, the thirst for vengeance. I see it every time I look in the mirror, and I see it right now, shining back at me in your eyes. I know what you are and what you want. We're the same. but don't think that will earn you any pity when the time comes. When you make your move, it better be a good one, because you won't get a second. Are we clear?"
Katelina's heart pounded in terror, but she refused to let him see her weakness. She summoned up her courage and stared him straight in the eyes. "Get out of my face. Now."
"Or what?"
"Joseff?"
They looked to see Saeed in the doorway. He shifted his muscled bulk from one foot to the other. "We have extended our protection to this human."
Joseff jerked away and roared, "Maybe you have, but I haven't! What is wrong with all of you? You had no love for Claudius, but she killed your Mistress! And her master killed your brother! How can you forget that?"
"I haven't forgotten," Saeed answered with no emotion.
"Then how can you shelter her? Am I the only sane one left?" A strange smile twisted across his face. "The stupid human is the only one who makes any damned sense around here! At least she knows to hate us as much as we hate her!"
"You are the only one who hates," Saeed said quietly. "And it will consume you."
Joseff made a loud, furious noise and stormed out of the room. Saeed watched him go, then turned to study Katelina. "He did not harm you?"
With the immediate threat gone, her bravery disappeared. "N-No."
Saeed nodded and moved to the chair. Without another word, he flipped open his new book and seemed instantly absorbed.
Katelina shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. The scary part was that Joseff was right. When it came to a lack of forgiveness, they were the same. That thought scared her more than any other.
When Jorick returned, she didn't need to tell him about Joseff. He plucked it from her mind and turned a furious face to Kale. "Do you have so little control over your coven?"
The blonde vampire was confused. "What?"
Without looking up from his book, Saeed said, "Joseff had an unfriendly conversation with Jorick's human."
"Joseff!" Rachel spun on her heel and looked for the offending vampire. "Damn it, Joseff, where are you?"
"Leave him." Kale turned to Jorick. "I'm sorry. I thought he was with us. I didn't notice when he disappeared."
"I suggest you do a better job of controlling him, before he does something your diplomacy can't repair."
"He wouldn't really do anything," Rachel said. Something on her face said she wasn't so sure.
