Chapter 221
Thomas lay immobile on the cold floor. He was stripped naked and large, colorless gashes were carved into him where they'd drained the blood from his body. His skin was wrinkled and translucent, and clung to his bones like a rotting corpse. His shrunken lips pulled away from his shiny teeth. Inside the shriveled face, his eyes darted around in terror. It was like looking at a memory of Michael, only worse.
Joseff grabbed one of the rusty buckets. He poured the crimson contents over the floor. It splashed up his legs and splattered on Thomas's face and body; wet, shiny droplets of too bright color against the pale white. The ruined vampire tried desperately to get to the slowly spreading pool, but he couldn't move.. Even his tongue didn't work right when he tried to lick spots of crimson from around his mouth.
Katelina clutched Jorick. "What have they done to him?"
"They drained his blood," Jorick answered. "To weaken him so that he can't escape."
She choked on an unspoken emotion. Looking at Thomas made her sick in the very depths of her soul. "How can he still be alive?"
Jorick sounded like a school teacher lecturing, "The tissue absorbs blood and stores it, so he's not completely dry. It would take years for all of the stored blood to evaporate. That's how vampires can survive without blood, though it's horribly uncomfortable after a few days. I imagine it gets worse from there. They dry out slowly. It starts with the extremities and moves inward. The inside of the heart is the last. It holds the final reserve. When it dries out that's when they die."
She nodded her understanding as Joseff picked up another bucket and dumped it out. "That's Thomas's blood isn't it?"
"Yes." He turned his attention to Oren. "What's to be done with him?"
Joseff snarled and kicked over the third bucket. Blood splattered in all directions. "The son of a bitch is going to die the most painful death there is!"
Oren looked on dispassionately, but Loren shrunk away and murmured, "He said he didn't do it."
Micah clapped him on the shoulder. "Fuck! Of course he said that. Wouldn't you?"
Of all the people to agree, Torina was the last one Katelina expected. "They never proved it was Thomas. We should keep him for a few days. The hunger will loosen his tongue and we'll have the truth from him."
"Why?" Joseff demanded. "Are you hoping to take that away from me too? You claim the war with Claudius is over, but here you are trying to destroy the last of his followers!"
Though Oren looked calm, his words were agitated. "Don't be ridiculous. Thomas might prove useful. Perhaps he could explain a few things, like what reward Kateesha gave him for betraying us."
"Fucking kill him," Micah argued. "Let's get this shit over and done with."
"Yes," Fabian agreed. "Whether he did this or not is irrelevant. He deserves death either way."
Katelina looked to Jorick. He kept his opinion to himself. She wasn't against killing Thomas, but she wasn't for it either. The only thing she knew was that the dried out husk scared her in a way that nothing else had.
Joseff knelt next to Thomas's shriveled body and wrapped his hands around one of the wasted arms. "I don't know words in any language to describe what you are." Then, he started to pull. A strange snapping noise echoed through the basement and Thomas screamed; a dry, rattling wheeze of agony.
Katelina whimpered and hid her face as Thomas's arm came loose, torn out at the socket. She caught a glimpse of paper thin, transparent skin hanging in tatters. She closed her eyes against it.
The scream died away and she dared to look again. Thomas's eyes rolled in his shriveled face, wet and shiny with tears of pain. At the sight, her insides clenched. Last night Jorick had impressed upon her how very "human" vampires were, how they all had friends or family, yet he didn't make a move to stop this. She didn't understand how he could watch so calmly if he believed his own words.
As if reading her mind, Jorick made a disgruntled noise in his throat. "Can we skip the theatrics?"
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, along with the suggestion to "burn him", but Joseff snarled, "He deserves to suffer!"
Something dark sparked in Oren's eyes. "You think burning to death isn't suffering?"
"It isn't enough!" Joseff waved the bloodless, dismembered arm for emphasis. "Not nearly enough! I want him to suffer for ages!" He grabbed the other arm and wrenched it loose with the same ripping and snapping noises. Thomas's scream was less this time because he lacked the energy.
"Jorick," Katelina pleaded and hid her face against him. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but her left wrist wouldn't bend. She didn't like Thomas; so many horrible things had happened because of him, but after last night she couldn't deal with any more.
Though Loren fought to sound cool, his voice quivered, "I'll take her upstairs, so she doesn't have to watch."
Jorick nodded and released her. She gave Loren a grateful look and let him guide her through the maze of boxes to the stairs.
"Running away?" Joseff shouted, an arm in each hand. He waved them emphatically. "The murdering bitch can't stand to watch?"
Jorick's dark eyes snapped fire. "It isn't your mark on her neck. Where she goes and what she does is none of your concern."
"Oooooh!" Joseff feigned fright. "Quote the laws at me, Executioner!" He threw the arms aside. They bounced with a dry thud. Then, he grabbed one of Thomas's legs and started to tug.
Loren and Katelina didn't stay to see him finish. The teen quickly led her up the stairs and out of the basement. Even with the door closed, they could hear Thomas's dry shrieks. As if by mutual consent, they escaped outside into the winter evening.
Most of the snow had melted and left dry, bare patches of naked ground. What remained of Rachel had run with the snow and was nothing more than an area of black ice. The fire circle was a heap of ashes and charred remnants of both bone and wood. Apparently vampire bones didn't burn in the sun unless there was flesh attached to them. The thought made Katelina nauseous.
Loren hurried past the reminders to a large oak tree some distance from the house. Only when they reached it did he let go of Katelina. He slouched back against the trunk and closed his eyes.
She leaned next to him and stared up at the starless sky. "I don't understand them. I used to, but now-" When she'd thought of all vampires as monsters, their deaths seemed like something good. Now that she was beginning to think of them as something more, it seemed horribly wrong.
"It's the way it is."
"A lot of things are that way. But what's the point of it all?"
Loren shook his head. "I don't know. I suppose Joseff wants to get even with him." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Micah's right, he deserves to get killed for all that shit with betraying Oren, but I don't think they need to drag it out like that."
