Chapter 233
"Katelina."
The welcome voice woke her from an uneasy dream. The television courtroom melted into the gray detention cell, and the bloody vampire jury was replaced by Jorick's worried face.
"Katelina? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"
In spite of the horrible situation, she couldn't stop the smile. "You're awake!" She flung herself at him and he caught her and held her close. She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his comforting, musky scent. "I've been so worried about you! I don't know what they did to you!" What she could remember of their adventure tumbled out, and she ended with, "We're to be 'seen to'."
Jorick nodded. "They likely meant that Malick will see us." He cupped her face in his hand. "It's going to be all right. I won't let them hurt you."
"I know." She dropped her gaze to the floor. "But who's going to protect you?"
He sighed and tightened his hold on her. His strong arms shut out the harsh reality. A calm, peaceful feeling descended over her that had nothing to do with his mental influences. For a moment, she let herself forget where they were and why.
"It's going to be okay. Trust me."
She nodded against him and tried to believe his words.
***
When she woke again, it was to the sound of the door opening. Jorick sat up so fast she almost missed the motion, his body tense and ready to spring.
Jamie stood in the doorway, a wary expression on his face. Over his shoulder she could see Greneth.
Jamie's tone was neutral, "The council is assembled. You're called for."
Jorick made a hostile noise in his throat. "How nice." He swung to his feet and helped Katelina up. "Where is Ark?"
Jamie gave them a tight smile. "Ark and Kioko are otherwise engaged. They were only sent because they were the closest. Come, you've been called for." He stepped back to allow them through the doorway.
Katelina clung to Jorick. "What are we going to do?"
"We go," he answered stiffly. "Come." He wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to guide her to the door. Fear stuck her feet to the floor. He applied gentle pressure to the small of her back and she forced herself to walk.
The Executioners kept Jorick and Katelina between them, Greneth in front and Jamie in back. They led them back down the narrow corridor to the guard room. Katelina noticed for the first time that it was like a hub, with doors on all four sides. Three appeared to lead to detention blocks.
God, how many prisoners DO they have?
Jorick and Katelina were led out of the room and to the elevators. Once on the third floor, the Executioners led them through marble corridors to the giant, polished doors of the audience chamber. Two guards hurried to open them and bowed out of the way.
Katelina froze at the threshold and stared inside. The room was as impressive as she remembered. It was several stories tall with pillared alcoves and decorated with heavy tapestries. At the far end was a dais with five ornate throne-like chairs. A red rug sliced the room in half and, on either side of it, tables and chairs were arranged in groups. The last time she'd been there, it had been empty. Today it was full to bursting with vampires.
Her eyes skipped from one face to another. Some part of her expected to see Verchiel, grinning and waving ridiculously, but there were only three Executioners standing near the empty dais; Senya, Beldren and an unfamiliar female. Strangely, his absence unnerved her. It was as if even he'd given up on them.
Greneth marched down the rug, towards the dais. "Come on."
Jorick gently led her inside, impervious to the stares of the occupants.
Greneth stopped next to an empty table and pointed them into chairs. They were barely seated when a door shaped section of the back wall opened and a procession walked out. In the front were four guards, dressed in black and silver uniforms. Behind them filed five vampires who seemed to almost glow. A man with porcelain skin who looked Chinese was followed by a graceful woman with long brown hair. Behind her was a man whose skin was so dark it looked like polished ebony. The Norse-like blonde that Katelina had met last time followed him. Eileifr, she thought was his name. Last was the face that haunted her nightmares.
Malick.
He seemed to shine with an aura of magnificence, brighter than the others. His long white hair and beard gleamed in the light from the chandeliers; even his red robes seemed to shimmer. Next to him, the four ancient masters suddenly seemed imperfect and inconsequential.
His dark eyes met hers. Though he was clear across the room, those eyes took up all of her vision and she forgot that there was anything else; just a pair of dark, all absorbing orbs. His power broke over her like a wave on a rock. She felt his voice in her head. No words, just an amused laugh that echoed through her.
"Don't look at him." Jorick forcibly turned her head away. As if Malick had given her permission to look elsewhere, the world leapt into focus and sounds filtered through: vampires murmured among themselves, fingers tapped impatiently on a table, a chair slid across the marble floor.
"That's the High Council." Jorick motioned to the dais as they took their seats. "The woman is Celandine. Next to her is Heng, then Malick, of course. Eileifr you've met, and the dark one is Obi." He gestured to eleven vampires who were seated at tables on the opposite side of the dais from the Executioners. "Those are the Lesser Council. They handle matters of less importance, and sometimes travel with the Executioners as execution councils." He paused uncomfortably. "Two of them were at Oren's. They're sent when the High Council feels that unforeseen punishment may need to be handed out."
She thought of Oren's wife. "Like Jesslynn and the children?"
"Yes. They weren't part of the original orders because no one knew the children existed, so the execution council decided their fate. They're cowards all. They stand in the shadows and whisper directions, then run at any sign of danger."
Katelina's eyes moved over the rest of the assembled vampires. "Who are they?"
"The vampires in the gray uniforms are lesser guards. They guard specific things, like the council chambers, or the detention cells. Those in the black and silver uniforms are the greater guards who sometimes accompany the Executioners on large jobs. Like when the redheaded idiot was investigating the murder, he had members of the greater guard with him to do the paperwork and handle the menial chores; or when Bren and Senya attacked Oren's mansion." He made a low noise in his throat. "When an Executioner is killed, one of the greater guards replaces them." He waved his hand around the room. "The rest are witnesses, affected parties, or onlookers. They've apparently called a full council, which is rare. Either someone involved was high profile, or they're hoping to make an example."
She choked and a thousand horrible outcomes spun through her head. She knew what happened when people "made an example".
The audience chamber quieted and Jorick whispered, "It's resuming."
"How can it be resuming? We just got here!"
"They'll have already heard testimony from everyone else. We're the last."
She bit back her anger. If they weren't allowed to hear what was said against them, how could they defend themselves?
"It's all a formality. Malick already knows the answers."
