Chapter 243
The master closet still had hangers in it. Katelina shuddered when she thought about whose clothes had hung on them before. Dismas. The black Executioner who'd smashed Loren's face. It was strange to think that she was standing in his old bedroom. The Executioners were their enemies and yet here she was, living among them.
Allegiances may change.
Like hell.
She put her things away and found Verchiel sprawled lazily across the couch. When he saw her, he stood so quickly that he disappeared and reappeared holding the front door. "Shall we?"
She followed him into the hallway. Like a nagging mother he asked, "Got your card?"
"Yes!"
"Good. This way."
The "block" ended at a blank wall, and it was at the very last door, number twelve, that they stopped. Verchiel opened it with his master card and then mock bowed. "After you."
She stopped just inside. Though the rooms of the apartment were arranged like the one she'd just moved into, there was no comparison. Instead of sterile beige, the walls were painted in glaring electric blue. The furniture was sleek and modern and every square inch of space was stuffed with junk, most of it brightly colored and mismatched. A plasma TV sat on a black stand. Scattered at its feet were a DVD player and a range of game systems. A laptop lay open on the couch. A silver stereo, with blinking red lights like a spaceship panel, was on a small table next to a CD storage tower. On top of the stereo was a bright orange, plastic jack-o-lantern. Above it was a poster that was made to look like an old beach postcard. A collection of oriental swords hung over a tower of Japanese anime DVD's. The tower was topped by a precariously balanced glass skull and a large incense burner shaped like a coffin. It went on from there.
She closed her eyes against the chaos.
"Pretty snazzy, huh? With some investment, your house can look this good."
She opened her eyes reluctantly. "I don't think Jorick would like that."
Verchiel moved around her and stood, hands on hips, reveling in his riot of an apartment. "He just needs a nudge. Maybe I should invite him over for cocktails? A little AB positive? Perhaps a sprig of mint for flavor? I think I have glasses somewhere."
She imagined Jorick's furious expression at such an invitation. "That's okay."
"Well, now you know where I'm at, anyway. I've probably got enough junk in here to keep six people busy." He prodded one of the game systems with his toe. "There's a desktop PC and a bunch of other crap in there." He jerked his thumb towards the smaller bedroom. "I had to get the desktop to play that RP game. I can't think of the name. It wasn't bad, just a little too easy. Anyway, if you get bored just drop by."
She thought of Jorick's outburst. "Why?"
Verchiel shrugged. "Why not? These guys are pretty boring. Everyone's so serious or out for something. Besides, we all get along so well! I thought about suggesting we double date, but I can't whittle it down to less than three girls, and I don't think we'd all fit in one booth." He broke off into laughter. "Seriously though, I dunno. I find you two amusing. What more do you want? Don't you think it's more fun to just go with things instead of questioning them?"
"I guess." Whenever she'd taken that attitude before, she'd always landed in trouble.
Verchiel retrieved a plastic case and waved it towards her. "How about a game of Pong?"
***
It was after midnight before Verchiel convinced Katelina to go back to the first floor and he had to promise they'd stop at the sixth floor restaurant first.
The eatery had an open front, like a mall restaurant. Inside was a broad bar with stools and scattered tables. A back section was shut off from the rest and labeled "Humans Only". Katelina tried to peer into it, but it was empty.
She and Verchiel were barely seated at a table when the redhead suddenly waved enthusiastically at someone. Katelina turned to see Sorino and his chained human pet walking towards them.
The tall vampire stopped next to the table. "Babysitting again, I see?"
"More of a social engagement. Feeding yours?" Verchiel nodded to the boy. His shaggy blonde hair hung in his face so that only the end of his nose and his chin were visible. With his white tank top, tight black pants and thick collar, he looked like a punk rocker.
"Yes. Perhaps we'll join you." Sorino unfastened the boy's chain, rolled it up and slid it into his pocket. He pointed to the empty chair next to Katelina. "Sit by her, Kai."
The boy obeyed and Sorino took the seat next to Verchiel. Katelina's unsettled eyes were drawn to Kai's thick scars. They covered his arms, neck and shoulders. Most of them looked old, but a few were pinker than the others. Maybe Verchiel was right and Sorino was responsible for them. Kai looked to be sixteen or seventeen, old enough to stop him if he wanted to. Or maybe he didn't mind. All she knew was that if Jorick did that to her, she'd run as fast as she could.
Sorino turned to Verchiel. "I must apologize for cutting yesterday's reunion short. I had business of great import."
"No worries. You were telling me about your hunting trip to Brazil?"
"Yes, but hunting rogues is not nearly as interesting as hunting for relics. Especially ancient relics."
Verchiel snickered. "You're not after another legend are you? What is it this time? The Golden Fleece?"
Sorino's eyes glowed smugly. "Hardly. This one is real, and far more accessible. I've known an easy way to find it for some time, but thought it best to try other methods. Now seems the perfect time to, as they say, go for the gusto."
Verchiel leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. "You're talking in riddles again."
"Am I? Perhaps you've never heard of the Heart of the Raven, my friend?"
Katelina groaned. Not this again! On her last trip to the Citadel, it had been the main topic of conversation.
Verchiel glanced at her, then back to Sorino. "Yeah, I've heard of it, but it isn't real, any more than Lilith was real. Come on, a mother of all vampires who lets her ex husband rip her heart out? Women are evil. If it was real, she'd have killed him."
"Scoff if you like, but I've seen it. Malick kept it on an altar in his chambers."
"I've heard this one before. Supposedly Jorick went crazy after he found out Malick ordered his wife killed and stole it from him, right?"
Katelina choked. "What?"
"Oh, they claim he took it because it's supposed to give some amazing power to whoever drinks from it. If that was true Malick would have done it, already."
"No," she said quickly. "The part about Malick ordering his wife to be killed."
"Oh, that." Verchiel shifted uncomfortably and looked to Sorino for help. The other vampire pretended not to notice. "I don't know if it's true, but that's the rumor. Jorick was trying to quit so he could settle down with her, and Malick wanted him here."
Katelina's insides turned cold. "She was burned alive by humans for witchcraft! How could he control that?"
"Slip a vampire or one of his humans in among them, to stir things up? I don't know. I'm just telling you what they say. There's always ridiculous gossip flying around, like the crap over the heart."
