Chapter 244
The waitress interrupted to offer them menus. Verchiel ordered two pints of blood for himself and his friend while Katelina chose roast beef and vegetables. Sorino ordered a sandwich and fries for Kai, then waited until the woman disappeared before he continued.
"As I was saying, I'm not the only one looking for it. Traven has been seeking it since it went missing. One would assume he'd have had inside information, being Jorick's brother-in-law, but after the incident with his wife, Jorick cut him dead."
Katelina perked up at the familiar name. She still remembered the outburst when they'd met Traven, "Where is it? ...It disappeared at the same time you did! You can't fool me!" She was sure that was why he'd agreed to help Oren and added the stipulation that he got to go through Malick's chambers first; just in case the mythical heart was still there.
"I ran into him fourteen years ago in Estonia." Sorino's eyes touched on Kai. "And I've heard rumors recently. One theory has always been that Jorick gave the heart to Kateesha, but if she'd had it, she'd have won her war, not fallen to a human foe." He glanced at Katelina from under his heavy eyelids. "From what I hear, Traven and the Carvelho sisters have sent messages to the fragments of Kateesha's coven, looking for who inherited her effects. It's a waste of time. The heart is not on this continent."
Sisters? She remembered the conversation she'd overheard at Oren's. "I spoke with the sisters last night and they got an answer from Anya's coven." Was the heart the mythical weapon Kateesha was supposed to have? Was that what Kale's mysterious messenger had been seeking, and what Traven's friend was going to Kentucky in search of?
Verchiel yawned. "If Jorick stole it, then it would be here. He hasn't been out of the country."
"That's why he had someone else hide it. One of his fledglings, perhaps?"
Katelina snapped to attention. One of, as in more than one? If Jorick had fledglings besides Oren, he'd never mentioned it to her.
Verchiel rolled his eyes. "I don't think so, Sorino. And if you're hoping Kately knows anything, you're out of luck."
Sorino's gaze swung to her, probing and fierce. "Why? Have you asked her?"
She shook her head quickly. "Jorick says it isn't real."
"No matter. I will find it." Sorino's false smile lacked warmth. "It's interesting to see Jorick with a human, though. I'd like to hear that story."
With an eerie precision, Verchiel related the tale, including the war with Claudius, Patrick's accidental involvement, and her subsequent immersion into a world of darkness. When he'd finished, he grinned. "I did research when Malick sent me to bring you guys in. Everyone loves gossip, and you two are a hot item."
She wasn't sure whether to be flattered or creeped out. "Oh, thanks."
Verchiel nodded to Kai. "Since I told you where she came from, where did you get yours? Estonia?"
The waitress brought their meal. When she left, Sorino said, "Yes. I've already revealed my reasons for being there. My efforts were futile, but I heard of a group of rogues that were rampaging in the north. Intending to make the trip worthwhile, I tracked them for two nights before I came on the wreckage of a house. Among the ruins I found a babe of perhaps three years. Though he was mangled, he was not beyond saving, and I thought perhaps a human would be an entertaining diversion for awhile."
Katelina bristled at his casual attitude. He acted as though people were hamsters! "Diversion?" She stabbed a carrot forcefully. "So you keep him on a chain? He's not a dog!"
Sorino looked amused. "Only in public. It keeps him from wandering away. It isn't as though it causes him any discomfort, does it, Kai?"
The boy shook his head and his hair flapped out of his face long enough to reveal a single green eye.
"You must forgive his silence. He's shy around strangers."
Verchiel sipped his blood and winked at her. "Best to stay out of other people's social arrangements, Kately. Now, eat up before it gets cold."
***
When the meal was finished, they left Sorino. The slender vampire sniffed and bid her a good evening, though Katelina suspected he'd rather pick apart her brain for information about his relic.
Verchiel led her into the elevator. "Sorry about that. I didn't know he was fired up about 'the heart'." He cast a sideways glance at her. "You've heard of it before?"
"Yeah. The last time we were here, Beldren and Jamie both went on about it. Jorick said it was a stupid legend."
Verchiel grinned. "See? I knew I liked him for a reason. I'll give Sorino two points. One: Malick might have someone's heart locked up for fun. Two: Malick is into all that mystical beings stuff. A lot of vampires are. I guess they're looking for some hidden meaning behind it all. There isn't one as far as I'm concerned."
"You sound like an atheist."
"I don't know what I am. I just don't believe in Lilith and what's-his-name, and I don't believe in Satan. No one needs a devil to make them do bad things; they do it on their own." He stepped into the first floor corridor and changed the subject. "You wanted to go shopping for Jorick?"
***
Katelina was back in the new apartment when Jorick returned. She'd intended to show him her purchases, including a TV, and mention the conversation with Sorino, but he wasn't alone.
Jamie followed him into the room, continuing a conversation they were in the middle of, "You don't know that he's responsible."
Jorick stopped next to the couch and spun around. "You heard her thoughts as well as I did! You saw her mark! How can there be any doubt?"
Katelina listened curiously, but didn't interrupt.
Jamie held up a pacifying hand. "She'll be put to trial tomorrow. We'll have the whole story then."
"I don't need to hear it, I already know!" He ran an aggravated hand through his hair and stopped suddenly, his eyes on Katelina. "Enough. It's a conversation for another day."
Jamie nodded respectfully. "As you wish." He glanced to Katelina. "Have a pleasant night."
She gave him a stiff nod. Though he hadn't been directly cruel to her, she couldn't forget his role as driver of the SUV and the escort to the farce of a trial.
In answer to her thoughts he said, "One must do as ordered." He gave Jorick a significant look. "Tomorrow." Then he let himself out.
