Chapter 246
Though Jorick's new clothes were all black, he wasn't enthusiastic about them. The TV earned a raised eyebrow, and her bedding choices got barely a mention, though he coughed loudly when she presented him with the teddy bear sheets.
"They were cute, and on sale."
He made a low noise in his throat. "I can imagine why."
As usual, he was summoned by Malick the next evening. She wished she could tackle him to the bed, but she remembered Malick's lesson. There was no telling what he'd do if Jorick was late.
She took a shower and changed her bandages. Thanks to last night, Verchiel's bite was pretty much healed, though the new bite on her arm wasn't. It hurt and was hard to bandage. The bites in her shoulder were neatly scabbed over, so she gave them a gentle pat with the towel and left them alone.
She was dressed and contemplating breakfast when a cheerful Verchiel strolled through the door without knocking. His new outfit was worse than the last; an electric purple t-shirt that said "Nosferatu wears purple" and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees.
He was determined to go to the movies, so she gave in. The theatre was on the other side of the second floor. It had three screens and no concession stand, which made the lobby look empty. While they waited to be admitted, Verchiel grinned and flirted with a variety of females. Some of them seemed impressed, but more than one gave him a look that said "Nice try. Not falling for it." Katelina wondered if they'd fallen for it before.
When the movie was over, Katelina and Verchiel exited with a small crowd. They'd barely stepped into the hallway when she spied Greneth dragging a familiar figure down the corridor: blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and a muscular action-movie frame. It was Thomas's sister, Anya.
As the pair passed, Katelina hid behind Verchiel. Greneth sneered in their general direction, but Anya was too busy complaining to notice, "-Ridiculous! I demand to speak to someone else!"
"There is no one else!" Greneth snapped impatiently. "The High Council doesn't handle kidnapping unless it's someone important!"
Kidnapping. Katelina shuddered. No one had mentioned Thomas and his illegal burial at the trial. Now that Anya was here, would Jorick be punished?
Anya dragged the Executioner to a stop a few feet away, still yelling. "You're saying that my brother isn't important enough?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying! Now come on, I've been ordered to escort you out of here."
"I'm not leaving until they do something! I want Jorick investigated!"
Katelina bit back a cry. It wasn't fair! Joseff was the one who'd done it wrong, not Jorick! Why should he suffer?
Greneth snorted. "Great idea. Maybe this time they'll promote him to the council as punishment."
Anya's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means Jorick is Malick's favorite right now, so you're wasting your breath. If you want something done, blame it on someone else and come back in a couple of months."
Without looking at Katelina, Verchiel said softly, "They don't know what happened to him. She thinks he's just being held prisoner."
Anya's next words proved him right, "Two months? They'll probably kill him by then!"
Without missing a beat Greneth quipped, "They probably have already. Now come on. I have other things to do." Then he grabbed her arm and dragged her away, still arguing.
Katelina released a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Oh God."
Verchiel turned to her and shrugged. "Oren was right, that is illegal, but looks like you scraped out of it." She glowered at his mental intrusion and he grinned and ruffled her hair. "If you want, I could mention his location to someone and they could dig him up?"
She cringed away from the idea. "What good would that do?"
"For starters, it would make Senya look like an ass. She should have found him while she was there." He suddenly frowned. "Of course, I don't know what he'd do for the rest of eternity with no arms or legs."
"Or a jaw," Katelina added.
"They might be able to fix that. Depends on how bad the decay is. I could always suggest they dig him up and kill him, if that's better?"
She didn't want the responsibility of the decision, so she shook her head. "It's not up to me."
"Suit yourself. I was just trying to salve your conscience. It's not like he doesn't have years to be rescued in!" He caught her arm and changed topics. "After all that excitement, I bet you're hungry!"
***
They made a quick trip to the sixth floor restaurant. Despite Katelina's fears, they didn't run into Sorino again, and she was grateful. The chain and collar gave her the creeps, as did Kai's scars. She didn't care how normal everyone treated it, it was sick.
They left the restaurant and Verchiel said casually, "I hate to leave you on your own, but I've got a kind-of date." He gave her a wink. "It's the kind where she doesn't know about it yet. I'm sure she'll be delighted when she finds out."
"Is it Geneva from the clothing store?"
"No. It's that tasty bit who sold us our movie tickets. I'm feeling lucky, if you know what I mean."
She rolled her eyes. "Not in that outfit."
"Really?" He frowned at his bright t-shirt. "Maybe I'd better change."
They headed back to the Executioner block where they found someone standing at Katelina and Jorick's door. It was the female Executioner who'd been at the trial. She had cold blue eyes and blonde hair pulled up in a clip. Close up, Katelina recognized her; she'd been at the brick house when Verchiel had kidnapped her.
Katelina drew back instinctively, though Verchiel grinned. "Something we can help you with, Griselda?"
"Malick requires the human's presence."
Katelina cringed against the wall and Verchiel asked, "Any particular reason?"
Griselda scoffed. "He said you'd ask. She's summoned to the private council chamber. They've caught the murderer."
"Have they?" Verchiel turned to Katelina. "So much for my date. Come along, I don't know about you, but I'm interested to see who's been impersonating you!"
She wasn't interested, but she had no choice. The elevator ride was short, though uncomfortable. She stared at Griselda's back and imagined planting Verchiel's sword between her shoulder blades.
She followed the Executioners through the third floor corridors to the familiar audience chamber. The large room was empty again, and she let her eyes run over the tapestries as they walked through it. Her attention settled on the decorations over the thrones; a golden eye shaped emblem and a red tapestry. Suddenly the scene woven into it made sense. A man with black bat wings and a knife attacked a naked, feather winged woman. There was a red line between her breasts where he'd cut her; Samael removing Lilith's heart.
She didn't have time to dwell on it before Griselda pressed something on the back wall. A door shaped section opened and they filed through it. The room beyond was walled in polished wood. A long table ringed with chairs took up the center and around it sat Jorick, Senya, Beldren and a Native American vampiress that Katelina had met on her first trip to the Citadel. She thought her name was Migina.
Jorick met Katelina's eyes, his expression hard. He looked back to Verchiel and then looked away. She wanted to go to him, but the redhead caught her elbow and whispered, "He's on duty."
A familiar, suffocating sensation swept over her and she stepped backwards. A door at the far end of the room opened and Malick swept through it, today in a gray suit and a purple robe, an odd combination. His long white hair gleamed down his back, and his beard was full and flowing. Behind him came the ebony skinned Obi, and a member of the Lesser Council who lugged a book.
Malick nodded to the new comers. "Very good. Take a seat."
It was a command and she obeyed without thought. Though she tried to look away, the shimmering master held all her attention as he sat at the head of the table, Obi on his right. He clapped his hands. "Bring in the prisoner!"
