Chapter 261
Katelina thought that it felt strange to take a shower and slip under the teddy bear sheets. After all the horror, the tiny pocket of normalcy was like stepping into a vacuum.
A dreamless sleep found her, No doubt brought about by Jorick. As she had all too often recently, she sank into it gratefully.
Jorick woke her early the next evening. She yawned and blinked at him. "What time is it?"
His words were reluctant. "Get dressed. I need your help."
"With what?" His only answer was to throw her clothes at her.
When she was dressed, he led her out of the Executioners' block. The corridors were still strewn with rubble. They stepped over it on their way to the stairs she'd taken last night. She glanced through the hole Jorge had blown in the ceiling and noted that it went up for several floors; one hole above another. She wondered if Traven had been privately working his way down, floor by floor, to Malick's chambers.
Jorick led her into the stairwell and up. Part of the wall was missing on the fifth floor and debris littered the stairs. They picked their way through it and finally exited on the sixth floor.
The destruction left Katelina speechless.
Rubble was heaped in the carpeted corridor. Electrical wires hung from ruined walls like dead spider legs. Whole sections were charred and black, as Aine had been. Few of the lights were working, and holes in the ceiling revealed pale swaths of twilight sky. The sun wasn't gone yet.
Jorick hurried under the gaping holes, an arm up to shade his eyes. Katelina followed quickly, a hundred questions on the tip of her tongue.
The front of the restaurant was blown out. Jorick signaled to her to stop, and ducked inside. She squinted into the gloom and imagined she could see slumped bodies inside. She thought of the waitresses and the young man who'd brought her dinners. Were they in there, dead and waiting to be noticed?
Jorick returned, his coat in a ball under his arm. He took her hand and said quietly, "There hasn't been time to do a thorough clean up. I imagine there are many dead yet uncounted."
They turned down several hallways, away from the public areas, and stopped in front of a battered door that was labeled "Supplies."
She frowned. "What's in there?"
Jorick rattled the door. It was locked. He handed his coat to Katelina, then looked quickly left and right. Unobserved, he kicked the door. The wood splintered. A second kick knocked it in, hinges and all.
He stepped over the remnants of the door and motioned her to follow. Inside was a large, shadowy closet. She could just make out shelves of shattered light bulbs and several overturned buckets.
Jorick walked all the way to the back and moved several crates. He retrieved a bulky, plastic wrapped bundle that he heaved into the center of the floor. He motioned Katelina to him, and hurriedly ripped through the plastic.
Katelina knelt on the floor next to him and watched with confused eyes. The plastic peeled away to reveal a shrunken, withered face. In the dark she couldn't be sure who it was, but she could guess.
Oren.
Jorick freed his head and cradled it with a hand. "In my coat," he said quickly, reaching to her. "Hurry."
She unrolled the coat to find several bags of blood. As Verchiel had hinted, they looked disturbingly like bags from a blood collection center. The plastic was slippery, but Jorick caught it before she dropped it.
He ripped it open with his teeth and tipped the bag into Oren's slack mouth. His amber eyes opened and rolled in his head, like Thomas's had. Katelina moved back, cringing. Dark blood leaked from the corners of Oren's mouth and ran down his chin, the trails like black ink in the gloom. She watched, too horrified to look away. His throat worked, swallowing the first mouthful. Then another. And another.
The bag emptied and Jorick motioned for a second. Katelina handed it to him and he tore it open and poured it carefully into Oren's wanting lips. As the blood pulsed through him she could see his skin change. His strength started to return, and by the end of the second bag he coughed and tried to raise his hands.
Jorick tore at the plastic restraining Oren and helped him out of it. The lion-maned vampire looked terrible. His clothes were torn and crusted with old blood, and what remained of a jagged gash was visible in his side. His limbs were still waifish and his skin, though less transparent, was still papery.
Jorick took another bag of blood, opened it, and helped Oren to drink it. When it was empty, Oren licked his lips and looked around.
"Where am I?"
"Hidden," Jorick answered. "We don't have much time. The sun will be down soon. We need to be in the garage before that happens."
"The garage?" Oren repeated. He lifted an uncertain hand to his head. "What happened? The battle?"
"You lost."
Oren looked up sharply. "The others?"
"They were taken into custody. They're to be released tonight."
Worry flashed through Oren's eyes. "My sister?"
"Is fine. I'm afraid you lost a brother-in-law."
It took Oren a moment to answer, "I'm not sure he was a loss."
"I thought you'd feel that way." Jorick snagged another bag and shoved it at his fledgling. "Drink."
Oren did as instructed. When he finished it he asked, "How did I get here." Something flickered over his face and his eyes narrowed. "You."
Jorick shoved a fifth bag at him and unrepentantly listed his crimes, "Yes. During the battle."
Oren rubbed his head. "I remember. You were flanked by guards."
Jorick frowned. "Yes, unfortunately I had to deal with them. I couldn't have them interfering." He glanced at Katelina, as if seeking forgiveness, then looked back to his fledgling. "You were already wounded. It was simple enough to cut it deeper, drain your blood and hide you here."
"Where is here?"
"In the Citadel."
Oren choked. "Do you have any idea what will happen if-"
"Yes. That's why you need to hurry. I've been assigned to retrieve Zuri. I intend to sneak you out with me. If we go before the sun has set, the guards on duty are human. They're easy to confuse."
Oren's hand clenched into an impassioned fist. "Who says that I want to sneak out? Who gave you the right to decide my fate?"
The slap echoed through the closet. Oren's head snapped to one side, and when he looked back his eyes were wide.
"Enough!" Jorick snapped. "You've had your fight. It's done! You're my fledgling and I will carry you out of here if necessary, do you understand? Jesslynn is dead, your children are dead, but your sister is alive. If you don't want to live for yourself then live for her. The time has come for you to pick yourself up from the ashes and start over. You have wallowed enough! Mourn Jesslynn, miss her, long for her even, but do not waste both my time and Torina's by following her to the grave. Remember what you have left and be grateful for it!"
Oren drained the rest of the blood in silence. Jorick glared at him and Katelina sat back on her haunches, two cold bags of blood clutched in her hands.
Oren cast the bag aside and Jorick helped him to his feet. He stretched, now looking fully restored and surveyed Katelina for the first time. She expected a sarcastic remark, but he only nodded at her then turned to Jorick. "Now what?"
"We get out of here."
Jorick shoved the empty bags into Katelina's arms, then he shook his coat out and slipped it over Oren's shoulders. He smoothed his hair back and, at a glance, he might have passed for Beldren.
Katelina and Oren followed Jorick through the ruined corridors to what was left of the reception room. They hurried through the door and down the hallway to the guard's station. The wooden door was intact, and Jorick knocked. A square slid aside and a single, horrified eye peered through.
The door opened quickly and a human with thick scars scampered to get out of the way. "You're awake early, sir."
"Guild business!" Jorick barked and flashed his medallion. The guard stared, and then suddenly went slack. Jorick took his shoulder and steered him to the bench. When he was safely seated, he turned to Katelina.
"He will only remember that you and I came through here. We went to the garage, where we parted, and I took the redheaded idiot's car and left, alone."
She nodded along, her brow creased with worry. "How long will you be gone?"
"Zuri isn't far. They moved to a closer temporary den right before the attack. I should be back before sunrise." He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her neck. "Go back to the restaurant and dispose of the empty bags, then go to our rooms and stay there. If the moron approaches you, turn him away. Malick is gone. We don't need to play his games, anymore."
He released her. "I'll be back." With a final look, he grabbed Oren's arm and pulled him through the door and into the corridor that led to the garage.
