Chapter 264
The Executioners handed papers back and forth and Katelina tried to occupy her mind. She noted with surprise that the bulky vampire Zuri sat among them. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been a prisoner and his severed arms had been stored in a metal box of blood. Though apparently reattached, she envisioned them dropping off at any moment.
Eileifr cleared his throat loudly and addressed the Executioners, "Please mark your top choices and hand them to me."
Top choices for what? She wondered.
Eileifr looked through the papers and nodded with satisfaction. "The new Executioners have been chosen. Candidates, please stand."
As one, the black clad guards climbed to their feet, eyes riveted to the ancient master.
"Will the following candidates please come to the dais? Cyprus, Fallon, and Lisiantha. The rest of you may go. Thank you for your interest. Should another replacement be required, you will be notified."
A low murmur went up from the guards as all but three filed out. Those who remained approached the dais as instructed. Katelina easily guessed that the brunette female was Lisiantha, but it was only Eileifr's greeting that confirmed the identities of the males. Fallon had thick blond hair that curled just to his shoulders, while Cyprus' long reddish-brown hair fell midway down his back.
Eileifr spoke to them about the importance and dignity involved in being an Executioner. Katelina had to bite her tongue to keep from chortling. Dignity was not something she associated with the vampires' police. Cruelty, excessive force and haughty superiority, sure, but not dignity.
When he finished, Ark, the head Executioner, welcomed them and gave a speech about loyalty and the need to obey orders. That was more like the Executioners Katelina knew. Though Ark was good looking; long chestnut hair, emerald eyes and a face made for an elf, he was one of the haughtiest.
She met Jorick's eyes and silently asked if they could go. Jorick glanced to Eileifr, then back, and shrugged. Had Malick still been in control, he'd have answered not only Jorick's silent inquiry, but her own. A powerful mind reader, she was pretty sure the master had known what everyone in the complex was thinking. Eileifr, though ancient, didn't have that particular power.
Still, he seemed to guess what Jorick wanted and made a gesture of dismissal. Katelina was already on her feet before Jorick reached her. She wasn't sure who dragged who into the corridor and to the elevator.
They exited on the sixth floor. The damage to the walls and ceilings had been repaired with plaster patches. She wished they'd spend some time on the restaurant.
Jorick led her towards the reception room. "You didn't bring your coat."
There were so many electric lights and environmental controls in the underground Citadel that she forgot that above them, in the real world, it was January. "I'll go get it."
"No." He peeled off his long black coat, part of the Executioner uniform, and slipped it over her. "That should do."
The coat was too big and she felt like a child wearing Daddy's clothes. With a grin, Jorick pushed up one of the sleeves to catch her hand. He brushed his lips over her knuckles and squeezed her fingers gently. "You look fine."
They ducked into the reception room and took a set of stairs up until they reached a space age metal door. Jorick pushed the red button and they stepped through the swishing door to Midwest chaos. The Guild's Citadel was hidden under a grain elevator complex in Iowa. The main entrance went through what looked like the office; complete with a back room full of seeds and binders, and a front area with an old coffee pot, a bulletin board of announcements and, sitting behind the counter, nose in a newspaper, what looked like a perma-tanned farmer. The yellow dog in the corner was almost too much.
The farmer nodded as they walked past. Katelina tried not to stare as he spit tobacco in a cup, revealing a flash of fangs.
Outside, Katelina huddled into the coat. Gravel crunched beneath her feet and the dark sky spread above her, stars wheeling into eternity. Like the office, the complex was perfectly rural; a giant elevator, an assortment of grain bins, a corrugated metal machine shed and a scattering of other buildings. There was even a rusty piece of farm equipment. No one would guess that underneath it was perhaps hundreds of vampires.
The wind shifted and a familiar, smoky scent wafted past; half cooking meat and half burning hair. Katelina covered her mouth and tried not to gag. "What in the hell?"
"I forgot. They're still disposing of the bodies from the battle. We'll go back."
The breeze died, and with it so did the smell. "No, it's all right. We'll just walk the other way." She offered him a smile. "At least they aren't making you do it." He didn't answer, and she added, "They're not going to let you out of being an Executioner, are they?"
Jorick stopped walking and turned to face her. "No, little one. Someone must go to Munich to testify to the True Council about what happened."
Her heart sank. "Why?"
"The True Council will not accept testimony from anyone less than an Executioner. Since Malick is my master I have certain insights that others lack." His tone held no emotion, but something dark shifted in his eyes. She understood. For Jorick, Malick was a complex subject wrapped in layers of conflicting emotions. Hate, love, anger, and regret warred with one another for the dominant spot.
She squeezed Jorick's hand tightly. "What will I do? I don't want to stay here by myself."
Sarcasm crept into his voice, "Not even with your friend?"
She flinched at his tone. "Verchiel isn't my friend. I haven't spoken to him since the attack. You know that."
Jorick made a low noise in his throat and looked away. "I told Eileifr that I'd prefer you accompany me."
"And what did Eileifr say?"
The hint of a smile haunted Jorick's lips. "It's not uncommon for an Executioner to ask for a servant to attend them."
She smacked him on the shoulder and cried, "I'm not your servant!"
"That depends on how you look at it." He gave her a wink and then looked serious. "Regardless, I'm allowed to take someone, and you've already been approved as suitable. It's only a matter of waiting to go."
Waiting. That was something vampires were good at. When one had eternity, what were a few days? But to Katelina, each day was another x on the calendar, another handful of lost hours she couldn't get back.
Jorick's tone turned teasing as he answered her silent thoughts, "We could remedy that."
She looked to him sharply. "I thought you wanted to keep me human."
"I never said one way or the other. I don't have a preference. I'll admit, there are certain conveniences to your being human; you can drive in the sunlight, for instance, but at the same time so many things can kill you. And I worry that someone else might change you."
His dark eyes glittered dangerously and she sighed. "You're just paranoid. No one's going to make me into a vampire, except you. Someday. I guess." He laughed softly at her hesitation and she scowled. "I'm glad you find my commitment issues amusing."
"I do."
Something about those words, uttered so close to the word "commitment", made her uncomfortable.
Jorick suddenly stiffened and his face twisted into a scowl. He snapped around, eyes on the small white office building. Katelina started to ask what it was, but then the door opened and Verchiel waltzed out into the night.
She slunk behind Jorick, her forehead puckered with irritation. Oblivious, the red haired vampire called, "Hello there! Just the pair I was looking for!" He came to a stop before them. "And how are you?"
Jorick's scowl grew darker. "What do you want?"
Verchiel batted his eyes innocently. "Read my mind and tell me. Oops. I forgot, you can't." Jorick growled and Verchiel dodged away and then back so fast that he barely seemed to have moved at all. "I'm only teasing. I have some paperwork for you to fill out."
He pulled the sheaf from his coat and Jorick jerked it from his hands. "Fine. Now go away."
"Don't you want to know what it is?"
"I'll read it myself! You may go now."
Jorick turned away and tugged Katelina after him, but Verchiel wasn't finished. "It's about that trip to Munich, so they can issue little Kately a passport."
She stopped in her tracks and snapped back, "Quit calling me that! It's not my name!"
Verchiel's innocence doubled. "You didn't yell at your mother when she used it."
"You're not my mother. Now go away."
Katelina and Jorick took a few more steps when Verchiel called out, "Awww, come on. That's no way to treat your traveling companion."
Jorick's face froze in a mask of disbelief and horror. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Verchiel was suddenly in front of them. It was only the woosh of air that said he hadn't materialized there. "It means we're going to Munich together! Won't that be exciting? It's been a long time since I was overseas."
Jorick grabbed Verchiel by the front of his coat. "Why would they send you?"
"Why not?" Shorter than Jorick by five inches or more, the red haired vampire stared right back, a cheesy grin plastered across his face. "Maybe Eileifr thought I needed a vacation?"
Jorick practically threw him aside and stormed towards the office, Katelina on his heels. "We'll see about this!"
"Good luck!" Verchiel called after them.
His words only seemed to infuriate Jorick more.
