Chapter 268
"You should run."
The words echoed in Katelina's mind. She looked up sharply, but no one met her eyes or took credit for the implanted thought. She could only assume it was Sorino, and he was right. She should run. If only her legs would work.
The angry vampire spun around and swung at Sorino. Again, he deftly dodged the blow. He skillfully maneuvered away from a third and a fourth, his hands behind his back and his face placid.
Unnoticed by the fighters, Kai moved down the corridor, his back to the wall, until he stood next to Katelina. She made a soft, strangled noise, meant to be a question, though even she wasn't sure what she was asking him.
The vampire in the green coat growled, his lips pulled back from his snapping fangs. He lunged for Sorino again. The slender vampire dodged and, at the last second, the attacker threw a punch with his left. Though it only grazed Sorino, the contact was enough.
Sorino's calm demeanor was instantly replaced by outrage. The green coated vampire swung again and, in a move almost too fast to see, Sorino jumped to the right, planted his feet half way up the wall and, like some kind of preternatural cat, used it as a springboard. Katelina had a nanosecond view as he glided through the air, his face twisted and inhuman, and his arms stretched before him, claw like hands ready to strike. He landed on his opponent in a flying tackle that took them both to the ground at her feet. The green coated vampire tried to throw Sorino from his back, but he couldn't get the leverage. Sorino pulled himself up so that he straddled his opponent, then grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the floor with a loud crunch. Something warm and wet splattered the walls, the floor, and the pair of observers.
Sorino stood and brushed his hands off on his trousers, disdain in his eyes. A nearby door opened and a vampire leaned his head out, surveyed the scene, and disappeared without a word.
That's when Katelina looked down. A thick crimson puddle spread from around the prostrate vampire's crushed skull. With the angle of his head, she could see one bloody green eye bulging from its socket, and part of his jaw shoved to the side, teeth sticking through his cheek.
She gagged and looked down at herself to notice the flecks of blood and gore splattered on her clothes and her hands.
That was when she screamed.
Sorino's lip curled with distaste and he motioned to Kai, as if telling him to make her stop. The young man moved in front of her, blocking the view, and shook her gently. The scream died in her throat and she blinked back at him.
"You're all right," he said softly.
Though it was a statement, she took it for a question and words tumbled from her mouth. She'd been shopping and then- and then she remembered the vampire in the green coat. She remembered him telling her to come to his room and then- she'd obviously gone. Of course, like Jorick he must be a whisperer -"or was," she amended hysterically.
"He's still very much alive." Sorino sniffed. "I only fractured his skull; I didn't tear out his heart."
Footsteps sounded in the hallway and someone called, "What's going on?"
Katelina looked to see four lesser guards, clad in gray with weapons drawn, dashing towards them.
Sorino stepped away from the downed vampire. "You're late, as usual. One would think you'd monitor the corridors better."
The guards pulled to a stop and one bent to examine the bleeding vampire, while another turned to Sorino. "Look buddy, between all the repairs, the extra security and our regular duties, we're overworked and understaffed. You got a problem, take it up with our superiors. In the meantime, we're going to need some statements."
He pulled a walkie-talkie from his coat. Like something from COPS: Vampire Edition, he gave a quick report and asked for someone to bring the paperwork.
The other three guards scraped the defeated vampire off the carpet. As they hefted his bulk, Katelina had a good view of his ruined face. Like his jaw, his nose was jammed to one side. Luckily, thick dark blood covered most of his injuries and turned his face and the side of his head into a mass of red gelatin.
It still made her sick.
Kai resumed his position next to her and patted her gently on the arm, as if to say everything was okay. Only, it wasn't. Maybe she should be used to this by now, but did anyone ever really get used to it, or did they just pretend?
Two new guards with clipboards arrived. In keeping with their superior attitudes, they spoke only to Sorino. "I don't know who he is," the vampire answered. "Nor do I know how he came to be in possession of Jorick's human."
"Jorick?" The guard squinted at Katelina. "Oh dear. If she isn't your human, you can't sign the official theft complaint."
Theft? As if she was a car stereo!
"That's no concern of mine," Sorino said. "However, I do wish to file assault charges."
He detailed the fight to the guard and then signed the paper with a flourish. The guard glanced towards Katelina, but still didn't speak to her. "Do you know where her master is?"
Katelina had had enough. She wasn't an inanimate object and she was capable of speaking for herself! "He's with Eileifr, trying to break into Malick's chambers."
Interest flared in Sorino's eyes. "As you're understaffed, I'd be happy to escort the human to her master and alert him of the situation."
The guard hesitated. "He'll need to fill out paperwork."
"I'll tell him to stop by the guards' office, shall I?"
The guard looked at his watch and then to the congealing puddle on the carpeted floor. "You know him, right? You're- friends?"
Sorino's smile did little to convince Katelina. "We've known one another a long time."
"Fine." The guard flipped through the papers on his clipboard and hurriedly filled another one out. "This says we've handed her over to you and that you take responsibility for returning her to her master. Sign here."
Sorino signed his name and pocketed the pen. "Anything else?"
The guard looked like he might comment, but apparently changed his mind. "Someone will have to let you in to the detention level." He waved the nearest guard over. "Take them to the detention level and then get a cleanup team to deal with this." He motioned to the mess. "I'll keep the lookee-loos back."
The guard nodded stiffly. Sorino signaled to Kai and Katelina to come with him. The thought of seeing Jorick cheered her and she carefully stepped around the puddle of congealing gore. The guard pushed a crowd of gawkers out of the way and she scrambled to follow before they closed in on her.
