Chapter 282
All eyes moved to Jorick and Katelina asked again, "Is the Heart of the Raven real And the-legend?"
Jorick tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. "Let's just say that Malick had a shriveled heart he believed to be the Heart of the Raven."
"How did Malick get something like that?" Neil asked.
Sadihra made a soft noise in her throat. "More importantly, how did he lose it and why did he come after you?"
Katelina remembered the accusations others had thrown at Jorick and her angry gaze moved to him. He dismissed her fury with a shrug. "Contrary to popular belief, I didn't take the Heart when I left the Executioners. Some time before that, the original owners had all but pinpointed its whereabouts, so Malick gave it to me for safe keeping."
"When you say original owners-" Neil swallowed hard. "You don't mean Lilith's husband?"
"No, of course not. Regardless, when I left The Guild I was- angry, so in an act of defiance I sent the Heart to someone whose existence I thought was a secret." He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath through his nose. "Obviously I was wrong."
Katelina stared at him in disbelief. "You lied to me! Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
A cold smile flickered over his lips and died. "The less you knew, the better." His eyes snapped to their companions. "That goes for the rest of you. If Malick hadn't already discovered the truth, I wouldn't tell you this much."
Verchiel rubbed his chin. "Where is it then? It's not in Russia or you wouldn't be willing to take us there. That's only a decoy stop where you plan to ditch us."
Jorick sat silent and Katelina jabbed him in the ribs. It was one thing to lie to the rest of them, but, dammit, he should have told her the truth! "Where is it, Jorick?"
He growled in his throat, his eyes on Verchiel. "It's in Japan, but Katelina and I are going alone."
"I thought we settled that, already?" The redhead offered him a pleasant smile. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry. I don't suppose they stocked the mini fridge when they fueled up the plane today?"
When no one answered, he wandered away, followed by Cyprus and Sadihra. Neil pretended not to exist, so Katelina turned to Jorick. Before she could start her tirade, he said, "It's been two hundred years since Malick was interested in the Heart. I didn't think it would be an issue."
"You still should have told me."
"So someone could pluck it from your mind?"
"You didn't have a problem letting me know about Oren."
He shrugged. "Consider it a test of sorts." Her eyes bulged with outrage and he added quickly, "Not a test of you, but rather to see how much of your mind you can block when you really try. More of an ability test."
"Yeah. A test. Fantastic." She unfastened her belt and jerked to her feet. "And just how did I do?"
"Better than I expected." He detected her sarcasm a moment too late. "Katelina-"
"Save it. I'm going to go see if the mini fridge stocks vodka."
She strode away before he could say anything else, and found the other vampires behind the half wall partition in a little kitchenette. Verchiel sat on a polished countertop with a small bottle of crimson in his hand. The other two stood next to the mini fridge, disagreement on their faces.
Katelina ignored their bad mood; she was in the middle of her own. "I don't suppose there's any alcohol in there?"
Sadihra shook her head. "Sorry, just blood and soda."
"Great." Katelina jerked the fridge open and pulled out a shiny green can. She popped the top noisily and chugged it, pretending it was something stronger.
Cyprus muttered an excuse, then disappeared towards the other end of the plane. Sadihra followed a moment later and Katelina glared after them. "She's up to something."
"Maybe," Verchiel sipped from his bottle. "Or maybe she just wants to get back at that Wolfe guy."
Katelina wavered between anger and curiosity, but the former won out. "He probably deserves it."
Verchiel drained the last of his drink, then smacked his lips noisily. "He was kind of a chauvinistic macho-good-ol'-boy." He cocked his head to one side. "But this isn't over him. You're pretty mad at grumpy boots, huh?"
"If you mean Jorick, then yes. He could have told me that he had the damned thing. Instead, I find out at the same time you do!" She slammed the empty can into the counter and it crumpled like an accordion.
"You have to see his point. No one expected Malick to go rogue and suddenly want the thing." Verchiel turned thoughtful. "I wonder what he wants it for? Obviously it's not just to complete his collection."
"I thought whoever drank from it got super powers or some crap."
"Nah. Once you're turned, you're turned. You can't take a booster shot of blood from someone else and get new abilities. Ah well. Who can tell with him?"
She tossed the crushed can in the trash and leaned against the wall. "None of you make any sense."
"I do!" He batted his eyes and slid down from his perch. "I know Jorick isn't as wonderful as I am, but you should probably cut him some slack. You know he goes for all the protecting-everyone-weaker-than-he-is stuff." He leaned closer and she pulled back. "Or you could hang out with me all night and make him mad. Either or."
"Thanks, but no thanks. You're number two on my shit list right now."
His crayon colored eyebrows shot up. "So you hate me more than Malick?"
"No."
"And Senya? And her lackeys? And Ark? And what about that bald friend of yours with the tattoos?"
"Micah is not my friend! What's your point?"
"My point is that I must be a lot lower on the list than number two. Say, number one hundred and twenty-two, maybe? And if you look at it like that, then I'm not such bad company."
She rolled her eyes and threw back his words from the earlier plane trip, "You tell yourself that if it makes you feel better."
His laughter followed her all the way to her seat.
