Chapter 284
The hotel lobby was sprinkled with chairs, plants, and a few pieces of modern art; sleek lines and clunky furniture. Sorino led Verchiel and Katelina to the desk where a young woman sat, her chin resting in her hand. The tall, thin vampire rattled off something in Russian, and the woman shrugged and turned to a computer to start the check in process.
The adjoining room had a coffee pot and a vending machine. Katelina poured herself a cup of coffee and then made her way to one of the chairs in the lobby. The warm cup felt good in her hands, and the blood slowly returned to her frozen fingers.
She watched as Verchiel flashed his fake IDs, then tried to pay in cash. Though he was rejected for having the wrong currency, the young woman accepted his credit card and he was soon in possession of three key cards.
He handed one to Katelina, and then took the chair next to her. "We should wait for the others before we run off to our room and spend the night making-"
"Death threats?" Katelina asked coldly. "Because that's all you're getting from me."
Sorino gave a humorless laugh and sat on a chair across from them. Kai did the same.
"How did the trial go?" Verchiel asked conversationally. "Did you have to testify?"
Sorino blinked, and then comprehension dawned on his face. "The whisperer. Yes, but thankfully it was done quickly. He received six months punishment and has to pay for damages."
Katelina thought of the emerald eyed vampire and shuddered.
"He's lucky Jorick wasn't there or he'd have pushed for death under the old property laws." Verchiel kicked a foot up on the coffee table, but dropped it at a glare from the woman at the counter. "So what brings you to this neck of the woods?"
Sorino set aside his fur hat and calmly regarded the redhead. "The same thing that brings you here. We're after the Heart."
Katelina bit back a gasp. How could he know what they were doing?
"The box tipped me off," Sorino said quietly. Katelina narrowed her eyes at him. Was he a mind reader like Jorick and Verchiel? She thought of the incident at The Guild and the way he'd broken into the whisperer's mental conversation. Obviously Sorino wasn't just a mind reader, but a whisperer as well.
"What box?" Verchiel asked.
"When I returned the human to Jorick, after the- incident, he was in Malick's chambers. The only item the old master left was an empty glass display box with a scrap of paper inside." He paused, as if waiting for a reaction. When none came, he added, "The paper had five words on it: 'Jorick, I will find it'. With the rumors that Jorick stole and hid the Heart, it wasn't hard to figure out the meaning. I admit, I was on another errand and had just landed in Romania when I heard that Malick had left Africa and sent at least one of his lackeys to Japan. If Malick was interested in the heart, and Japan, obviously he must believe it to be in Japan, and not Africa. Naturally I decided to take a detour and visit the land of the rising sun myself. My other errand will keep."
Katelina wanted to know what his other errand was, but Verchiel asked, "How are you planning to get to Japan?"
"With the aid of a ferry and some well-placed bribes." For the first time, his smile seemed genuine. "I've always been fond of Russia, in all her incarnations. You can get anything you want here, provided you're willing to bribe all the right people."
Verchiel gave an appreciative chuckle. "When does this ferry leave?"
"Why are you asking? Are you planning to prevent me from going, or are you hoping to follow?"
"Neither, actually." The redhead's grin grew. "I thought we could all go together!"
Katelina choked on her coffee. "What?"
"Why not?" Verchiel asked. "We're going to the same place."
She had a list of reasons but, when Jorick strode through the door, his face a mask of fury, she put them aside.
Without a word, he marched to the chair, grabbed Verchiel by the front of his shirt, growled into his face and then dropped him. His angry eyes moved to Sorino, and then to Katelina.
Cyprus and Sadihra strolled through the door. Neil bustled behind them, carrying the pile of luggage. He dropped it between the chairs and withered under Jorick's furious gaze.
In an attempt to mollify the dark vampire, Katelina held up the keycard. "We have rooms."
"And a boat," Verchiel added.
Jorick grabbed the suitcases and spoke through clenched teeth, "We'll discuss that once I've seen to Katelina."
"Oh, she's fine," Verchiel said cheerfully. "I've already checked and all her bits are right where they go."
Jorick gave a warning growl and Katelina had a sudden vision of him ripping the redhead apart in the lobby. The aftermath involved police cars, flashing lights and disaster.
"You can kill him later." She climbed quickly to her feet and caught Jorick's arm. "Come on, I'm dying for a shower."
He resisted a moment longer, and then relented. She dragged him up the stairs, then let him take the lead. He had the key, after all.
Instead of the standard sterile off white, the room was painted a warm cinnamon. There were two single beds on opposite sides of the room, a TV and a bizarrely shaped doorway that opened into a seating area, complete with a window. Thanks to the bizarre arrangement, the bed nearest the bathroom was tucked behind the wall and would be safe for Jorick when the sun rose.
Despite that, Katelina's shoulders sagged, "No double bed?"
"Obviously not." He dropped the suitcases. "It was you and your friend who arranged for the rooms."
She didn't want to split hairs, but- "Actually, it was Sorino. Verchiel just paid."
"How nice of him." Jorick's tone was as frosty as the wind that whipped around the building and Katelina sighed.
"There's no point being mad. It wasn't my idea, but he's right, it did solve a lot of problems."
Jorick spun to face her. "If you wanted to be carried, you should have said something! I'd have done it!"
"But I didn't," she insisted. "I hate being carried like baggage. I'm just saying that, even though it wasn't the optimal way, it worked out, so there's no point in going on about it."
Jorick growled and stormed into the bathroom. He reappeared a moment later and announced, "I don't like him."
It was so obvious that it caught Katelina off guard. "Well, I don't like him either."
"You have a funny way of showing it."
She wasn't sure what she'd done to give him that impression, except maybe speak in a semi-civil manner to the redhead. "Do you want me to stop talking to him? Is that it?"
"Yes!" Jorick broke off. "Maybe. I don't know." He ran a distracted hand through his hair. "I don't trust him."
"Who does?" She pulled clean clothes from the suitcase and grabbed her purse. "I'm going to take a hot shower."
Only the rose tiled bathroom didn't have a shower, just a curvy corner bathtub. What had been a novelty in Munich was now a disappointment. Five minutes later, she decided that maybe it was better. The hot soak warmed her faster than a shower would have.
When her bath was finished, she found Jorick in the seating area with a pile of free travel pamphlets. She took the other chair and filled him in on Sorino's suspicious presence and Verchiel's harebrained offer. Jorick's outrage melted into thoughtfulness. "At least he can do something right."
"Did you hear what I said? He wants us to travel with Sorino!"
"Yes, I'm not deaf." He caught her hand and softened. "Sorino travels with a human, correct?" She nodded and he continued. "The Guild prepared us for a trip to Germany. We don't have the proper documents to get into Japan and, coupled with being vampires, we'll have to travel in the cargo compartment. In January that would be uncomfortable for you, if not detrimental to your health. I have no love for Sorino, but if his human is traveling on the boat, he will have a room, and the right paperwork. His trip was decided in no more than two days, so he must know someone who can forge the papers quickly. We have no connections here, but Sorino does. We can exploit them." He smiled. "And Sorino's human will give you someone to talk to on the boat."
"But isn't it convenient that he's taking a boat that he can magically fit us all on and not an airplane?"
Jorick waved it away. "Not really. We're not taking an airplane. One has to have permissions to land them and unless you travel through normal vampire channels the flights are in the daytime. I could Mesmer the pilots, perhaps, but landing-" He shook his head. "A boat is a logical choice, not to mention an old favorite of most vampires."
She pressed, "Don't you think it's strange that he's here? Why didn't he leave straight from Romania to Japan?"
"If he planned to take a boat, this is the closest European port, plus he seems to have friends here."
"I guess. Speaking of friends, who do you know in Japan that you'd trust to keep something like the Heart? And why don't we just call them?"
Jorick cleared his throat noisily. "Because I'm still hoping to lose the rest of them before we make contact. As to their identity, you'll know soon enough. Before you object, I'm not withholding it from you out of some sinister motive, but to keep the redheaded idiot or Sorino from reading it in your thoughts. What good will scraping them off do if they know where we're going? Once they're gone, I'll tell you what you want to know."
She doubted he really would, after all she still hadn't gotten the tropical vacation he'd promised, but there was no point in arguing. She couldn't make him talk - At least not now. Once we get rid of them it's going to be a different story.
Jorick glanced to a round clock on the wall. "You're probably hungry. It's after midnight, so we'd better hurry if we want to find anything open."
