Chapter 287
Without speaking, she and Kai found their room easily enough. It was a second class cabin with four narrow bunk beds and a metal cabinet with a television bolted on top. Sorino had given Kai several forms to fill out. The boy seemed perfectly familiar with them and, after he'd completed his, he helped her. There was more than she could ever imagine, including-
"How many cosmetics?"
"Cosmetics?" she echoed incredulously. "Good lord! I don't know."
"You'll have to look," Kai told her. "Medications?"
"As if I'm lucky enough to have those," she quipped as she moved to her suitcase to take inventory for the customs forms.
When the papers were done she sat back on her bed and sighed. "Now what?" Despite her early breakfast, she was hungry.
Kai handed her a pamphlet from the cupboard and pointed to the "snack bar", which looked more like a row of vending machines than anything else. With the internal map as a guide, the pair set off. The snack bar was just like the picture, and Katelina used her credit card to buy them each soda, some random snacks and soft serve ice cream cones.
Loaded with goodies, they headed back to the room. Katelina sat on her bed, licked her chocolate ice cream, and read the handy "information for travelers" booklet that detailed everything from the boarding procedure - which they'd skipped thanks to Sorino's bribes - to what to do in case of an emergency.
By five a.m. she'd read all the free literature. She lay back on the hard mattress and wondered what Jorick was doing. Were he and the others already secreted in the cargo hold? What did they mean by a shipping container, anyway? Was it roomy, or would Jorick be crammed up with five vampires he couldn't stand? Would he really be okay?
Kai was on the bunk above her, and she found him engrossed in his laptop. Though his headphones muted the sound, she could see what looked like a samurai movie on the screen. She tapped him on the shoulder and called, "Maybe we should check on them?"
Without looking away he shook his head no, so she asked, "Are you sure?" He nodded and she dropped back to the bed. It was all well and good for him. He had entertainment and it wasn't his boyfriend stuck in a cargo hold. Or was it? She didn't really know what his relationship with Sorino was. Kai was covered in masses of thick, vampire scars, after all. Who was to say those weren't the telltale signs of vampire- Sex?
The thoughts disturbed her on multiple levels, so she finished off her snack food, and announced that she felt like a walk. Kai nodded mutely and gave her a stern look that said "Don't go looking for them." He was probably right. If they were already concealed, the most she could do was cause trouble.
She took the guidebook with her and rambled in mindless circles through the ship's narrow corridors. Everything except the snack bar was closed, and there was no one on the ship but the crew. Though she didn't see them, she could hear them singing something in Russian. Too many movies left her with the impression that it was a drinking song.
The windows on the ocean side of the ship were iced over, and it reminded her how cold it would be in the cargo compartment. Sure, Jorick didn't seem to notice the temperature, but after a day or two with no blood he might.
She was occupied with thoughts of Jorick when she rounded the corner to see a familiar figure. Dark bobbed hair and a sharp, impatient voice. It was Senya!
Katelina threw herself back behind the wall and tried to get control of her pounding heart. When she could breathe again, she dared another peek. Senya stood in the corridor, her back to Katelina. She was dressed in a long black coat with the golden eye symbol emblazoned on the back. The former Executioner tapped her foot impatiently as she spoke to what looked like one of the crew. The man shook his head repeatedly and used his hands to punctuate his words.
Senya grabbed him by the front of his shirt and snarled into his face. He cried out in terror and his eyes met Katelina's. He shouted something, possibly meant for her, but the words meant nothing. Senya spun around, her eyes narrowed, and Katelina ducked away with a gasp.
She heard the man drop to the floor, discarded, and she ran. She could sense Senya behind her, closing in, and she jerked open the heavy door that led to the upper deck and skidded outside into the icy morning. Though it was after seven, the sky was still blanketed in stars and the sun was nowhere to be seen.
Katelina heard the door open and she ran down the deck and around to what must be a viewing area. There were no stairs, only benches. Desperately, she ran past them to the railing and leaned over. The ship sloped down to meet the next deck and, without thinking, she threw herself over and slid down the slick metal wall. Rivets gouged through her sweater and she landed in a painful heap at the bottom. A glance up revealed Senya, leaning out over the deck. The sneer on her face was all the motivation Katelina needed. She jerked to her feet and skated across the deck, only there were no stairs there, either.
Senya hopped over the railing and landed lithely. Katelina saw the door too late, now on the other side of the vampiress. There was no way Katelina could make it past her and get inside.
With nowhere else to go, she ran for the bow. She leaned out over the railing and prayed for a ladder of some kind. There was nothing, only a sheer drop down to the frozen sea.
"Stop!"
Katelina's body went stiff and she spun around to see Senya approaching her slowly. The leather clad woman paused, sniffed the air, then moved closer, only to repeat her actions. Katelina pressed herself backwards until she could feel the railing through her sweater.
Senya stopped, just out of reach, her hand on the knife at her belt. "Where is Jorick?"
Katelina realized that the only reason she was still alive was because Senya suspected a trap. She forced her spine straight. "He's here."
"Where?" Senya narrowed her eyes and stepped closer. "I don't see him."
Katelina's brain raced. "Stay back or you will."
A slow smile spread over Senya's lips. "I don't think so." She took a step closer and held out her arms. "Jorick! If you're here show yourself! I'm going to gut your pet like a fish!" Katelina squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that Jorick would magically appear, his hair flying behind him and his eyes burning coals of righteous fury.
Senya laughed softly. "He isn't here, is he?"
Katelina opened her eyes to see the vampiress standing only inches away. She stepped backwards, but the railing stopped her. Senya gave her a long once over and then spun Katelina to catch her in a headlock that forced her chin up and pressed the icy blade of the knife against her throat.
"Where is he then?" Delight danced in Senya's words.
Katelina swallowed and felt the sharp edge of the blade scrape her skin. "What - what do you want?"
"I'm looking for Jorick and if you're here he can't be too far behind. He's not strategic enough to use you as a decoy. So where is he?"
Katelina choked. Couldn't Senya smell him or was he too far away? Katelina didn't know what to do, so she stalled for time. "Wh-what do you want him for?"
"You're nosey, aren't you? I just want to talk to him, but I have no problem cutting you open in the meantime. You've gotten in my way more than once. I never liked Kateesha, but that bitch had a valid point; you're a pain. What do they see in you?"
"Wh-who?"
"Don't play stupid. Jorick and Verchiel of course, and whoever else you've wrapped around your finger. I seem to recall a kid at some point." She shook her head and put more pressure on the knife. "It doesn't matter. Now, where is he?"
Katelina couldn't think of anything else to say. Jorick usually came storming in to save her, but he wasn't going to this time. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth as if to answer, and then jammed her elbow back with full force.
The blow caught Senya in the ribs. The vampiress' natural reaction was to jerk, and Katelina took advantage of it to break loose and run. She slid on the ice and crashed to the deck with a cry. Senya was suddenly over her, the twin blades in her hands and a cold smile on her face. "Wasn't that cute?"
She drew back to strike and Katelina kicked her in the knee. Her leg buckled and the vampiress landed half on top of her. They wrestled, and Senya's knives skittered away on the ice. The former Executioner growled and slapped Katelina across the face so hard that little stars exploded behind her eyes. She was temporarily stunned and Senya was able to grab her wrists and pin her arms above her head.
The vampiress straddled her and snarled in her face, "This is getting tiresome. I have other things to do besides play with you."
Katelina bucked and writhed, but Senya was too strong. The vampiress snickered and reached for her discarded blade. It was too far away. With a growl she drew back her fist, and Katelina mashed her eyes shut. A random thought tore through her head; she suddenly saw Boris in his rundown room, "tell her that Boris sends his love."
"What?"
Katelina realized that her scream had turned into words. "Boris. He said-"
Senya snarled and jerked away. She stepped back and wiped her hands on her coat. "When did you see him?" Katelina pulled herself backwards on her elbows and stared with wide eyes, temporarily mute. Senya swooped down and grabbed her by the front of her sweater, pressing her face so close that Katelina could smell the blood on her breath. "Where is he?"
"A - a small house." She choked out what she could remember of the directions, and Senya threw her aside. The vampiress looked to the sky and then back to Katelina.
"Morning is coming. I don't have time for this." She spun on her heel, then jumped up to the observation deck to land on the railing, crouched like a vulture. She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed. Her black coat flapped in the wind, making her look more birdlike than ever. Then, without a word, she dropped to the deck and disappeared around the corner.
