Chapter 296
The last leg of their trip wound through the mountains, and it was three a.m. when they stopped before a gate. Hikaru hurried to open the door for them. Maeko led them inside and up a path to a long, single story house that looked like it had fallen out of a period Japanese movie. A misty fog gave the cold, dark countryside an eerie air that was complemented by the loud, echoing clink of what turned out to be a bamboo fountain.
Lights shone in a few of the windows, and Maeko stopped before a set of broad sliding doors and bowed low. "Welcome to our sanctuary."
The door slid open to reveal the cheerful face of a teen boy. His hair was short and dark and even Katelina could tell that he was still human. He introduced himself as Ryuu and welcomed them again. By the time Katelina finally got inside the entryway and slipped off her shoes, she felt more than welcomed.
Verchiel pulled on a pair of slippers and glanced around. "Is this where you hid the Heart?"
"No. Not here." Jorick didn't meet Katelina's eyes and she had a sudden realization. The question they should have asked was not where he'd hidden it, but with whom. And the answer was Maeko. He'd given what was supposed to be the most powerful vampire relic to a girl who looked no more than fourteen.
Maeko led them down a well-polished hallway to a room whose only furniture was a pair of low tables against the wall and several cushions. She asked them to "make themselves comfortable," then hurried to greet the other carload.
What looked like a small, square pit was near a sliding door, and Katelina wandered towards it before Jorick tugged her to a cushion. He folded his legs with the usual grace, and she managed to sit without embarrassing herself, which was something.
Sorino waltzed into the room as though he owned the place, Kai trailing behind him, once again on his chain. Katelina looked away in disgust as they neatly took their seats. Sadihra followed, slightly less graceful at sitting on the cushion, and Neil looked around longingly, as if hoping a chair would materialize.
Maeko appeared for a moment to check on them, and then announced that the "rest of the guests" had arrived, before she disappeared. Katelina watched as Neil counted silently on his fingers, undoubtedly trying to figure out who the newcomers could be. Her shoulders tensed as she heard them removing their shoes, and then walking down the corridor. There was no way that this could work out well.
Oren appeared in the doorway and locked eyes with Verchiel. His lips drew back in a snarl and his hands became ready fists at his sides.
Jorick motioned him to relax. "Leave it for now."
Oren walked inside slowly, his sister right behind him. They took their seats, and Torina struggled with her hemline. Micah and Loren were the last through the door, and both only had eyes for Torina's exposed thighs.
Verchiel gave the vampiress an appreciative wink and then turned to Oren. "Taking a vacation after all the trouble you caused?"
Oren's eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't recall causing 'trouble'."
Verchiel snorted. "What do you call that little incident at the Citadel?"
"It was war!" Oren cried and slammed his emphatic fist into the padded floor.
At his words, Cyprus suddenly stiffened and comprehension dawned on his face. "You're Jorick's missing fledgling!"
"Yes he is," Jorick answered with annoyance. "But that doesn't matter right now."
The Executioner rounded on him. "Of course it does! He's wanted for questioning concerning the attack that he led!"
"The offenders have already been dealt with," Jorick said. "They executed the self-described leaders of the covens and released the others."
"But your fledgling was the real leader," Cyprus insisted. "The vampire they executed in his place-"
"Is dead just the same," Jorick finished. "Punishment has been given, an example has been made, it's finished."
Cyprus drew himself up. "We have our orders."
Verchiel grinned. "And if you know what's good for you you'll disregard them, unless you want Jorick to turn your head into a lamp."
Jorick's scowl said he didn't need the help. "The important thing is that Malick will be here soon. I'm surprised that he didn't beat us. I think it's best if we split up."
Sorino gave a cold smile. "Kai and I will remain with you. That was the deal."
"And Eileifr said you'd need me," quipped Verchiel.
"If Wolfe's following you, then I go with you as well," Sadihra cut in. "I look forward to a chance at him!"
"I don't give a damn what we do!" Micah said. "And I doubt Loren does, either."
"Actually," the teen began. "I was kind of thinking we'd go with Jorick."
Neil shifted and muttered, "I'd be happy to just go home."
Maeko and Ryuu interrupted with a tray loaded with glasses of crimson. "Ryuu-kun will make some food for Kate-chan and Kai-san."
After Maeko left, Oren demanded to know what was going on, so Jorick related a truncated version of their adventure. Oren looked more and more sour with each word. Jorick wrapped up with their adventure at the port.
"It was simple enough to make the employees read a false weight for the shipping container, though with all the computerization it's probably logged somewhere. Machines make things difficult." He scowled then continued. "After they'd stored us in the warehouse, Sorino's human was kind enough to unlock the doors and inform us that Katelina had been captured." His dark eyes shifted towards the impassive boy.
"We know your opinion," Sorino drawled. "However my orders are more important than your wishes, and Kai did as he was told."
Jorick scoffed. "We could have gotten out of the container without his help. Katelina-"
"Is fine," Sorino said.
Katelina got the impression that they'd had the argument before. Jorick muttered something dark, then continued. "The sun was still up, so we had to wait. Once it went down, we were delayed by several security guards and when we arrived at the terminal it was crawling with police officers and Japanese Executioners."
"Whom I told you we didn't need to kill," Verchiel said smugly. "Though if one more person calls me Wurtz-san I may choke. And how you thought you could pass for a MacIntyre- You don't look the least bit Scottish!"
Jorick's scowl darkened. "And we'd have been out of there faster had we killed them. Regardless, we eventually ran into Maeko's friend, who took us to the apartment, and you know the rest from there."
Oren scoffed. "Perhaps things would have been easier without an entourage?"
Verchiel sipped from his glass and commented casually, "Why does it matter to you who he travels with?"
"And why does it matter to you?" Oren asked coldly. "Or is it his companion you're concerned with?"
Instead of denying it, Verchiel just pretended not to understand; but Katelina did, and she was sick of the insinuations! "He isn't here for me. He's here because he's a nosey idiot, just like the rest of you!"
She didn't wait for a reply before she stormed from the room and out onto the broad front porch. With no outdoor lights, the dark night pressed back at her, and she leaned against the building and huddled in her coat. All she wanted was to go home and hide away with Jorick.
Since she knew that wasn't going to happen, she decided the next best thing would be a cigarette. Sure, she'd quit, but a little nicotine now and then couldn't hurt. She'd just decided to steal one from Micah when the door opened and Loren wandered out, hand in his pocket. "It's foggy out here!"
"And cold."
"If you're cold you should go in," he suggested. "Though now they're arguing about who gets to stay with Jorick."
"It isn't Jorick they care about, but that stupid heart."
"So I've gathered. What is it, anyway?"
Katelina gave him a rough explanation and he nodded along. "Malick's after it," she finished. "That's why we had to race here, because after the attack on Munich I guess Malick probably read in Jorick's mind that Maeko has it, so he'll be coming after her."
Loren nodded mutely and silence fell between them. There were several questions she wanted to ask, like "how are you?" and "how is it working without the arm?" but they all seemed too touchy, so she found something else. "How long have you guys been in Japan?"
"More than a week. We found Oren a day after The Guild let us go, and he told us that Jorick said to come here. Though he made it sound like it would be a long time before Jorick showed up."
"I don't think he planned to come straight here from Munich. I imagine he meant to go back and try to get relieved of duty first, though I don't know. I haven't been able to get anything out of him. He keeps saying it's because Verchiel or Sorino could get it out of my mind, and he's probably right, but it's still tiring."
"Yeah, it gets old being around all the super-powerful vampires sometimes."
She'd never thought about it from Loren's point of view. She often looked at him as "one of them", but the truth was he'd probably been a vampire for less than twenty years, and as far as she knew he was one of the modern masses who had no special abilities; a symptom of vampires making new vampires too quickly, or so Malick claimed. She'd never stopped to think how he must feel about that.
The door opened again, and Katelina looked to see Kai step out, his chain gone, his bright coat zipped up to his chin and a scarf wound around his neck. Without a word he leaned against the building next to them.
Loren glanced at Katelina and mouthed "What's with him?" but she could only shrug an answer. She hadn't spoken to him since he'd abandoned her in the ferry terminal.
"It was necessary," Kai said, his voice almost too soft to hear.
"No it wasn't. You could have used your-" she wasn't sure if Kai wanted everyone to know about his abilities, so she amended it to, "You know."
"Not on all of them. You've been spoiled by Jorick." He shrugged, as if it was some sort of apology, and then turned back towards the house. "Our food is ready."
Loren cleared his throat noisily. "You know, he's just a human like you are. What was he supposed to do?"
Katelina dismissed it with a wave. "I don't know. I guess I better go back inside and eat, and then I'm stealing Micah's cigarettes."
