Chapter 297
Instead of a secret room in the walls, the sanctuary had a cellar. Maeko rolled back the tatami mats to reveal a black square cut in the floor and a slender ladder that looked like it might snap under the slightest pressure. She invited the vampires to stay downstairs, but suggested Katelina and Kai would be more comfortable above ground with Ryuu.
Jorick frowned. "I'd prefer Katelina sleep with us."
Maeko bowed. "As you wish, Jorick-ue, though there are no lights or human amenities below, as it is tradition that humans sleep separate."
Katelina wondered why. Was it because the nasty humans might infect them? Or was it to keep an angry human from slaying them in their sleep? If so it was about time that they had a healthy fear of those who could go in sunlight!
Jorick hesitated and looked sideways to Katelina, as if trying to gauge her reaction. She'd been separated from him for the last two nights, but the thought of crawling down a rickety ladder into a dark hole wasn't very appealing. Would one more night apart really kill them?
"Maybe," Jorick muttered. "Never mind. She can sleep upstairs, but not with the others. I'd prefer she have her own room."
"That can be arranged, Jorick-ue." Maeko bowed and then scampered off, presumably to do just that.
"She wouldn't have put me in the same room as Kai and Ryuu." The expression on Jorick's face killed further discussion. Apparently she would have. "If you really want me to sleep downstairs-"
Jorick pulled her to him and sighed. "No, it's all right, little one. You're in no danger here, at least not in the daylight, and I suppose it's- selfish of me to always demand you sleep in- uncomfortable places."
"Like coffins?" she teased, but he stayed serious.
"Yes. It's that I- worry when you're not close by. Especially after everything that happened today." He looked away and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "It doesn't matter. You're safe. Though if Sorino's human-" He scowled darkly and left the sentence unfinished.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing," she admitted. "But I suppose there wasn't really anything for him to do. He couldn't risk getting captured because he had to let you guys out."
Jorick's nostril's flared, though she knew the anger wasn't at her. "As I said, it doesn't matter." He took her hands in his and squeezed them. "Have a good night and I'll see you in the morning."
"You mean the evening?"
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Tomorrow. Is that better?"
She tilted her face to his and caught his lips. After a long, deep kiss, she released him and said, "No, but that was."
Kai interrupted them, silently holding out the suitcase she'd abandoned at the ferry terminal. She mumbled her thanks and when Maeko returned, she gave Jorick a final kiss and followed the girl to a room that was floored and walled like the others. On the floor in the center was what looked like a thin mattress and bedding, and along three walls were chests and freestanding cupboards. A huge set of shelves stood against the fourth wall, filled with dolls. "This is my room," Maeko explained. "They're my friends. They'll protect you while you sleep."
Katelina looked from one set of fake glittering eyes to the other and cringed. It wasn't that she disliked dolls, but coupled with the creepy atmosphere it seemed more likely they'd eat her than protect her. Maybe the basement was a better option.
Maeko giggled and carefully selected one from the collection; a slightly oversized version with pink pigtails and painted vampire fangs. She handed her to Katelina. "This is Aimi-chan. She will discipline the others."
Katelina nodded uncertainly and, with another giggle, Maeko bowed and bid her goodnight.
Alone, Katelina slipped into her pajamas and snuggled beneath the blankets. Under the watchful eyes of the dolls, sleep was hard to find. When it came, the echoing plinks of the bamboo fountain became gunshots in her dreams. Foreign vampires shouted nonsense and Malick's laughter played in the background like a tune she couldn't forget. And then a pink haired vampire appeared and chased them all away. If only reality was that simple.
***
The sun was still up when Katelina woke the following afternoon. She dressed and wandered outside for some fresh air. Kai joined her, and they sat in silence as the sun sank into the mountains in a pool of red. Purple twilight darkened the sky and the red faded into pink and then to colorless gray. As the last line of sunlight disappeared, the sliding doors opened and Jorick walked onto the porch, his face grim. "Good morning, little one. How did you sleep?"
"Fine." She glanced at Kai and decided that with or without him she needed some answers. "Maeko said she's your fledgling?"
Jorick cleared his throat and motioned to her silent companion.
She threw up her hands. "For crying out loud, everyone reads fucking minds, Jorick! There's no point in trying to hide stuff! Just tell me!"
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Yes, she is. It was a long time ago. Malick was anxious to head a council somewhere, and when Japan opened its doors to Dutch traders, he convinced the True Council to send him. He used my nationality to his advantage and we took passage aboard a Dutch trading ship. While we were in Hirado, the traders went to Edo to pay their respects to the emperor. I pretended to go with them, but left to explore the rural towns in hopes of discovering vampires. When I didn't find any, I headed to Edo, and that's where I met Maeko. She was an orphan and sickly, so I paid her to gather information for me; were there any people rumored to be strange, who slept in the daylight, who shunned company. None of the leads panned out. Japan had been isolated from the rest of the world and there were simply no vampires."
He glanced at Kai again, but the boy didn't seem to notice. "I prepared to leave, and planned to give her enough money to last through the winter, but she didn't come. I sought her out and found her on her deathbed in the house of a stranger. I don't know what I was thinking. I was still sentimental then. I'd been a vampire for less than forty years and I- I took her and changed her to save her life."
Katelina gaped. "But she was just a kid! You said you're not supposed to make vampires that are too young!"
Jorick shifted uncomfortably. "The definition of child changes over the years. At that time fourteen year old girls could marry but, even so, you're right. She was too young. I regretted the decision almost immediately, not just for that reason, but because of Malick. I was sure he'd lay claim to any fledgling I made and I was already beginning to see him for what he really was. I had no desire to subjugate her to such a master."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I relocated her to a village and left her. When I returned to Malick, I told him that I'd found no vampires, and we left on the next ship to report to the Sodalitas. Of course, with no vampires, they saw no need to organize a council there, so we didn't go back. In my naivety, I imagined that I'd hidden her from Malick because he neither commented about it nor tried to seek her out. He obviously knew more than I thought and now-" he broke off and looked towards the surrounding mountains. "I visited with her only a handful of times. She refused to leave Japan and I had no desire to stay here. Our bond was not that strong. The last time I saw her was when I left The Guild. I paid for her to come to America long enough to give her the Heart and then I sent her home again. I haven't spoken to her since, until last night."
Katelina stopped herself from saying that he'd been a pretty crappy master to the girl. Especially considering he was always stuck to Oren's butt. But then, maybe he was trying to make up for abandoning Maeko by babying Oren? If so, it hadn't been a favor to either of them.
Jorick cut in on her thoughts. "What's done is done. The others are waking."
Sure enough, Ryuu appeared and asked them if they'd like to come inside for breakfast. It was another command hidden as a question, and they followed to find the others assembling in the room they'd been in the night before. Hikaru served glasses of blood to the vampires, and Katelina noticed Sadihra's gaze lingering on him. The admiration in her eyes made Katelina do a double take of the Japanese vampire. He had pale skin, dark eyes, dramatically slanted eyebrows and long, black hair that fell to his mid back. Shorter than Jorick and of slighter build, he also looked younger, no more than twenty-five at most. Still, she had to admit that Sadihra obviously had taste.
Maeko bounced through the doorway wearing jeans and a heavy sweater. In her arms she carried one of her dolls dressed in a matching outfit. She gave her guests a lengthy greeting and then announced that, if everyone approved, they should start on their journey for the hidden relic.
"Journey?" Katelina whispered to Jorick, but he only shrugged. "Where is it?"
"I don't know, and it's better that way. Malick can't get information from me that I don't have."
While that might be true, there was nothing to stop the master, or one of his lackeys, from following them. Senya might be lurking in the shadows even now, using her phantom abilities to make herself invisible. The idea left Katelina with a sense of foreboding.
After breakfast came the discussion about who would go on the "journey". Maeko explained that they should be back by morning, but that the roads were impassable to vehicles. The description left Katelina imagining craggy cliffs from a survival movie but, since Jorick was going, she would, too.
"Kate-chan is welcome to stay behind," Maeko offered, but Micah's sniggering cough was enough to cement her resolve. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck there with him and the other loonies.
Sorino volunteered himself and Kai, and Verchiel insisted that he didn't want to miss the fun. Loren seemed eager for some adventure, despite his new handicap, and Micah grudgingly agreed. Katelina expected the rest of the vampires to jump in, but oddly they seemed contented to stay behind - even Cyprus.
With the decisions made, the small group collected their things and headed outside into the dark. Mist had already started to seep from the ground, and a cold wind blew Katelina's hair. She tugged her stocking hat over her head and pulled on her mittens. The sound of the wind howling among the rocks still made her shiver.
Hikaru appeared, a long walking stick in his hand. Just as they started down the path, Sadihra hurried out of the house and caught up to them.
Jorick narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought you were staying behind?"
She tossed her head and crossed her arms. "I changed my mind. It's too- small in there."
"I think you mean stuffy," Loren volunteered.
"No. I mean small. Too little space and too many people wanting to look over your shoulder."
Katelina couldn't say why, but she had the sudden impression that the Scharfrichterin meant Cyprus.
