Chapter 303
Snow was falling when they finally found what amounted to a small plateau. Katelina dropped to the ground in a heap and scooped up a handful of snow. She let it melt on her tongue and swallowed the water. Her legs ached and her empty stomach rumbled. Her fingers and toes had long gone numb, and she could see through the palm of her mittens where the rough bark had worn through the knit. But, at least she was alive.
Sadihra laid Verchiel down and straightened her back. "We can't continue this way or we won't make it before sunrise. We need to wake him up."
Jorick perched on a boulder. "Even if he could walk I doubt we could make it now."
Katelina didn't point out that Verchiel was fast enough to make it to Maeko's place and back several times. It would just start an argument and what was the point?
"We should find him some food," Sadihra said. "I could use some as well, and I'm sure you and your human could too. It would be faster to hunt if we split up."
The echoing scream was in Katelina's memory, and obviously still in Jorick's. "And leave Katelina alone?"
"You can stay with her, if you prefer. I'll be back." Sadihra turned for the trees and faded away in the forest's deep shadows.
Katelina knew that the alternative was to go with him, but she didn't think her aching feet could take it. "Just go. I'll be all right, as long as you hurry."
Jorick's brow furrowed and he squinted into the night, as if seeking nearby life forms. "I don't sense anyone close enough to harm you, but Senya is a phantom and I don't know where she's gone."
"Back to Malick," Katelina answered mournfully. "They got the heart and have probably handed it over to him already."
"I doubt that. He isn't near enough for them to reach that quickly." She started to ask how he knew, and then decided that it must be some strange vampire-master connection.
"Something like that, I suppose. We can sense one another easier than we can others. It's the blood connection. The same goes for fledglings of the same master." He dismissed the conversation. "See if you can find some dry wood. I'll return shortly."
And then she was alone. Katelina huddled into her coat and tried not to think about what was splattered on it; mud, blood and no telling what else. The wind howled around the mountain but, in her current location, she was sheltered from the blasts of icy air. If only she had something to hide under to avoid the falling snow.
Verchiel lay near her and she risked a peek at him. Despite Sadihra's assurances, she wasn't positive he was alive. He wasn't breathing, or moving, and the sickly white pallor of his face screamed the word death. She poked him with her toe and got no response, so she poked him again. Still, he didn't stir, so she finally dragged herself next to him and stared into his face. Though it might have been her imagination, he seemed paler and his skin tighter. There were puckers around his eyes and his lips, as if he was an apple left in the sun too long and starting to wrinkle.
She looked up, checking for bystanders, and then whispered, "Hey, Verchiel. Are you dead?" Her answer was silence, so she leaned closer and turned her head, trying to hear his heartbeat. There was nothing but the rush of the wind. She pressed her ear to his chest and still found silence. She dropped back with an uncomfortable sense of disappointment and hugged her knees to her chest. What if he really was dead, and for nothing?
Despite Jorick's assertions, she was sure that Malick already had the Heart, or would any minute. And then what? Okay, so he couldn't drink from it and become more powerful, but it must be good for something or he wouldn't want it. Jorick had assumed that he was rebelling against his master by hiding it, but the truth was more likely that Malick was letting him hang on to it, especially since its "original owners" were looking for it. And now that he'd revolted, he wanted it back, so obviously it had the ability to aid his cause.
"Maybe he plans to bargain with it."
Katelina looked up to find Jorick standing over her, holding three strange, limp monkeys. Their little pink faces were elongated and looked like someone had smooshed them flat. "Um-"
"The monkeys Kai mentioned. Once the idiot has drained them we can build a fire and cook one for you." He broke off and looked around. "Did you find any wood?"
Wood was the last thing on her mind, and she stood guiltily. "I'll look, but I'm not eating a monkey."
Jorick stacked the unconscious monkeys near Verchiel. "And why not? I can understand your objection to raw meat, but if it's cooked-"
"It's still gross! Ew! People do not eat monkeys!"
"You'll eat a cow or a pig, but not a monkey? What's the difference?"
"The difference is that monkeys are cute! You can't just go around munching on them! Ugh! They're probably endangered or something, anyway. You should let them go and find something else."
"Fine. I'll let them go, but I'm not looking for something else. The idiot can wait and heal overnight." He snatched the top monkey up and turned, as if to release it back into the trees.
Guilt warred within in her, and she surrendered. "All right, all right. He can have the monkeys, but I'm still not eating one."
Jorick rolled his eyes and set the animal back on the ground. "Do what you want. We should still build a fire so you don't freeze."
They headed into the forest together and Katelina scavenged for wood. Most of what she found was wet and useless. Luckily Jorick could swing up into the trees and break off dead wood that was relatively dry. With nothing else to do, she carried the ever-growing stack and, when he deemed it enough, they headed back.
Sadihra was waiting for them, holding a pair of small dead birds by their feet. She held them out to Jorick, who nodded his thanks and then turned to starting the fire.
"I didn't think you'd want to eat monkeys," Sadihra explained. "If I were human, I wouldn't."
"Exactly!" Katelina suddenly felt more charitable towards the Scharfrichterin.
Jorick lit the fire and Katelina hunkered down next to it. The tiny flame grew as it gobbled up the wood and sent sparks snapping out in all directions.
"The fire will attract them," Sadihra commented. She knelt next to Verchiel, a limp monkey in her hand.
Jorick's reply was stiff. "They're past bothering us. They've all moved on. We're the ones who are behind."
Sadihra nodded and turned back to her chore. She bit into the monkey's throat and tore savagely. Blood splashed down her face, and she quickly pried Verchiel's mouth open and shoved the animal's bleeding neck into it. Katelina watched as crimson trails dribbled out around his lips and ran down his chin. The monkey's face stayed slack and at peace, but his tiny features filled her with guilt and she looked away. It was like watching Sadihra feed him a baby.
Katelina turned her attention to Jorick as he plucked the birds. The cuts on his face and hands were healed, so he'd obviously fed. Had he massacred some more of the poor little monkeys? And did those monkeys have Ebola? He might not be able to catch it, but she could, and ever since she'd caught the rerun of the movie where everyone died from a mutated Ebola outbreak, she'd been worried about it. That would be just her luck; survive a vampire battle only to be taken down by a monkey disease.
There was a rough cough behind her, a couple of obscenities and then Verchiel croaked, "It's a capuchin monkey in the movie. Geeze."
Katelina turned to see him still lying on the ground, two dead monkeys next to him. He offered her a shadowed grin. "Were you worried about me, Kately?"
"No. I wasn't. Sadihra was the one who wanted to save you."
He rolled his head to the side and gazed up at the Scharfrichterin. "So you do like me! I knew my charm would wear you down eventually."
Sadihra snorted and shoved the third monkey in his face. "Feed and be silent."
Katelina turned away before he bit the animal. It was still more than she could take.
By the time Katelina had eaten the birds, Verchiel was much improved. The wound wasn't completely healed, and he offered to let Katelina and Sadihra stick their fingers in the hole that remained. The Scharfrichterin scoffed and Katelina pelted him with snow.
Jorick interrupted the childishness. "It's too late to make it back to Maeko's before sunrise. We should find somewhere to sleep."
"Any suggestion where that would be?" Sadihra asked.
"We're in the mountains. There must be a cave. I suggest we split up and search for one." He met Verchiel's eyes meaningfully. "All of us."
The redheaded vampire looked innocent. "Even little Kately?"
"No. She can stay here. Alone."
The meaning in the last word was clear and Verchiel gave him a mock salute. "Yes, sir!" He climbed to his feet and made a show of hobbling towards the ledge, bent double as though in agony. He leaned out over the chasm and then, with a backwards glance at the others, dropped from sight.
Katelina covered her mouth to stifle a cry, and Jorick rolled his eyes. "He obviously feels better than he looks."
Sadihra headed back for the trees and, after his usual cautions and comforts, Jorick took off in the other direction.
Katelina fed the fire and stared at the sky. The snow had stopped and the stars twinkled like fairy lights overhead, far brighter than she'd ever seen them before. The crisp cold air felt like something that had escaped from a bottle of captured time. She was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the vast age of the earth and the stars, and her own infantile inconsequentiality. Like facing Malick. She was outclassed and overwhelmed. They all were.
