Chapter 310
Katelina gathered her clothes and followed Etsuko to what looked more like a closet than a laundry room. Inside was a washing machine whose symbol covered buttons left Katelina scratching her head. Despite her good intentions, it was Etsuko who started the load, and assured her that when it finished she'd dry them and start the next. Since there was no dryer, Katelina wasn't even sure how she planned to do that, so she surrendered.
The evening passed in a blur of weirdness. Maeko took the time to pull all of her friends from their cases, change their clothes, and talk to them. Katelina managed to nod as she was introduced to each one, though it brought back memories of Oren's son Alexander. She remembered playing blocks with him and his child-like friend. The strange, though cheerful scene was replaced by flames and she forced the memories away.
She wondered what The Guild would do if they got hold of Maeko. Obviously the Yononaka let her live, but would the Executioners in America? Since she was a foreign vampire, would they even have jurisdiction over her?
She wanted to ask Jorick about it, but he and Oren were absent most of the evening. Maeko hinted that they were following Wolfe.
Etsuko summoned Katelina for lunch, and then again for dinner. She sat at the table with the other humans and poked at things with her chopsticks. Her clumsy attempts to eat made Egypt seem even more appealing. There would be no chopsticks there. Plus, she hoped they could find an ancient vampire who could kill Malick for them. Egypt was an ancient civilization, so they surely had some really old vampires. Or at least she hoped they did.
After dinner Etsuko cleared the table, and one of the girls pulled out a deck of tarot cards. She handed the cards off to be shuffled and then laid them out with expert precision and read off the results. When she had done three of the others, she turned to Katelina. "Would Mauldin-san like to have her fortune told?"
Kai broke his silence to say, "You should be careful playing with destiny."
She tried not to roll her eyes. "You don't really believe in that, do you?" His answer was silence, so she shrugged and turned to the girl. "Sure. Why not?"
She shuffled the cards as directed, then handed them back. The girl laid them out in the same pattern as she had the others, though concern flashed over her face as she put down the final one.
"Mauldin-san is surrounded by tension. Though you wish for peace and harmony, a dark man stands in your way; one who rules with no mercy and inspires great fear."
Katelina's stomach tightened as she thought of Malick. The girl continued. "But you are not alone. You are surrounded by many - or will be. Deep love can be strong, but that strength may cause others to break. A fearless warrior offers aid then brings betrayal and death. Should your path stay its present course, your future will bring only defeat."
The girl looked over the cards again, nodded, and then apologized before she handed the deck off for Etsuko to shuffle.
Katelina didn't wait to find out Etsuko's future, but excused herself. The word defeat seemed to echo in her head, and left her stomach in a knot. Would they really be defeated by Malick? And who was the fearless warrior that would betray them?
As if on cue, Kai appeared next to her. "You don't believe in fortune telling. Remember?"
She gave him a nod and a smile, though at that moment she wasn't sure what she believed in.
***
It was early morning when Jorick and Oren returned. Maeko had been right; they'd followed Wolfe. "He went to the Yononaka," Jorick explained. "Apparently they sent him to visit all the clans and this was his last stop. He demanded the Yononaka force the Tsukino clan to hand us over, and they said they couldn't. He got mad and called Munich and it went from there."
Katelina leaned back in her chair and studied him. "What do you mean it went from there?"
Jorick made a dismissive gesture. "They played phone tag for a while, each one speaking to someone higher up. In the end the Sodalitas and the Yononaka agreed that Wolfe can capture us once we're no longer under the Tsukino's protection. Until then he is to follow and wait."
"Until we get to Egypt, in other words?" Katelina sighed. How were they supposed to dodge everyone at once? Hell, they were even trying to escape from their so-called friends!
Jorick snorted. "If you're referring to Cyprus or the redheaded idiot, they're no friends of mine."
"Maybe not, but what about Micah and Loren? Or Torina?" She caught Oren's eyes for a moment before he looked away. "We're running from Malick and his goons, from Wolfe and now from our friends. How can we escape everyone?"
"Easily," Jorick answered. "If Wolfe follows us we incapacitate him before we get to the airplane. As for Malick, those 'friends' you mentioned should keep him and his 'goons' busy for a while."
"Fine, fine, whatever." She waved it away with disgust. "Wouldn't it be faster to just kill Wolfe and forget it?"
Oren gave a cough that said he agreed, though she refused to look at him for fear of acknowledging it. Meanwhile, Jorick cocked a dark eyebrow. "You've gotten blood thirsty, little one. You accuse me of being heartless, but death seems to be your favorite answer."
"Sometimes it's easier," she muttered. "Besides, Wolfe's kind of a jackass."
Oren gave another cough and Jorick rolled his eyes. "Wolfe may think he's after us, but he isn't. It's the Heart that the Kugsankal wants, no doubt to keep it out of Malick's hands. You see how well they did that before."
Oren nodded. "The amusing thing is, Wolfe has no idea."
She started to ask how he knew then realized one of them had read it in Wolfe's mind. Probably Jorick because last she knew Oren wasn't very good at it. "So you guys followed Wolfe to the Yononaka headquarters? You didn't follow him inside, did you? For crying out loud, you're wanted!"
"Of course I'm wanted," Jorick replied with a smirk. "But that's beside the point."
"I followed him inside," Oren answered testily. "Jorick may be on their list, but I'm not." Something sour in his voice left Katelina wondering if he wanted to be a fugitive.
Etsuko chose that moment to step into the room. Her dark eyes landed on Oren and her cheeks colored. She bowed half a dozen times, mentioned that it was nearly time for them to rest, bowed some more and then hurried away.
"That sounded like an invitation." Jorick's dark eyes twinkled playfully.
Oren snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hardly. Unless you think she was inviting all of us to bed?"
"Maybe she was." Jorick winked and swept to his feet. "Come little one, before Oren's delusions get worse."
