Chapter 316
It was after ten when Neil brought an antique radio into the reclining room and busied himself plugging it in. Kai stood behind him, watching intently, as if soaking up everything the vampire was doing.
"There's no television," the guard explained to no one in particular. "But I found this in a junk pile and I think I have it working." He adjusted the dials and AM static filled the air.
Etsuko laid her embroidery aside and moved to stand near Neil. "Neil-sama made this work?"
"Hopefully," he replied and offered her a smile. "I thought radio would be better than nothing."
Just then the static morphed into tinny voices. Neil fine-tuned the dials to find that they were in the middle of a talk radio show. It took Katelina a moment to realize that the thickly accented voice was speaking English.
"-And if that isn't enough to make you wonder, what about the accident in Japan tonight? The media is very hush-hush, but right here I have a print out of actual witness testimony that says the airport security alarms went off more than twenty minutes before the plane crashed into the building. Twenty minutes! And that the airport security officials were sent to that end of the building, prior to the crash, in response to 'a violent incident'. It makes you think, doesn't it? And when rescue workers make statements such as, 'the bodies that weren't burned in the fire were so badly mangled that they looked like they'd been purposefully torn to pieces', that says something, doesn't it? Especially when both the witness and the rescue worker have now gone missing. What do we call that?"
A chorus of canned voices called out, "A cover up!"
"Yes, my friends, it reeks of a cover up, but what are they hiding? Did someone, or something, purposefully attack the airport, leaving a path of destruction so great that the only way to hide it was to crash a plane into the building and set fire to the ruined bodies?"
"It's lucky we left last night," Neil commented.
Katelina glanced uncertainly at Jorick. "Do you think it's a coincidence?"
But, the man on the radio wasn't finished, "-And this is on the heels of the incident in the Maritime Province in Russia where fifty rural people were brutally killed in their homes. Photos of a mangled family leaked onto the internet, but the Russian media claims it's a hoax and says no such event occurred. And what about Namibia where, earlier this month, a fire claimed an entire town in one night! There's been nothing in the media about how it started or why no one was able to escape. Two fires? Mass killings? Are they related? The authorities say no. But what are they covering up? We have a few theories of our own that involve some very scary things. You can log onto our website for more information at-"
Katelina quit listening. Russia. She'd seen something on that before, at the clan's house in Japan. Kai had been watching a video on it.
"Is this an Egyptian station?" Oren asked.
"I doubt it. The accent doesn't sound Egyptian. I imagine we're picking it up from somewhere else." Jorick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Where is Namibia?"
"Here in Africa," Neil answered, his eyes glued to the radio as though it was a television. "Though it's south, near Zambia."
Something about his sentence jarred Katelina's memory. She'd said the same thing to Jorick herself. She'd seen the Namibia incident on the news before they'd left the Citadel. It wasn't just that. There was something about Africa- something she should remember-
Kai supplied the answer, "Malick is living in Namibia."
Jorick's head snapped towards the boy and his eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"
"Master collects information."
Yes. Sorino had mentioned that at the hotel in Russia. She hadn't paid attention at the time, but now-
"Is he there now?"
Kai shrugged. "He left Namibia for Germany and Germany for Japan. Master has not heard anything since then."
Jorick waved the boy to silence. "In that case, the conspiracy theorists may be on to something, though it isn't aliens."
Katelina focused on the radio long enough to hear the host's extraterrestrial theory. She supposed it made as much sense as the truth. "So Senya's gone on a mass killing spree?"
Jorick shook his head. "Not Senya, but Malick. Mass murders are something he enjoys. I imagine it's even more fun now that the governments must scramble to cover up what he's doing."
"If it is Malick what are we going to do?"
"I wasn't planning to do anything," Jorick answered. "The Kugsankal will take care of it."
Katelina bit back the urge to shake him. She didn't believe the True Council was going to do anything!
"I need some air," she muttered and launched herself out the door. She half expected someone to follow, but no one did, so she headed outside to the courtyard. The smell of what she imagined was camels wafted on the breeze, but it was better than the radio delivering its grim news of mangled bodies and burned corpses.
It was too much of a coincidence that mass murders happened everywhere Malick went, but was he doing it for fun? The incident in Russia had happened after they'd left, as if he was trying to catch them, but wouldn't he be better served by attacking while they were still there?
It just didn't make sense! Then again, few vampires did. She suspected that centuries of immortality made them all a bit daft, like inbreeding in royalty. Was it only a matter of time before Jorick went off the deep end? On the other hand, was he sane now?
The thoughts were more than she wanted to deal with so she pushed them away and leaned back against the building. The cold of the metal seeped through her clothes and she jerked away. Wasn't Egypt supposed to be warm? For crying out loud, couldn't they ever go someplace that she wouldn't need a coat?
She shuffled towards one of the benches and stopped. The courtyard was surrounded by buildings on all four sides. Under different circumstances it might have felt cozy, but in her present mood it felt like a trap; like vampires and centuries were all weighing down on her at once. A thin alley ran between two buildings on the right and she ducked into it. The stone beneath her feet was uneven and she picked her way carefully. As she neared the end, she caught the sound of raised voices.
"No, Cyprus." Sadihra said. "It was one time. Once and only once, and more than ten years ago. I thought we were past this when you transferred to the U.S."
Katelina froze mid step. She didn't want to walk in on the middle of their argument. She should turn around and go back the way she'd come.
"We were past this," Cyprus answered. "I was angry for a long time. I even thought I hated you but then, seeing you again-" he cleared his throat. "It all came rushing back. What am I supposed to do? Ignore it?"
"Yes."
And with those words Katelina knew she wasn't going anywhere.
"Maybe it's easy for you," he said bitterly. "When you refused to leave Wolfe last time, I accepted it because the two of you were a couple, but now you're not - and you're still choosing him over me? Dammit, Sadihra, what's so great about him? He's a condescending ass!"
Her voice was weary. "He wasn't always that way."
"Just since I've known him?"
"Do you expect him to like you? Honestly, Cyprus, do you blame him? How would you feel if it was the other way around? How would you feel if your girlfriend-"
"If she what? Found someone better? That's the real reason he wants you to give it all up, isn't it? It's not to stay home and be a good little wife, it's because he's afraid it will happen again!"
"Stop it."
"He's afraid that you'll be in the field and you'll be lonely or angry and you'll turn to the nearest male and-"
"I said stop it!" She shouted. Her voice quickly dropped. "It wasn't like that and you know it. You pestered me, you followed me, you flattered me. You wore me down and finally I surrendered. No one else will do that, but do you blame Wolfe for worrying? Since then he's made sure I've been on assignments close to home and tried to get me to quit. When I refused he proposed the ridiculous marriage scheme and now he's going to have me removed, and after my stupidity with following you here I'm sure he'll accomplish his goal!"
"Why did you come? It wasn't for me."
"No, it wasn't, and I told you as much on the plane. I came because I needed time to think and to figure out what it is I want."
"What do you want, Sadihra? Wolfe?"
Sadihra caught her breath in a tight, noisy hiss. "Maybe. I don't know."
Cyprus' voice turned sarcastic, "Well you better figure it out, before it's too late and he won't take you back. I doubt he's as big a sucker as I am!"
"I never asked you to wait, nor did I encourage you. I told you ten years ago that it would not work between us." Her tone turned pleading, "Please, Cyprus, enough."
"Fine! Enough! And when he has you chained to your bed to keep you from straying too far, don't come crying to me!"
His footsteps pounded away and then Sadihra gave a weary sigh. Katelina had a sudden, horrible vision of what would happen when Sadihra found her eavesdropping. She stood perfectly still and held her breath, afraid even the slightest sound would alert the Scharfrichterin of her presence. At least she didn't have to worry about the vampiress smelling her. The camels' reek was too strong.
Even without moving, she could see a slice of the next courtyard; a piece of Sadihra's back, part of a palm tree and more metal buildings. The Scharfrichterin stood perfectly still, her eyes on the dark sky above.
The uncomfortable moment stretched and finally Sadihra called, "I know you're there. I can smell you."
