Chapter 325
Sleep never came again and by the time they landed, Katelina was both hungry and exhausted.
The pilots called back to assure them that the sun was setting, and that it would soon be safe for them to exit. Katelina struggled out of her seat and rounded up her belongings. By the time she had her coat on and her luggage gathered, they were cleared to leave.
She followed the motley assortment out of the plane. As she stepped onto the cement slab that served as a runway, Micah said, "Welcome to yet another fucking foreign country that doesn't have a goddamn beach."
Katelina wanted to point out that Japan had beaches - it was made of islands for crying out loud - but it was too cold to do anything except huddle in her coat.
Lurid's plane passed overhead, and Jorick took Katelina's arm. "We need to move so they can land."
She nodded and let him lead her towards a small, squat building that sat away from the cement. The runway lights obliterated most of the surroundings, though she could make out the shape of a hangar and a handful of other buildings.
The building's shabby interior was a far cry from the luxury airplane she'd just stepped off. A futon was folded in one corner and a couple of wooden chairs were buried under stacks of newspapers. A trapdoor was clearly visible in the rough wooden floor while a doorway revealed another room. Two men were inside, hunched over a glowing control panel. One had short dark hair and the flawless complexion of a vampire, while the other was graying and definitely human.
" - and you are clear to land," the vampire said into his head piece and then yawned. There was more back and forth, and then the roar of a plane echoed through the room. Katelina covered her ears, but it did little to drown it out.
When the noise died down, the vampire flipped his headphones off and stretched. "Turning it back over to you, Burke."
The human took the microphone and the vampire wandered into the room, hands in his pockets while his eyes darted from one occupant to the other. "Lurid wasn't kidding when he said there were a lot of you. I'm Amari, that's Burke. My sister is outside, but I'm sure she'll be in soon." His eyes met Jorick's and he flashed a fanged smile. "And you are?"
Jorick shifted uncomfortably. "Jorick."
Amari offered his hand and the dark vampire took it reluctantly. The handshake lasted a fraction too long to be your ordinary friendly introduction, and left Katelina feeling a bit jealous.
The front door opened and Lurid banged in, followed by Sorino and Kai, who was once again on his chain. Amari turned from Jorick, spread his arms wide and called, "Lurid!" They embraced and the young vampire pressed a kiss to Lurid's cheek. "It's been too long!"
"Ten years at the most," Lurid said as he stepped back. "How have you been?"
"Good, good. So where are you staying?"
Lurid's smile was innocent and Amari groaned. "I don't think I have room for everyone!" His eyes slid sideways to Jorick. "Maybe a few of you."
Oren cleared his throat noisily, a smirk on his lips, and Jorick jabbed an elbow into his ribs.
"It's all or nothing." Lurid clapped Amari on the back. "So where's Nevaeh?"
"She's outside, probably dealing with the pilots and that boring rubbish she does; hosing down the strip, checking things, you know. She's excited to see you."
Sorino moved until he was practically between the pair. "I hate to interrupt such a touching reunion. But we need to feed and the humans will need food. And then there's the matter of a helicopter to discuss."
The word helicopter sent shivers down Katelina's spine. That was one adventure she hoped to miss.
"If it's the helicopter you're after, you'll be wanting Nevaeh."
Sorino nodded, then studied Amari. "You're familiar with the local landscape?"
The young vampire grinned. "Again, you'll be wanting Nevaeh. I generally just stay here, read the paper, hang out with Burke a little, land any planes that wander in and have a laugh with whoever comes through." Something about the way he said it made Katelina think he meant a lot more than just laughing. "We have TV now, not that there's much worth watching."
"TV? So they're modernizing at last?"
"Oh yes, and it makes me wonder how much longer we can stay in operation as we are. The Faction has all the right people under control for now, but the more high tech they get- well it gets difficult, doesn't it?"
Katelina nudged Jorick and whispered, "Who's the Faction?"
"Their version of the Guild," Jill answered. "Though its jurisdiction covers the space of several countries, including India and Bangladesh. The old vampires don't always view borders the same as the young ones."
"Why should we?" Sorino asked with a disdainful sniff. "Give them time and they'll change again."
She laughed and caught his arm. "Oh, I didn't mean you, darling. You're far too young to be one of those." The gleam in her eye said otherwise.
The door opened and closed again and a young vampiress with dark braided hair and a poncho walked through, followed closely by Micah and Loren. "I got everything dealt with, no thanks to you." She stopped and stared at the assemblage. "Good lord, there's an army."
"Almost," Amari agreed. "They want to stay here."
"Here? There's not room." She stopped and suddenly looked calculating. "Unless they want to pay."
"We'll pay," Sorino assured her. "And Lurid will pay for a helicopter ride tomorrow."
As if she'd just seen him, the woman gave a cry of "Lurid!" and flung herself at him. He caught her in a hug that lasted a little too long, and when they separated there was a moment when Katelina thought they might drop into a passionate kiss. Instead, Lurid stepped back.
"Where are you going by helicopter?" Nevaeh asked.
"That remains to be seen. I believe I have the location nailed down, so to speak, but-" Sorino tugged a folded map out of his coat and tapped it. "Some local expertise would be most welcome."
"We'll have to find somewhere to spread it out." Nevaeh looked around the crowded room. "Okay, everyone, there's a bunk house out back that will sleep twelve. It's pretty light proof, but it's just beds and no amenities and I'm not changing the sheets. If the humans need facilities they'll have to go next door to Burke and Celia's cabin. As for the rest, there's some room downstairs." She tapped the trapdoor with her boot. "That should about do it, I think. I'm not sure what time you're running on, but we just woke up."
"As in just woke up," Amari said. "I haven't had breakfast yet."
Lurid grinned. "Then you can dine with us! Are you still hunting it fresh?"
"For now."
"Thank fucking God." Micah rolled his neck and popped his knuckles, as if preparing for a fight. "I am fucking sick of that canned crap!" He grabbed Loren's shoulder and practically dragged him out the door. "Come on pipsqueak!"
The other vampires followed, though Jill commented that she was going to get some of the bagged blood off the plane. "No point in chasing after it if you don't need to."
Torina tossed her head. "Sometimes the chase is more fun than the catch."
Jill paused at the threshold, looked back and purred, "Yes, you would think so."
Katelina bit back a snicker and turned to Jorick. "What are you doing?"
"We're going hunting," he said firmly. "Come."
She was too tired to argue, so she pulled her stocking hat on her head and followed him outside. The runway lights were off, and when her eyes adjusted she could see a line of mountains in the distance. They were lumpy shapes, tinted here and there by moonlight, that disappeared into the clouds. Rather than oppressive, as Egypt had been, the air felt formidable, as though the mountains were an army waiting to march on them and squash them like bugs beneath their immortal heals.
Etsuko approached them. She bowed and asked, "May I come?"
Oren sputtered and then broke off into a muttered, "Fine, just be quiet."
The countryside was hilly and studded with trees. The wind was cold, and it took Jorick and Oren what Katelina termed as "forever" to find something. Oren remarked that it would have been faster "without the humans," but his tone lacked some of the usual bite.
When they got back to the building, Sorino and Nevaeh were bent over the map, discussing the clues and the mountains. "This should be it," she agreed. "See there? The 'crooked nose'?"
Sorino nodded smugly. "As I thought. Excellent. We should head there first thing tomorrow."
"You're aware that climbing the mountains is illegal now? The locals believe that the sky gods live there."
Sorino stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In that case, we will have to be quick about it. We won't really be doing much climbing anyway. If you'll excuse me, I need to feed, and I will need to procure some winter clothing for Kai. I don't believe his current outfit will be suitable for the cold."
"Burke probably has something you can borrow," Nevaeh said absently, her eyes still on the map.
"Fine, fine." He gave Jorick a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I imagine you'll want to do the same for your human. She is coming?"
Katelina opened her mouth to say no, but Jorick nodded crisply. "Of course."
Sorino's smile stretched thin. "Good, good. Excuse me." Then he led Kai out the door.
The moment he was gone, Katelina rounded on Jorick. "Are you insane? Airplanes are bad enough and you want me to ride in a helicopter?"
"You'll be fine," Jorick said firmly. She started to argue, but something in his eyes said that the conversation was over.
"We'll see," she muttered under her breath.
***
Celia was Burke's human wife, and she also had some winter gear she was willing to loan. The fur lined coat was big and bulky, and the snow pants and boots were hard to walk in, but Katelina doubted they would be enough to keep her warm. She would probably freeze to death.
They held an impromptu meeting to decide who would go to the temple. Nevaeh told them that she could take no more than nine plus the two pilots. "Unless you want to crash."
"Nine should be more than adequate," Sorino said. "There's myself and Kai, of course, and Jorick and his human."
"And me," Lurid said. "I'm renting the helicopter."
"I want to go!" Verchiel chimed in. "And so does Neil, right?"
The guard looked horrified and stammered something that sounded like "Ungh, muh, nak."
At that moment there was a loud beeping noise, and Amari leaned into the room. "We have another plane approaching."
"Another one?" Nevaeh pushed past the group and into the room. "I guess you'd better tell them to land. Turn on the lights and I'll be back."
She disappeared outside, and Katelina grabbed Jorick's arm. "You don't think it's Malick do you?"
"No. He doesn't know we're here."
"Are you sure? He always seems to know everything." Her frightened eyes moved towards the door. "What if it is him?"
Micah leaned in between them. "Then we'll kick his fucking ass back where he came from, that's what."
Loren leaned out the door as the sound of the plane got louder. "It's small and black!" he shouted over the noise.
Which meant absolutely nothing.
Micah pulled Loren inside and slammed the door. "What are you doing? Trying to be a target? Get your ass in here."
"I was just trying to see who it was."
"We'll know soon enough," Jorick said. "It's probably nothing to do with us."
As the minutes ticked off, the conversations slowly died, until there was only a tense, stretched silence. Though the vampires were listening intently, the footsteps were nearly to the door before Katelina could hear them.
Jorick stepped in front of her, his muscles clenched, and Micah, Sadihra and Cyprus dropped into defensive stances. Verchiel seemed to blink out and disappear. And then the door opened.
