Chapter 328
After breakfast, they gathered outside of the shack. Cyprus scowled at Wolfe, but only nodded when Jorick said he was going. When Sadihra appeared he went pale. "You should stay here."
Sadihra held up a hand to stop him. "I don't need anyone to tuck me away safely. If Wolfe goes, I go."
Panic flashed in Cyprus' eyes. "No! I forbid it!" He looked to Wolfe. "Tell her!"
The Scharfrichter regarded him coolly. "Sadihra may go where she wishes, and you have no say regarding her or her actions."
"But-"
Jorick cut him off. "She's going. If you don't like it, you can stay behind."
Katelina pulled on the heavy, fur-lined coat and bit back a cacophony of sarcastic remarks. It was stupid to take any of them. They may not be in league with Sorino, but they were on Munich's payroll. Why not just hand the Heart to the True Council and be done?
Verchiel appeared, his eyes shiny and a near skip in his step. "Hello! Hello! Are we ready for an adventure?" When no one answered he stopped in front of Katelina and produced her missing stocking hat with a flourish. "Don't want your little ears to freeze!" he chirped as he pulled it over her head.
She jerked back and rolled it up from her eyes. "Gee, thanks."
Jorick scowled towards them. "Do you need something?"
"Nope!" Verchiel stepped away and gave a mocking bow. "Just returning her lady's hat."
Jorick's scowl darkened, and she knew his first question was why Verchiel had it, but Sorino chose that moment to appear. His cold eyes slid over the assembled vampires; Jorick, Sadihra, Cyprus, Verchiel, Wolfe, wearing his usual expression, and Neil. The guard was saddled with a large pack that had a folding shovel and ice axe strapped to the side. Coils of rope hung off his shoulder and he looked like he was ready to throw up. Kai stood behind Sorino, free from his chain and dressed in Burke's furry clothes, carrying a small pack of his own. With his bangs in his eyes and a muffler wrapped over his nose, there was nothing left of his face.
"I assume we're ready?" Sorino asked. "You have the Heart?"
Jorick patted the pack that hung off his shoulder. "Yes. We're just waiting on the pilot."
"Pilots," Sorino corrected. "Lurid will assist her."
Katelina turned away from the impending argument and tugged the heavy boots over her shoes. The thick snow pants under her coat made it hard to bend, but she knew later she'd be grateful for the layers.
Nevaeh and Lurid joined them, and they followed the vampiress towards the helicopter pad. Katelina lagged behind, her steps and movements slow. When a voice in her head called, "Kate-chan", she stopped in her tracks and spun around.
Maeko appeared from behind a nearby building and again her words sounded in Katelina's mind, barely different than the inner voice of Katelina's own thoughts. "You will need this."
There wasn't time to be aggravated at the approach, so Katelina turned and trudged towards her. Maeko shoved a wad of white cloth into her hands. "Keep it safe and do not think about it or Sorino will know and the ruse will be worthless."
Katelina stared at the bundle. The snow pants had no pockets, and she was afraid that someone could steal it out of her coat easily. With a resigned sigh, she settled on the "woman pocket" and jammed it into her bra. Let Sorino try to steal it from there!
Maeko helped her zip the heavy coat back up. "Good luck, Kate-chan. Now you must hurry."
Katelina nodded and then trudged in the direction that the others had disappeared in, trying to imagine a goodbye scene with someone besides Maeko to give the mind readers a memory to find.
She found the others gathered around a helicopter that looked like it came from a cold war era movie; painted with ugly camouflage and dented. She couldn't tell if the brown splotches were paint or rust.
Verchiel kicked the wheels. "What is this?"
Nevaeh looked down her nose at the redhead. "It's a Mil Mi-24."
He seemed a little more appreciative. "Oooh! That sounds military! Where did you get one?"
"They're a dime a dozen. Russia sold them off for next to nothing."
"I can see why." Katelina met Neil's eyes and saw her own terror reflected there. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Of course it's safe," Verchiel quipped. "You don't think Sorino would arrange for us to travel in anything dangerous, do you?" Katelina thought she detected sarcasm in his voice, but she wasn't sure.
Nevaeh opened a pair of doors and dropped down a short metal ladder. Katelina hung back, the Heart forgotten to the fear of a fiery crash. In her mind's eyes she could hear the screams as the rust bucket spun out of control and hurtled towards the angry mountains, smashing to pieces against the rocky summit in a whoosh of flame.
"It will be fine, little one," Jorick assured her as he took her arm and helped her into the helicopter. The inside was as bleak and horrifying as the outside; dirty metal, tiny windows and a couple of dusty, padded benches covered in frayed seatbelts. It was a death trap.
Lurid pushed past them and through a narrow doorway that led into the cockpits. Katelina caught a flash of what appeared to be hundreds of dials before Jorick steered her to the bench and helped her sit down. He fastened the seatbelt around her waist, then took the place next to her.
She tied her hood and pulled on the padded mittens as the other vampires settled in. Nevaeh started the helicopter and Katelina covered her ears against the throbbing noise of the blades. She caught Jorick's gaze and sent him a silent plea. Surely this wasn't necessary?
The helicopter lifted off. It wobbled, then straightened out as it lifted higher and higher. The windows were black, so Katelina couldn't tell how high they were, or even what direction they were going. She only knew that she wanted to be back on the ground.
"Isn't this great?" Verchiel shouted over the noise. She shook her head no and he laughed.
