Chapter 33
The highway sped beneath Jorick and Katelina, illuminated by the bright headlights. The scenery flew past, lost in the darkness. Katelina's lips still burned from Jorick's kiss, though it had been hours ago. She closed her eyes and savored the memory in a way she never thought she would.
Opening her eyes, she glanced sideways at him as he drove. There was no denying it, he was male beauty perfected; dark male beauty. Dark and dangerous, she reminded herself. He wasn't human: he was a vampire, a creature of legend, a myth from the darkness come to life.
The radio played a trendy pop song that grated on her nerves. She impatiently pressed the radio's seek button. Snatches of country, chat, and cheerful pop blipped by, mingled with static.
"You could pick one and stay on it," Jorick suggested.
She didn't look at him as she stopped the radio's station on a familiar sounding song. "I would if it weren't for commercials and crappy songs."
"I don't turn the radio on so I don't have the problem."
"Yes," she said dismissively. It wasn't the song she'd thought it was and she pressed the button again. "But you like silence and I can't stand it."
"I know," he rolled his eyes. "God forbid if any of you spent a moment with your own thoughts. Better to drown them out with someone else's."
She gave him a sideways glare and bit back a retort. He didn't need to act like he was so much wiser than she was. At the moment she'd pay to have her thoughts permanently silenced. They were full of bad memories and confusion - all of which were his fault. As far as she was concerned he could deal with the radio and if she wanted to put it on scan all night he could deal with that as well. She was tempted to tell him so, but instead asked "Aren't we almost there?"
"Forty more miles," he said without hesitation. "An hour and a half, two hours till sunrise," he added cheerfully. "We should make it just in time."
"Ah." She gave the radio a dirty look, as if that would make it play something she liked. "Good, I need to pee." Jorick grimaced and she snapped, "What? I can't help it. We're not all perfect like you!" She jabbed an aggravated finger into the seek button and ignored the noise he made in his throat.
***
Their destination was a small, dark town that looked as if everyone had gone to bed long ago and never woken up. Many of the small yards were choked with weeds. The houses themselves looked as though they'd been forgotten and left to rot in the weather, the years passing over them in an unending sea of destruction. An old tourist trap now alone and neglected.
Jorick seemed to know where he was going. He steered the small red car through silent streets and around dilapidated corners until they reached a low green ranch-style motel whose blinking neon sign proclaimed it was The Rookwood Inn and had a vacancy. Katelina couldn't help but think that, judging by the look of the place, it probably had a lot of vacancies.
He parked the small car in front of the door marked "Office" and, made a sign for her to stay put before he climbed out into the night. He shut the door loudly and again motioned her to stay. She imitated a puppy, but the gesture was wasted on him so she flipped him off as he disappeared inside. The brass bell above the door jangled harshly and the echoes that cut through the thick silence made her shiver.
She craned her neck and peered through the car window. She tried to see inside the office but all the windows had yellowing Venetian blinds covering them. With a sigh of defeat, she flipped the static filled radio station to the only one that came in clearly - country music.
While a squeaky-voiced woman on the radio sobbed to twangy guitars, Katelina leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She felt exceedingly bad humored, though she couldn't say why. She was too busy, as Jorick had so politely put it, drowning her thoughts in someone else's to worry about it.
Jorick returned with two sets of keys in his hand. He didn't comment on her sour expression as he put the car into gear and drove wordlessly towards their room.
They parked next to the usual swath of sidewalk that ran along the room's individual doors. Yellow lights on the side of the building sliced the night into pools and illuminated the frosty October air. The smell of leaves and weeds was carried on the wind, along with the sharp scent of early frost. Katelina shivered as she climbed out of the car. Despite the chill, she was thankful to stretch her cramped legs and she paused to kick at an abandoned cigarette butt.
Jorick joined her. "Here," he said as he handed her one of the motel keys. "Go on in. I have something to attend to but then I'll be along."
She opened her mouth to ask him what pressing errand waited for him elsewhere, but thought better of it. She didn't see anyone in the gloomy shadows, but how did she know that some creature of the night wasn't camouflaged in the darkness? If vampires were real, then what other monsters from the nightmares of humanity were lurking and listening to them?
He walked down the sidewalk and she watched him until he turned sharply, and disappeared around the far side of the building. Her curiosity piqued, she thought about following him, but resisted the urge. The memories of the vampire manor were still too fresh in her mind.
The key didn't want to fit into the scarred lock, but finally it surrendered with a groaning click, and she opened the door and was met by the smell of stale cigarette smoke. She wished she had some of her own. Nicotine would be just the thing to make the world sane again.
Inside was yet another motel room. She was growing tired of them already. Despite the respite in the hall of horrors, it felt like she'd been sleeping in motels for years. What she wouldn't give for her comfortable bed at home with its feather pillow and unraveling bedspread!
The room was as shabby as she'd expected from the exterior. The bed sagged in the corner like a crippled dog, covered in a green bedspread that reminded her instantly of moldy cheese. There was a dresser along one wall, and of course the requisite stand holding the television. A laminated sticker glued to the front of it declared that it had cable channels.
The bathroom was no better. It was small and grubby looking, with off-white walls and a chipped sink and tub; the once white porcelain had faded to a dull color from years of use.
She wandered back into the room and threw her sack of clothing on the bed. The clock said 5:45 and she thought to herself that the sun would come up soon.
She changed into the pink flowered nightgown, and studied her reflection in a grubby full length mirror. No woman looked good in a flannel nightgown, and she was no exception. The shapeless garment made her look like a dowdy grandmother, though the soft material was a comforting change that made her think of childhood winters.
Her stomach grumbled as she flopped on the bed. She thought about turning down the bedspread, but she wasn't sure if it was safe to touch the bedding. The ashtray on the bed stand was empty, which meant someone cleaned occasionally. Still, that didn't mean they changed the sheets.
Jorick came in just then, looking grim, his dark eyes clouded with troubles.
She waited until he'd closed and locked the door before speaking. "Well?"
"Well what?" He glanced at the clock, then began to survey the room, his hands on his hips.
She watched his face and waited for some hint of his thoughts, but his expression didn't change. She wondered if appearing emotionless was an attribute peculiar to him or if it was a "vampire ability". When she decided his features were going to reveal nothing she asked more specifically, "What's in the other room?"
"Nothing." He uprooted himself from the spot he'd been standing and dropped the extra key on the desk with a small metallic clink. Then, he walked around the room. His eyes snapped to each piece of furniture calculatingly. "Benjamin just wanted me to look in on something for him." He stuck his head into the small bathroom in further examination.
She tried to figure out what he was up to, but refused to be detoured. "Who's Benjamin?"
"The landlord," Jorick answered casually as he walked towards the window and pulled back the drapes to reveal an aged blind.
"You know him?" How many people were in on this?
His face was thoughtful as he dropped the drapes and placed his hands on his hips. "Not personally. Oren knows him."
"Checking on Arowenia, were you?" She couldn't believe he thought she was that stupid. It wasn't hard to figure out. When he didn't reply she added, "This is where they're keeping her? In a rundown motel?"
"I didn't say that."
"Yes, but you didn't say she wasn't." She watched his actions, annoyed that he wouldn't just admit it to her. When the silence began to stretch she asked sarcastically, "Missing your coffin?"
"As a matter of fact, I am." He crossed his arms over his chest and his nose wrinkled. "When the sun rises the room should be well lit."
"Another night in the bathtub, then?" She felt a touch of disappointment that made her blush.
"It looks like it." He shook his head in annoyance. "Had I known I'd have requested a different room, I only accepted this one because I thought you'd prefer one close to the office in case I was gone tomorrow." He looked genuinely annoyed. "Really, he should have mentioned how much light there'd be, all things considered." He looked thoughtful. "Though I suppose he probably doesn't know. I doubt he's in the rooms in the daytime."
Katelina tried to sound casual. "So he's a - a vampire?"
Jorick nodded. "And a notoriously cheap one at that." He yawned and Katelina blinked back in surprise. She hadn't known that vampires got sleepy. Rather, she'd thought they just sort of passed out against their will. But, she supposed if they could be awake in the daytime they must have some sort of control. Interesting.
"Well, I'm going to go get comfortable," he said with an edge of sarcasm to his voice. "I suggest you do the same. We'll have a chat with Benjamin tomorrow about changing rooms, but in the meantime, try to get some rest."
She nodded and suppressed a gasp of surprise as he brushed a kiss against her forehead, then shut himself in the bathroom.
Once she was alone, Katelina stared up at the water-stained ceiling and thought quietly to herself. So Arowenia was being held in a junky little motel in the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire? The complete irony of it wasn't wasted on her. Given Claudius' power, he'd be accustomed to nice things, and here his "property" was in the shabbiest of shabby motels.
She closed her eyes against the remaining darkness and let her mind slip away to forbidden places and thoughts until she drifted to sleep, where dreams of vampires and blood replaced her more pleasant ideas.
