Chapter 352
When the vampires finished their breakfast, Wolfe announced that departure was delayed due to stormy seas. Katelina was still eating, so Jorick gave her a kiss and said he wanted to speak to Oren. The lion-maned vampire followed him out of the dining room, and both she and Etsuko let them go.
The other vampires followed, until only Katelina and Etsuko remained. As Katelina chewed, she thought about the people who'd been out in the storm removing the metal shields from the windows. She hoped they got paid well.
Etsuko finished the last of her meal, then primly folded her napkin and laid it aside. She sat with her back straight and hands in her lap. The moment Katelina laid down her fork, she said, "I hope Katelina-san has had a good week?"
"Yeah. It's too bad it's over, even if there were no cabana boys." Etsuko blinked back at her, so she added quickly, "Did you have a good time? I didn't see you on the beach very much."
"I have had a lovely time. Katelina-san is correct. I did not go much to the beach. Oren-sama does not care for the sand."
"Don't you like it?"
Etsuko looked thoughtful. "I am afraid that before I came on this trip we did not visit the beach very often, though Japan has many beautiful beaches. We did go twice a year; Goshujin-sama owned a small private beach. They are lovely for a day's picnic, but I cannot think of what to do on it day after day. One would become spoiled if they visited it always and then it would no longer be a holiday."
Katelina saw the logic, but it was still odd. "So what did you do?"
"On the first night Oren-sama and I walked the beach, as Katelina-san knows. And after that we remained mostly at the house. I have almost finished mywhat would you call it?" She made a motion like sewing. "Needlework?"
Her smile was genuine and Katelina tried not to groan. Etsuko was in paradise and she was embroidering? What was wrong with her? "You enjoy that?"
"Very much so. I have decorated many kimonos for Goshujin-sama's wife."
"Who is Gosh-whatever?"
"Goshujin-sama. I think it translates to master in English. It was the one you called Shinobu-sama, the head of the Tsukino clan. All of the Tsukino clan's humans belong to him. He is the one who gifted me to Maeko-sama. I suppose it would be fitting for me to also call her Goshujin-sama, but she bid me not to, as she is hoping that Oren-sama will soon claim me, instead."
The ownership angle was too casual for Katelina. "You don't mind all this claiming stuff? Like you're a piece of luggage?"
"That is the way it is. I was raised to be a human of the Tsukino clan, and that is what I am."
So they raised their own slaves? That explained a lot. It also meant it would be harder to liberate Etsuko, since she was brainwashed, but Katelina was determined to try, if for no other reason than it was wrong for her to accept such treatment.
"You're not with the Tsukino clan anymore. We don't do things that way."
Etsuko tilted her head. "Don't you, Katelina-san? Are you not Jorick-sama's marked human?"
Katelina unconsciously rubbed the scar above her right collar bone. It was a bite mark with a small cross cut beneath it; Jorick's mark. It was an antiquated vampire law that humans had to be marked by their masters, no doubt created so they could be tracked by their unusual scar, and so there was proof of who a human belonged to if there was a debate.
Belonged to. Like a head of cattle or a prized pig. The mark was little more than a brand, and Katelina suspected it had other subtle meanings attached to it. Just as Jorick had done last night, vampires bit their partners when they coupled with them. That was where the vampire's true pleasure derived, rather than from the physical act alone, and Katelina suspected the mark was also used as proof of mating. A symbol that they'd shared the vampire's most intimate embrace. Another example of sex and slavery.
"Is Katelina-san feeling all right?"
Etsuko's question pulled Katelina back to the present. "Sorry. It isn't like that with Jorick and me. We're equals."
"How can a human ever hope to be equal to her immortal master?" Etsuko covered her mouth. "Katelina-san must forgive me. Perhaps Jorick-sama's ways are different."
Katelina managed a watery smile and thought, They damn well better be.
***
The storm calmed, though rain still fell. They hurried through it to board a yacht at the dock. It was the same craft they'd arrived in, and Katelina imagined it would take them back to the glittering city and the private airfield where Wolfe's plane waited to whisk them to Munich.
Micah, a bald vampire who sported a brown goatee and tribal tattoo down one side of his face, dropped onto the bench in the main cabin. He wore a tank top that hugged his toned physique and showed off the ink on his arms. Dressed like a biker, he even had motorcycle boots and a wallet chain. "We finally get to the god damn beach and some joker cuts it short. What the fuck? How can you call a week a fucking dream vacation?"
"It's better than nothing," chirped Loren from the seat next to him. The boy vampire looked about sixteen, with dark curly hair and brown doe eyes. Perpetually trapped in the nineties, he wore a t-shirt with a flannel shirt thrown over it. The left sleeve was tied in a knot under the stump of his arm. His limb was one of the many casualties of Oren's attack on the vampires' citadel.
"We can always come back," he added and patted Micah's shoulder.
The bald vampire snorted. "Sure we can. You got a private plane hidden up you're a"
Katelina cut him off. "Do you always have to be so crude?"
"What's wrong, princess? Can't stand the way real men talk?" Micah crossed his arms. "You've spent too much time with The Guild's pussified dogs."
Jorick growled low and Verchiel pushed off of the wall he was leaning against. "Pussified dogs?" he asked pleasantly. "I'm sure you meant delightful gentlemen, right?"
Micah looked ready to reply, but Torina chose that moment to enter. She wore a slinky fuchsia dress whose halter top looked ready to surrender and leave her plump breasts exposed. If that happened, Katelina doubted the vampiress would care.
"Hello there, boys," Torina purred. "I hope you're all being good, or at least not too bad." She paused to wink at Micah. "Not yet, anyway."
Oren made an impatient noise in his throat and she moved to sit next to him. "Brother, I see your new appendage is still alive and well."
Katelina cringed at the insult, but Etsuko didn't.
"You'd have known that had you bothered to join us for breakfast," Oren replied coldly.
"Pfft. I can feed later. I had better things to do than sit at the table and stare at all of you."
"Better things or people?" Micah asked with a snicker.
"As if I'd tell you." Torina tossed her red hair over her shoulder. "I hope it's not raining in Munich."
Katelina hunched down in her seat and closed her eyes. The weather was the least of her worries.
***
The rain stopped by the time they reached the marina. It was after dark and off-season, still Katelina had expected someone to meet them, but the place was deserted. Jorick helped her onto the dock. Though he didn't say anything, she could feel his tension. Her eyes skipped from him to their surroundings.
The last time they'd been there had been nearer to midnight, and there had still been more life. A handful of other yachts had been moored, some with people on the decks enjoying a starlit night. This time, the slips stood empty and the wooden dock stretched lonely, wet, and silent. The buildings that crowded the seawall had also been teeming with life: a bar, a restaurant, and the harbor master's office. Now both the signs and buildings were dark. The tinkle of drunken conversation had been replaced by the gentle lapping of the water and Katelina's raspy breathing.
Jorick and Oren met each other's eyes, as if a silent conversation passed between them. Given they were both mind readers, Katelina was sure that was the case.
The captain of the yacht climbed noisily onto the dock. "Where is everyone?"
"That's the question." Jorick squeezed Katelina's hand reassuringly. "Come," he raised his voice to address the others. "Stay on your guard."
Micah snorted contemptuously. "Like you have to tell us. Come on, pee-wee." He motioned to Loren and strode toward the buildings.
The teen followed enthusiastically, and Verchiel swung his black bag over his shoulder and trailed after them. Wolfe dug in his carry-on and produced a bizarre weapon. As if the long, curving hook wasn't enough, it looked like several other blades had been tacked on for good measure and all stuck to a short handle. He met Sadihra's gaze and a look of understanding passed between them. The Scharfrichterin would need no weapon because her ability, similar to telekinesis, made everything around her into one.
The captain offered them a smile. "Good luck. I'll have someone bring your luggage up." Then he disappeared into the yacht.
Jorick motioned Katelina to stay silent and carefully led her forward. Like the other vampires, he moved soundlessly, something she hadn't mastered. She cringed as her footsteps echoed heavily on the damp wooden dock. She might as well shout, "Here we are!" Though, if there were other vampires nearby, they probably already knew.
Jorick and Micah jerked to a stop at the same time, and the others followed. They sniffed the air, and then Jorick released Katelina's hand and stormed forward alone.
Verchiel tugged what looked like a short lacquered club from his bag. With a twist and a click, it separated into a short sword and a wooden scabbard. He motioned to Oren and Torina, but apparently neither had weapons on them.
The vampires crept forward and Katelina took a handful of steps. She splashed in a water puddle and instantly drew back. The liquid that splattered up her leg wasn't clear like rainwater, rather a thick, dark liquid. She wiped at it to find-
"Blood?"
