Chapter 362
Verchiel disappeared to "look into some things." Jorick was perfectly kind to Katelina, but she could feel the fury that rolled beneath the surface. It wasn't directed at her, rather at Samael, der H?here Rat, and potentially the rest of the world.
A knock sounded on the door and Jorick opened it to find Sadihra. She'd changed into a purple sweater and in place of her Scharfrichter amulet hung a piece of polished amethyst.
"Wolfe just told me," the Scharfrichterin said as she stepped inside and closed the door. "Is it true?"
The muscle in Jorick's jaw flexed. "That depends on what he said."
"He said she fed upon Samael, and that the Kugsankal must decide what to do."
Jorick made a noncommittal noise and Sadihra closed her eyes. "Oh Gott!" She opened them again and turned serious, her usual smooth veneer in place. "They will keep her here, hoping to use her in some way against Samael."
Katelina stiffened at her words. "But how would I be useful?"
"It's hard to say," Sadihra answered. "Whenever you drink a vampire's blood you become connected to them in some way. The how is different in every case, perhaps depending on the vampire, or on the human, or on the amount of blood. There were experiments done, of course, in the Dark Ages, but the results were never conclusive."
Katelina could well imagine Dark Age vampire experiments. "But I've had blood from other vampires and never been connected in a way that could be used against them. Malick could only use me against Jorick because Jorick cared about me and chose to be worried. It isn't as if hurting me could hurt Jorick miles away."
Sadihra shrugged. "Then perhaps it's something else?"
"Like the mind thing?" Katelina asked.
"Mind thing?" Sadihra looked quickly to Jorick. He explained in a handful of words and the Scharfrichterin looked at Katelina as though she was something mysterious that had crawled from under a rock. When she finally found words she said, "Be careful, both of you."
She started for the door, then stopped. "Did Wolfe tell you the results of the Black Vigil inquiry?"
"No," Jorick answered. "We had very little time for conversation."
"Join us for dinner. There is a restaurant."
Though Katelina wasn't so sure about dinner with Wolfe, Jorick nodded. "We know where it is."
"Good. We will see you at three. Yes? Until then, good evening."
She hurried out the door and Katelina threw herself back on the bed with a groan.
***
It was nearly three when Jorick and Katelina went to the restaurant. Wolfe and Sadihra sat at a table in one of the smaller rooms. A handful of tables were scattered around them, but most were empty. Though Katelina couldn't say why, she got the impression it was some kind of VIP room.
Sadihra greeted them, and Wolfe gave them stony nods. A waiter took their order; blood for the vampires and a pasta dish for Katelina. Once he'd gone, Wolfe turned to Jorick. "Der H?here Rat spoke to the prisoners we brought with us."
"And?" Jorick asked.
"Their evidence held true. They would give very little information about their so-called order, except to say its function is to destroy the Children of Shadows, which they claim is not defunct as we all believe, but instead has been secretly thriving."
"The last of that cult died when I was still a fledgling," Jorick said. "Malick helped hunt Memnon himself. I watched him burn, and I watched his followers burn." He paused a moment then added with no emotion, "I helped to light the fires for some."
Wolfe nodded. "I was there, too, if you'll remember. They weren't all they were rumored to be, just a squabbling bunch of immortals scrabbling for power."
"There was a lot of that back then," Jorick said.
"Yes, before the Kugsankal stamped out the last of it and organized the new system. With the recent upheavals, I worry those times may come again. If the group really has resurfaced then it's no wonder. Malick may have set a dangerous precedent."
The waiter interrupted with the food, and it was only after the glasses of blood were poured from a large crystal decanter that the conversation resumed.
"As I was saying, the research department found mention of The Black Vigil in a collection of letters from the ancient materials department. They were a group from Moldavia, led by a Dumitru, who organized them in the fourteenth century, initially to fight another 'evil' master. Eventually they evolved as enemies of The Children of Shadow, though it doesn't say why. There was some hint that they had a change of leadership, but no specific name is given. They disappeared from records in the sixteenth century, presumably wiped out by the Children, and no one has seen or heard of them since."
"I see." Jorick sipped from his glass. "So they are both dead orders, so to speak."
"Or un-dead," Katelina muttered to herself.
"It doesn't say exactly when they disappeared, does it?" Jorick asked thoughtfully. "If they were enemies of the Children of Shadows I feel we should've run across them."
"The last mention is some time before Memnon was destroyed, so there's a chance they were gone before we were involved. We were both young then."
Jorick nodded. "Did they manage to trace either of the prisoners? Their masters, covens, and such?"
"No. They both swear allegiance to a Fethillen. They claim she's the leader of the Black Vigil, and at least six hundred years old, but there are no records of her. Of course, that doesn't disprove her existence, since even The Sodalitas' records are very incomplete. It isn't easy to keep track of every vampire in the world."
Katelina tested her dinner and found it tasty. "So what are they going to do with them?"
"Who?" Wolfe asked coldly.
"Ume and Qu-what's-her-name."
Wolfe looked uncomfortable. "They were initially charged with attacking Scharfrichter and Executioners, but since it was determined we weren't on official business, and they didn't actually attack us firstin fact it was your companion, Micah, I believe, who threw the first blow." The sneer in his voice said Jorick was somehow to blame.
"He's hardly my companion," Jorick replied coldly. "Look to Oren."
"And is not Oren one of yours?" Wolfe asked.
Sadihra cut in. "It doesn't matter. What Wolfe was trying to say is that they are to be released."
"And what of the Children of Shadows?" Jorick asked. "Are there any other rumors of their resurrection?"
Wolfe gulped the last of his blood and leaned back in the chair. "None."
"Then who attacked us and killed everyone in the marina?" Katelina asked
Wolfe made a low noise. Katelina wasn't sure what he was aggravated about in particular. Maybe everything. She knew she was.
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