Chapter 375
The next evening they were still at the stronghold. Katelina watched TV and tried to hide from the nearness of the Kugsankal. It didn't feel as if they were purposefully bothering her, just crushing her by proximity. She wondered how the usual residents put up with it.
Jorick paced restlessly around the room and finally announced he needed to see Oren.
He'd been gone some time when a knock sounded on the door and she opened it to find Verchiel.
"My, you are way down here, aren't you? Metaphorically speaking, how would you like to get some air?"
She thought about Jorick's reaction, but he'd let her go with Sadihra the other day. If he thought the Scharfrichterin was capable of taking care of her then Verchiel should be. He was probably older. . "Yeah, sure."
"Better grab your coat and your luggage." He held up his own leather bag. "Just in case."
She rolled her eyes, but donned her long black coat, a hand me down from Jorick, and then grabbed the bulky purse and slung it over her shoulder. "There."
They left the lower levels behind and roamed through the public floors, past shops full of things she couldn't buythere was no more room in her bagand groups of vampires. There was something palpable in the air; like heavy anger, and more than once she caught angry glares, until she wondered if there was something wrong with her.
"You're a human," Verchiel said cheerfully. "And an American, neither of which make you an ideal companion, but it's not you." He rubbed his hands together. "I think the time is ripe. Let's go have some fun."
His idea of fun was an elevator ride to the crowded entrance hall. Guards holding silver maces and armed Scharfrichter ringed the room. In the middle was a seething mass of angry vampires.
"Better hold on." Verchiel offered her his arm and she took it uncertainly. He plunged into the multitude, worming his way through the crush of the crowd toward the stairs where the guards and Scharfrichter were the thickest.
He pulled to a stop and whispered in her ear, "Stay here." Then he pushed forward and evaporated, leaving her grabbing after thin air.
The crowd moved around her and knocked her into a large, burly vampire. He growled down at her. "Watch it!"
"Sorry," she said quickly. What in the hell was Verchiel thinking?
"Let us out!" a voice shouted from the front of the crowd.
There was a murmur of agreement and someone else called, "Why are you keeping us here?"
Another vampire shouted, "Yeah, let me leave! I got stuff to do! I only came to visit my sister for a week!"
A female with bright maroon hair yelled, "I don't want out, just let my girlfriend in! She's stuck out there, in Munich, with nowhere to go!"
"You don't want her in here," someone hollered from the far side. "They'll charge her a boatload and refuse to let her out."
"They're taking our money!" another one cried from the back of the group. "That's why they won't let us leave!"
The idea permeated the crowd, and the anger got thicker.
"Yeah," a woman near Katelina said. "If they want us to stay then they shouldn't charge us."
"Right, prisoners get free room and board!"
Verchiel popped up next to Katelina, as though he'd crawled through the crowd and stood. He gave Katelina a wink, then met the eyes of the bulky vampire next to her. The vampire's face went slack, then he shouted, "That's what we are! Prisoners! And we're payin' for the privilege."
Verchiel patted Katelina on the shoulder, then dropped and disappeared. The bulky vampire didn't seem to notice that he'd been under any influence and added, "You're as good as stealing our money!"
There was a chorus of agreement that melted into individual complaints. Someone from the back started to chant, "Let us out! Let us out!" and soon the whole mass took it up.
Their voices echoed off the marble walls and Katelina covered her ears. The guards gripped their weapons and the Scharfrichter shouted, "Stop and disperse! We are authorized to use force if necessary!"
"Force?" someone bellowed. "You'll kill us so you can keep charging us?"
"That's the way it works with The Sodalitas!" a male with a thick accent called.
The chant started up again and someone in the front pushed one of the guards. The guard gave a cry and lashed back with his mace. The weapon connected with a crunch and knocked the vampire back into the crowd.
"Did you see that?" a female screamed. "They killed him!"
The answer was a roar of anger, and the crowd surged forward. Katelina was swept along, squashed between angry, writhing bodies. She struggled, but they didn't seem to notice. She could hear shouts and cries as the front of the group clashed with the guards and the Scharfrichter. A splatter of blood splashed up above the crowd and Katelina cried in horror as it fell over them like a shower. She was far enough back that only a few drops splattered on her face, but it was enough.
"Kately!" The call came from behind her and she tried to turn against the tide. She could see the top of Verchiel's bright red hair sticking up among the mob, but the throng forced her forward.
There was a great cry from the front of the line, and they were all pushed backwards, as if a wall had come down. Katelina stumbled and fell against the bulky vampire. He pushed her off, taking no notice, and bellowed toward the Scharfrichter, "Your fucking tricks won't do any good!"
The loud speaker crackled to life and an urgent message went over it, calling for immediate backup. The pack surged forward again. This was it; their window, and she was stuck and probably going to be crushed by the Scharfrichter!
"Get back!"
The vampires around her fell away, leaving her room to breathe. Their faces were startled, but they didn't have time to do more than stare before Verchiel appeared next to her and dragged her down to her knees.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she cried. "We'll get crushed!"
"This way." The redhead dragged her through the forest of feet and legs. She half crawled, half stumbled until she reached the edge of the crowd, where she practically fell out. Verchiel caught her and dragged her to the stairs as an army of guards and Scharfrichter came storming up them.
Verchiel let her go and quickly knelt. "All the reinforcements are coming, and this place is about to turn into a war zone. Climb on!"
There were times when she'd have argued, but this wasn't one of them. She threw her arms around his neck and, as he stood, hitched her knees up around his waist.
"Don't scream," he ordered and then took off, streaking down the stairs. His bright red hair flapped in her face, and she turned her head, but the blur of stairs and wall made her sick, so she squeezed her eyes closed and buried her face against the collar of his coat.
They skidded to a stop and Katelina groaned and tried to adjust to the halt. The elevator doors swam before her and she heard another round of shouts over the loudspeaker, this time in German.
"So that was the great underground movement?" Katelina asked, still clutching him.
"No, the underground movement is the reinforcements I mentioned. That was just the spark to get things rolling. The rebellion proper was waiting for the signal to start, like we were."
"That was the signal, right?"
Katelina looked over to see Ume and Loren. She wondered what they were doing together, but the pleased look on Loren's face gave her a hint.
"It damn well better be the signal." Micah came to a stop and dropped a backpack to the floor. "Where's the rest of the gang?"
