Chapter 380
Loren lay clenched in the fetal position, his head turned so his curly hair hid his face. The smell of burnt flesh wafted from his body, and Katelina could see small, burned holes in his flannel and t-shirt.
Jorick knelt next to her. His face was bright red, and small brownish blisters had formed on his forehead and cheeks. Like Oren, his lips were the worst. They were dry and cracked, with large whitish blisters that looked ready to pop.
She wanted to touch him, but couldn't. "My god, Jorick, are you all right?"
He gave a short, sharp nod.
Micah shouted a mesh of obscenities and threats, and the vampires practically threw him at them. He stumbled over Oren and landed on the cement floor with a thud. He gave a long, loud groan and rolled over. His red skin was raw and blistered, and in places there were dark, shiny patches, as if they'd been burned by flames. Like Loren's clothes, his tank top had small burn holes in it, and the tattoos on his bare arms were disfigured. Blood ran from his lips, where his shouting had cracked the brittle skin.
Torina arrived, in much the same shape as her brother, and Verchiel was worse than Jorick; his flaming sunburn almost matched his hair. The blisters on his face had a pink and yellow cast and were clustered like painful grapes. Like Oren and Micah, his lips bled and leaked trails down his chin. He met Katelina's eyes but didn't even try to smile.
Quenby was last. She was unaffected. Her captors dragged her past the others and through the door at the back of the room.
Katelina was aware of a soft noise, like singing, and she realized Etsuko was gently crooning a lullaby to Loren. Katelina didn't know if the teen was shivering from pain, or if he'd gone into convulsions. Did vampires suffer shock?
"Then where were you?" a male shouted in the next room.
Katelina looked toward the doorway and strained to hear Ume's answer. She couldn't catch all the words, only, "Captured- Germany- Prisoner."
"So you brought your captors with you?"
"Not- enemies of- Shadows-help."
A deep female voice cut in, accented in something Katelina couldn't place, "Enough, Sushel. I'll finish this."
The thin, dark haired male from the woods stormed back through the door, his mask off and his face crumpled in fury. He glared at them and then disappeared through the other doorway.
The voices in the next room dropped, and Katelina could barely hear them. She knew the vampires could, but with their burned lips they weren't going to tell her. She pieced together that the owner of new voice was going to look at the prisoners herself.
A tall, busty blonde strode through the doorway and stopped in front of them, her hands on her hips. She was attractive in an odd way, not beautiful except for the grace immortality gave her, but interesting. What Katelina first took for a birthmark on her cheek, she quickly realized was a scar. She also noticed part of the vampiress' ear was missing. Like the others she wore a clingy black outfit and boots.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
Without thinking, Katelina snapped back, "If you want them to answer, you should let them heal first."
The vampiress tapped an impatient foot. "Then you can speak for them, human." She motioned to some of her underlings. They grabbed Katelina's arms and pulled her to her feet. Jorick growled low and angry, and they let her go and stepped away.
The blonde was so tall, she had to look down to meet Katelina's eyes. "I say again, who are you? Why are you here?"
She debated whether to tell the truth or not, and finally decided she shouldto a point. "We came because Ume said you'd have information on the Children of Shadows."
"Why are you interested in them?"
"Because someone we once knew has joined them."
"Who?"
When Katelina didn't answer, the blonde leaned so close she could feel her breath on her face. "It is my decision whether you live or die. Now answer me."
Katelina drew back a step and met her angry glare with one of her own. She was too mad to contemplate her position, or how much danger she was really in. "You should answer some of our questions first!"
The vampiress held her eyes, and finally leaned back and crossed her arms. "You have some, how do you say, guts for a mere human. You have two questions, use them wisely."
Katelina blinked in startled disbelief. She hadn't expected that to work, and now she didn't know what to say. She looked to Jorick for help, and the vampiress said, "You answered the questions, so you ask the questions, not them."
She was sure it was a test, and just as sure she'd fail. What in the hell had she been thinking?
She sifted through her terrified thoughts and asked, "Why were the Children of Shadows at a marina in Indonesia?"
"A good question. They were hunting one called Wolfe."
Wolfe? Katelina lost what little steam she'd had. "Why would they be after Wolfe?" The words were out before she could stop them and she grimaced. She'd planned to put more thought into her second question!
"Because they were ordered to. Now it's my turn. Who is it you used to know?"
The vampiress' answer was lousy, so Katelina gave one that was equally vague. "He was an Executioner from America."
"Does he have a name?"
"Why did the Father of Shadows order them to attack Wolfe?"
The vampiress smiled a slow, appreciative smile. "The Father is no longer in command."
The answer left Katelina flailing again. "Then who is?"
"One called Cyprus. Now you answer two questions. Who is it that you know?"
She was left gaping. So Cyprus wasn't working for Samael at all. He'd taken over the group on his own. "Actually, it's Cyprus."
"Interesting. And you would like to stop him?"
"Maybe," Katelina murmured.
"Such commitment. And why do you want tomaybestop him?"
She was lost for a reason. As Jorick always said, it wasn't their problem and yet- "Because no one else is doing it."
"A good answer, if not a little incorrect. It will suffice." The vampiress stepped back and swept her eyes over her prisoners. "The sun is up and it is long past our waking hours. You will be untied and given places to sleep, however if even one of you ventures violence you will all be slain." She turned away and gave short, quick orders in a foreign language. Then, she paused in the doorway and looked back. "I will make us even, human, and answer the question you did not ask. My name is Fethillen, leader of the Black Vigil, and it is my life's mission to bring to ruin all Memnon created, including the Children of Shadows and all who stand with them."
