Chapter 401
Jorick rolled his eyes and marched after Fethillen. Katelina followed. The last time she'd seen Sorino had been in the mountains near the Raven Queen's temple. They'd had a bonfire funeral for Neil, their ally who'd been killed in the temple. Before that, her last memory of him was in the basement of the temple as he'd forced her to shove the withered Heart of the Raven into Samael's open mouth, hoping he'd be able to control the resurrected vampire for his own ends.
Sorino wasn't someone she wanted to see again, yet there he was with his hands behind his back. He wore his long dark hair in a ponytail and the expression on his face was torn between glowing curiosity and insult. His khaki outfit was clich¨¦ jungle explorer garb, except he'd traded shorts for long pants. He even wore a pith helmet.
Next to him was his human companion Kai. The boy looked to be sixteen or seventeen at most. His messy blonde hair hung in his face and obscured his green eyes. It made Katelina think of a sheepdog; if a sheepdog had the face of an angel hidden underneath. As she'd thought from a distance, he was shirtless. Thick, pale scars crisscrossed his body like a roadmap that always made Katelina uncomfortable. Sorino had rescued him from a vampire attack when he was a toddler, but no one knew if all the scars were from that or if Sorino had added to them over the years. The usual thick collar was missing from around Kai's neck, and so was his chain.
Five members of the Black Vigil, including Sushel, stood around them, their decorated sickles held at the ready. Two more were behind holding a huge camper style backpack, complete with rolled up sleeping bag, and a small leather bag with a long strap.
"Hello, Jorick," Sorino drawled. "Your new friends are nearly as courteous as you."
Jorick smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "You'll have to excuse their paranoia. No doubt they've heard of you."
"If that was true then they'd know binding me is useless."
Fethillen watched the proceedings, her arms crossed. "We did not invite you."
"The last I looked, I hardly need your permission to take a stroll through the jungle. If you react like this to us, I shudder to think what you'd say to the friend I left at the plane."
Jorick perked up. "So you found him."
"Of course. No one has ever eluded me once I set my sights on them."
"Found who?" Fethillen asked angrily.
Sorino gave her a smug, thin lipped smile, but Jorick answered, "Wolfe."
Fethillen tried to hide her surprise. "You're planning to take him to Malick."
"Malick?" Sorino asked. "How curious. I understood from the message you left, Jorick, that we were going to see the Children of Shadows."
Jorick nodded. "It seems they're one and the same."
"Now that is interesting." Sorino's eyes glowed and Katelina imagined he'd have rubbed his hands together if he could get them free. He turned sharply to Fethillen. "I presume you're the leader? If you must keep me tied, then I accept the loss of liberty, but I fail to see what danger a human can do to you." He moved his head toward Kai. "Having him constrained is more inconvenient than practical, unless someone plans to feed him by hand."
Fethillen made a low angry noise. "Untie the human, but take the vampire into the house so we can speak with him."
Sushel growled as he loosened the rope from Kai's wrists and then shoved him roughly forward. The boy stumbled and his hair flapped out of his face long enough for Katelina to catch a glimpse of placid green eyes. He straightened and stood next to Katelina silently.
They shoved the luggage at the boy and then Sushel and his friends marched Sorino toward the house.
"Watch Kai," Jorick barked at Katelina and then stormed after them.
She shrugged and turned to the boy. "Etsuko's cooking dinner, if you're hungry."
She took his silence for understanding and led him to the fire and the makeshift seats. Etsuko was in the middle of removing the rice when Kai carefully laid down his burdens.
"Welcome, Kai-san. Will you be eating with us?"
He shook his head and pointed to the pack.
"If Kai-san has anything that needs prepared I could do so, if it would please him."
Katelina could imagine Jorick prodding her and saying, "You could take a lesson from her."
Kai shook his head again, then dug through the bag to produce several energy bars wrapped in shiny packages.
Etsuko bowed, as if to say "okay," then served the dinner in the scuffed bowls. Oren tapped his leg impatiently, his eyes on the house, and finally demanded, "What happened?"
Katelina answered, "They took Sorino to question him. Fethillen acts like Jorick inviting them without permission was the same as usurping her authority and I think she wants to prove she's still in charge."
"Women in power are often easily threatened," Oren muttered. Katelina wondered if he knew from experience. He'd had a domineering wife, and had as much as admitted that she'd run everything.
They ate in silence. Katelina managed to feed some of the giant fruit to Kai, and choked down as much as she could stand. What had first been a pleasant mango flavor was now getting tiresome and overpowering, but she hated to waste it. She'd just decided she couldn't stand another bite when Micah and Loren wandered up lugging bananas.
"Look what we found" Loren broke off. "Hey, isn't that"
"It's Sorino's bitch," Micah said. "What's that snake doin' here?"
"Jorick invited him," Katelina said quickly. Though she had no love for the sneaky vampire, she was oddly fond of Kai.
"What the fuck for?" Micah grabbed one of the bananas and peeled it. He peered closely, as if inspecting it, then thrust the fruit at Katelina. "See if this shit's any good."
More fruit was the last thing she wanted, but Loren looked so hopeful she took a bite. "Yep. Tastes great."
Micah wrinkled his nose. "Don't talk with your mouth full. That's some sick shit." He turned to Oren. "So what the fuck did Jorick invite him for?"
"He wants his plane to go to Malick's."
Katelina swallowed her mouthful and added, "And Sorino brought Wolfe."
"Not that Scharfrigin'-what's-it?" Micah demanded. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I guess in case Malick demands a trade for Ume."
"That'd be about the only thing that cold bastard is good for." The bald vampire motioned to Loren. "Put that shit down and let's see what's going on."
