Chapter 408
"What are you doing wandering around by yourself?"
Katelina jumped back, and Loren and Ume popped out of the vegetation, both looking relieved at the interruption. "Oh, hey Katelina," the boy said.
Verchiel put his arm around Loren and motioned toward the jungle. "What are you two up to in there? Playing spin the bottle?" Loren blushed and Verchiel turned to Katelina. "We could join them, though there would have to be a no sibling rule."
Katelina rolled her eyes. "Thanks anyway. I'm looking for Jorick."
"Oh, he's busy consoling Torinawhoops!" Verchiel covered his mouth in a too obvious gesture. "Not sure I was supposed to say that." Katelina looked outraged and he laughed. "She's upset because Oren's little human got sick on her watch, so Jorick went to explain that those things happen, no matter how good a job you do. He's had the most recent human-keeping experience."
"As if she cares," Katelina said icily. "Where are they?"
"Um." He screwed up his face and tapped his chin. "Where did I see them? Was it in the shed? Behind the hangars? By the waterfall? That's it!"
She pictured a romantic movie scene. Moonlight glinted on the water, lightning bugs danced among the dark leaves, and the hero desperately clutched his romantic lead. "What waterfall?"
Verchiel broke into a grin and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I'll show you!"
He dragged her into the jungle, and she had a last look at Kai who stood framed by the dark trees, his mouth a disapproving line.
Verchiel stopped and dropped into a crouch. "You walk too slow. Up, up, come on." She hesitated. It wasn't Jorick that she didn't trust, but rather Torina. She wouldn't put anything past her.
She climbed onto Verchiel's back and he straightened and took off.
Katelina went to bury her face in his coat collar, only it was missing and she found his warm neck instead. She pulled back, ignoring the peel of laughter.
The jungle flew past, but thankfully she couldn't see most of it in the dark. Suddenly Verchiel slid to a stop. He whispered over his shoulder, "We're getting close. They're upwind of us, but if you make a bunch of noise it won't matter."
"I can't be as quiet as you," she hissed back.
"That's why I'm carrying you."
He crept as silent as a shadow and she clung tightly and hoped she didn't fall off. Somehow going slow was worse than going fast; at least then she was too worried about sudden death to think about the ridiculousness of a grown woman being carried on someone's back through a dark jungle.
She heard the soft tinkle of water before she saw it. The waterfall, as he'd called it, was barely two foot high, and lacked the romantic atmosphere Katelina had imagined. There was no halo of moonlight, no lightning bugs, and no soft seductive jungle sounds. Instead there was a thin stream and the same creepy noises as usual.
Katelina squinted through the gloom. Torina sat on a fallen log, her arms crossed and Jorick leaned against a tree, hands in his pockets.
"you should remember that from your servants," Jorick was saying.
"I never had anything to do with them," Torina said impatiently. "It isn't that anyway. I'm just fed up with being useless. And don't bother saying I'm not. Your stupid human is considered more useful than I am!"
Katelina held back a growl.
"You're not useless, Torina."
"Fine, perhaps ineffective is a better word? I couldn't talk Oren out of that stupid war with The Guild. I tried to distract him with Kateesha. Not that the bitch didn't have it coming, but I thought a taste of war would be enough for him and I knew Kateesha was someone we could defeat. It didn't work. When we did take on The Guild you were the one who saved him, not me. You were the one who made the arrangements for us to go to Japan. You'll be the one to get him home again in one piece. And that's fine if he needed me for something. But he doesn't. No one does. I'm a pretty piece of sugared candy and I know it."
It took all of Katelina's willpower not to shout, "Amen, sister!" Even as the thought died away it was replaced with suspicion. In the movie version Jorick would move toward her, comfort her, tell her she was special-
If that was Torina's plan no one had clued Jorick in. He stayed by the tree and made an uncomfortable noise in his throat. Finally he said, "He isn't going to abandon you."
"Says who? Especially now that this, this human has her claws in him! You saw how concerned he was about her illness. She follows him around, bowing and catering to his every whim, carrying his luggage, asking his permission to breathe. She'll have him convinced he's the emperor of the world before long. Jesslynn at least knew how to manage him, though God I hated her. Such a cold, self-righteous, prudish"
"Yes," Jorick interrupted. "I know."
"My point is what's to stop him from scraping me off as so much bother? Especially if she suggests it? Not that she'd come out and say it. Those kind never do. They drop a hint here, a hint there, and soon he thinks it's all his idea. Then they clap and say, 'Oh what a wonderful idea you've had Oren-sala-whatever'. It makes me ill."
"Perhaps you're just suspicious because that's what you'd do? Liars think everyone is lying."
Torina huffed indignantly. "I'm not a manipulator. I make what I want clear, I don't play games."
"Then tell Oren."
"You expect me to tell him I'm jealous!" she shouted and then sagged. "It sounds ridiculous when you say it like that, as if I'm some petty, clinging, spinster sister who's worried for her future. Well I'm not."
Jorick snapped back impatiently, "No, you're afraid of being alone for eternity. I imagine he knows that by now, don't you?"
"I'm not afraid," Torina barked.
"You've never lived without him," Jorick said. "You're the younger child. When your parents died, you stayed in the house with him. Then you both gained immortality and in the house you remained. There's nothing wrong with that. It simply is. But by the same token it means he's never been without you. You have nothing to worry about. Oren is loyal if nothing else. He'll take care of you until one of you are in your grave."
"I never said I was worried about it," she replied stiffly.
"Of course not. In any case, I need to get back to Katelina. I left Loren to keep an eye on her, and though his intentions are good I'm not sure about his abilities."
"If you'd turn her you wouldn't have to worry about it as much," Torina said.
"I know, and I've been thinking about it, before someone else does."
Katelina jolted at the words. Who else would?
But Torina seemed to know what he meant. "Better the one than the other. You could at least beat him in a fight, fast or not. But the otherI don't know if there'd be anything you could do."
Verchiel backed away quickly and Katelina kicked him. She wanted to hear this!
"Don't you want to be back before he comes looking for you?" he asked as he picked up speed.
"They're talking about me!"
