Chapter 418
They left the Black Vigil for the Persatuan. It was a building ringed with arches and palm trees and topped with an onion shaped dome. Jorick hung back and sent Sorino to find Wolfe, but the vampire didn't reach the building before the Scharfrichter appeared, Sadihra at his side.
"I've been waiting for you," Wolfe said brusquely. "The Scharfrichter are patrolling the area. So far there's nothing to report."
Jorick nodded. "We spoke to Fethillen. They're hiding out until the Children show themselves."
"It seems everyone's waiting," Sadihra said. "By the way, I'd like to thank you for finding Wolfe."
The Scharfrichter growled low and Sorino bowed dramatically. "You're very welcome."
When Sadihra looked surprised Jorick said, "He's a tracker."
"I thought he was a whisperer?" Katelina asked.
"He's both." Jorick turned to Sadihra. "How are things in Munich?"
"Restless. Der H?here Rat lifted the lockdown after the revolt, but there is still fear. Many have left, even those that have made their homes there. It is mostly officials and the foolhardy who remain."
"You said restless?" Sorino asked.
"Yes. The Kugsankal are restless, and their thoughts permeate the stone itself." She turned to Wolfe. "You will no doubt need to speak to them when you return."
"No doubt," Wolfe said. He was tenser than usual, as if their restless energy could reach across the globe and infect him there.
"Are they still after us?" Katelina asked.
Sadihra frowned. "No, they didn't seem to notice your escape. Of course, with the revolt and such there was a lot of chaos."
Jorick raised his eyebrows incredulously, but didn't say anything.
Sadihra motioned to approaching figures. "It seems your fledgling has arrived."
Oren, Torina, and Verchiel strode across the lawn and stopped next to them. "You found Fethillen?" Oren asked.
Jorick nodded. "Yes. They plan to attack in their own time."
"I'm not surprised." The lion-maned vampire gave Ume a dark look.
Loren puffed up visibly. "It's not her fault. She's not one of them anymore. She quit."
Something flashed in Verchiel's eyes, but it faded quickly, and Torina said, "Just what we need."
"Is everyone here?" Sadihra looked from one to the other. "If so we should go inside and meet with the Algojo."
Algojo. Probably more Executioners. Katelina cleared her throat. "Wouldn't it be smarter to stay outside since they use bombs?"
Sadihra shook her head. "You're more likely to be blown up out here than in there. It seems in their other attacks they planted the bombs beforehand. We are watching everyone and everything. They cannot do it this time, so inside will be safer than outside."
"The safest place would be in another city," Verchiel suggested jovially. "But since we don't have time to get to one, we might as well go in. Come on, Kately, you'll be fine." He clapped an arm around her shoulders but at a look from Jorick he let go. "Only being friendly."
"Don't." Jorick took her hand. "Come, little one, it will be fine."
With a sigh, she relented.
***
They walked through a pair of double arches across a porch. Sadihra and Wolfe flashed the golden emblems around their necks and two guards in red and white uniforms opened a set of wood and iron doors and motioned them inside.
They walked down an open hallway to a round visitor's desk. Two smiling women stood behind it, and when they saw the golden emblems, they cheerfully pressed a buzzer and motioned them toward an elevator on the right.
"That's to let the guards at the next station know we're coming," Sadihra said.
Katelina cast a final look over her shoulder. The building was beautiful and airy, with arched doorways, tiled floors, and intricately detailed ceilings. It was a shame that at any moment the Children of Shadows would arrive and destroy what had probably stood for hundreds of years. She supposed it was probably the same with the other places. What was left of the Birlik had been astounding, and she could only imagine what the building had looked like before. They made America's guild, hidden under a grain elevator in no-where Iowa, seem crude.
The group fit inside the elevator with effort. There was only one button that went down, and Sadihra pressed it. Katelina squeezed back in the corner, and when the doors opened she was the last one out. The hallway was done in beige and green, and the patterned floor in shades of brown. It started as a large, open room, with another circular desk in the middle, and then narrowed down. Guards in red and white uniforms sat behind the desk, watching monitors, typing on keyboards and flipping through papers.
Sadihra motioned her entourage toward the desk and began the lengthy check-in process. Jorick and Verchiel had to show their Executioner emblems, and the others were forced to give names and declare luggage. One of the guards even made a show of searching the vampires' bags, but ignored Kai and Katelina completely, as if they and their luggage didn't exist.
When the guards were satisfied, Sadihra led them down the hallway to a set of gracefully curving stairs. They ended in a large octagonal room whose ceiling soared up into the building above. A central fountain was flanked with benches, and though Katelina guessed it was a popular gathering place, there were only guards moving among the pillars, carrying long curved swords. Their edges gleamed sharp and silver, and Katelina decided they were as functional as they were pretty.
A figure dressed in a black robe approached. He wore a short cape fastened at his throat, and a black hood that covered everything but his eyes. Around his neck hung a silver and gold medallion that was no doubt a symbol of his office. What had Sadihra called them? Algojo?
He bowed and Sadihra introduced Jorick and Verchiel as "Executioners from the United States who have come to help."
The robed man bowed again. "Your help is most welcome."
"These are their companions," Wolfe said stiffly.
"You are also welcome. When the moment comes a single sword may make the difference. If you would come with me we are meeting in the office." He noticed Kai and Katelina. "I will make arrangements for your humans to be cared for."
"I prefer to keep Katelina with me," Jorick said.
"I'm afraid humans are not allowed in many parts of the fortress. They must remain in the secure place on the third floor for the duration of your visit. You may, of course, have them sent to your private room for feeding or personal activities, but they must return to the secure place when you have finished with them."
Katelina gaped. Secure place? If he thought she was going to go there and sit quietly he had another think coming.
Sorino glanced at Kai. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and then the vampire nodded. "That will be fine."
Kai stepped off to the side and Katelina shook her head. She wasn't going to be sloughed off so easily.
"This is the usual arrangement in this area of the world," Sadihra said, as if that made it okay. "Most of the citadels keep them separated."
"I prefer to keep her with me," Jorick repeated.
"In that case I am afraid you and your human will have to leave and seek accommodations elsewhere." Though the Algojo didn't say it, the implication was that they didn't need help badly enough to break their own rules.
Then they can do without us. Their loss.
Jorick growled low and looked calculatingly at Katelina. The smugness slipped from her face. He couldn't be thinking?
"If anything happens to her, and I mean anything, I will hold you responsible."
"Jorick!" she cried.
The male bowed again. "Of course. The humans will be safe. No vampire is allowed in the secure place except for guards." He called to a pair of the red and white clad vampires and spoke rapidly in a foreign language. They saluted and the Algojo turned back. "They will escort the humans to the secure place. If you will come with me?"
The vampires followed him toward an arched doorway and Katelina latched onto Jorick furiously. "What in the hell happened to 'Until this is over stay close'?"
"You are staying close, and in retrospect this may be better. You'll be removed from the attack, and should anything else happen I could be to you in moments. Meanwhile, the guards will do what they can."
"By anything else you mean the owner of the mysterious voice?"
"Obviously. Once this is settled with the Children of Shadows we'll find him."
"Find him? I thought he was coming here, remember? 'I'll be there soon'?"
"Soon is a relative term." Jorick looked impatiently to the retreating figures. "If there's time after the meeting I'll send for you, all right?" He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then went after the others.
"Send for me? I'm not a harem woman! Jorick! Jorick!"
But he disappeared through the door with a final wave.
"Of all thewhen I get my hands on him I'm going to throttle him to death!"
The guards looked at one another with raised eyebrows, and then motioned her and Kai to accompany them. Though she'd have rather gone back to the hotel than stay in a place that demanded she be cordoned off like a leper, she hefted her bag and followed.
