Chapter 419
The guards led her through the fountain room and down another set of curving stairs. A broad hallway went straight, and to the right was what looked like a pair of golden gates with two more guards. After a brief exchange, the gates opened, and Katelina and Kai were taken down a beige and turquoise hallway, past a narrow staircase, to a second pair of gates and another set of guards. They let them through with barely a glance and after another short spurt of corridor they were presented with a large red door decorated in swirling iron embellishments, but missing the all-important door knob. The guards knocked on it, and it opened to reveal another guard. They had a quick conversation and then Katelina and Kai were ushered inside.
The door shut with an echoing sound of finality and Katelina turned from it to look around the new room. Harem was a good word for it. The room was large, with pillars and alcoves. There were couches, chairs, and tables scattered like a waiting room. Bookcases were tucked into nooks, and a pair of televisions were noticeable only because of their bright screens and the knot of people seated in front of them.
A set of arched doorways were set in the back wall and Katelina moved through the expansive room to investigate. Each led to another large room with rows of neatly made beds, like a summer camp cabin on steroids. Red curtains hung between each one, and Katelina imagined they could be pulled closed for privacy.
Curtains or no curtains, she was too old for boarding school sleeping arrangements, and she turned back to the main room with a feeling of gloom.
A red haired woman abandoned her magazine and crossed to Katelina, her hand extended. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. Large hoop earrings glittered in her ears and a worn leather coat looked lived in. Her words were lightly accented, though Katelina couldn't guess the country. "You look as thrilled as me. I'm Xandria."
"Katelina." She shook the offered hand. "This is stupid."
"You're telling me." Xandria motioned to the room. "You might as well pick a bed. There are drawers under it to put your stuff in, but I left mine packed. Hopefully I won't be here long."
"Same here," Katelina muttered.
She followed the other woman inside. "I took this one." Xandria pointed to the bed at the far end. "I know it's anti-social, but who wants to sleep next to strangers?"
"It's bad enough with the vampires." Katelina picked a bed in the middle of the unoccupied gulf. "What's with them and communal sleeping?"
Xandria snorted her agreement. "I guess it's because they're so old they don't know any better. People used to huddle together for warmth. Thank God for central air."
Katelina stopped herself from shouting "Amen!" and stuffed her bag in the drawer under the bed. "I guess we're supposed to entertain ourselves?"
"Until mealtime or your master calls for you." There was a sarcastic tone to her words that Katelina agreed with.
"I don't know about you, but I plan on kicking my so-called master's ass when I get out of here," Katelina said vehemently.
Xandria laughed and shook her hand again. "Man, am I glad to meet you!"
Kai was obviously settled in by the time Katelina and Xandria returned to the main room. He was seated on a couch, his laptop out and his earphones around his neck. He motioned to Katelina, as if asking if she wanted to watch a movie.
"Is that your brother?" Xandria asked.
"No, he belongs to another vampire." Belongs. "I mean he travels with him. But we're all sort of hanging out together." There was no reason to explain the strange alliance.
"I got you." Xandria squinted at him. "He's going to be a hotty when he grows up a little bit."
The idea jolted Katelina, both physically and mentally. "I never thought about it."
"You must have a hot vampire if you didn't notice this one. Shall we see what he's up to?"
Kai only had one set of headphones, but he was amiable enough to pull them out and turn the sound up. They watched a movie about a killer tornado that barely followed the laws of physics, let alone logic. It had just ended when a loud knock sounded on the door. The nearest guard hurried to open it.
"Think they're getting ready to feed the monkeys?" Xandria asked with a glance at her watch. "I know I'm starving."
"I had breakfast for a change," Katelina said. "Actually that's not true. I usually get breakfast, it's everything else they forget about."
"Yeah, they think all they need to do is throw some scraps at the human once a day. Weren't they human once? How can they forget so fast?"
"I think they do it on purpose," Katelina said. "Otherwise how could they feed off of us without feeling guilty?"
"Hmmm. Intentional distancing. Interesting theory."
The guard turned to the room and announced loudly, "Katelina, your master has called for you!"
"Master," she snorted as she stood and straightened her shirt. "I'll be back, though I can't say the same for him."
Xandria laughed and sent a "You go," after her.
The guard opened the door wider and she went out into the hallway where another guard waited. He said something she couldn't understand, and then led her through one gate, and then down the narrow stairs. The lack of ornament made Katelina think of a back staircase for servants. The idea made her even angrier.
They exited through a heavy door and the guard led her down a cramped corridor. Short numbered doors flanked the sides, and she had a feeling that they really were in a behind the scenes area, meant for those who were lesser.
They wound their way through a few turns. The guard consulted a slip of paper, and then stopped at door number 722 and knocked. A muffled voice answered, and the guard opened the door and motioned Katelina inside.
She was barely through when the door snapped shut. She moved away from it and into the center of the room. It looked much like a hotel with two double beds and the usual assortment of furniture, including a small table and chairs. Green floor length drapes hung against one wall, as if hiding a window, but when she pulled them back there was only blank wall behind them.
The bathroom door stood partially open, and she marched toward it angrily. "Look here, Jorick, if you think I'm going to sleep in that place like some kind of five year old on summer vacation then you" She froze as she swung the door open to reveal, not Jorick, but Verchiel wearing nothing but a towel and applying goo to his hair.
"Well that was faster than I thought it would be. I was sure they'd make me sign something, or point out your mark. Half a minute, I'm almost done. Unless you want to help?"
She slammed the door. "Where the hell is Jorick?"
"He's in a meeting, and he'll be there all night from the looks of it. No one can agree on who's in charge. The Scharfrichter think they should run the show. The Algojo feel it's their fortress, so they should be in control, and of course Jorick and Micah refuse to follow either of them. I got tired of the circles so I nipped out early."
"That doesn't explain what I'm doing here. They said Jorick sent for me."
"Really?" He poked his head out of the door, his hair finished. "I used my name."
"Then why in the fuck would they say my 'master' called for me?"
He broke into a grin and disappeared again. She could hear the sound of clothes being put on. "I might've said that was me."
"You? How did you expect to get away with that?"
"Well, on a technicality, you did drink from me that one time, if you'll remember, and you do have a scar." He leaned out again, wearing nothing but his pants, and poked the spot on her neck where he'd bitten her. "So it's not a proper mark, but it's close enough."
She pulled away and he pulled his shirt over his head as she shouted, "Are you insane? Jorick will kill you!"
"Maybe. But what's life without risk?"
