Chapter 422
The guard shuffled Katelina back to the main room and left her. Kai was still at his laptop, the cord stretched across the couch. She sat next to him, and when he didn't speak she asked, "Where's Xandria?"
He paused his giant monster movie. "Her master called for her."
"Oh." With nothing else to say, she decided to go lie down. "I'm heading to bed."
Kai nodded and went back to his movie, and she wandered to the communal room. A few of the women were already tucked in and she tiptoed past them. Her bag was on her bed where she'd left it and she worried about thieves. She jerked it open and found a folded note stuck inside her ziplock baggy of important possessions. She tugged it out and absently tucked the baggy into her pocket as she unfolded the paper. The writing was large and loopy, in pink ink, with a happy vampire face drawn at the bottom:
Katalyna (or however you spell it)
Sorry I had to run, but it was great to meet you. Maybe we'll bump into each other again sometime? We got a bunch of places we're going to after this. Hell, if Cye doesn't work out, maybe I'll see if I can join your bunch. That could be fun.
A shit storm is coming. I know you know that, everyone knows that, but when it happens stick to the back ways and hide. If someone finds you say "the shadows rule the night" and you'll be okay. You can tell your master and your buddy's master if you want. Your buddy seems like a good kid, though he's got some hellacious scars. Maybe you shouldn't tell his master after all, unless he's into that kind of thing, if you know what I mean. I kind of asked him if he needed rescued and he shook his head no, so I guess he's happy enough.
Got to go. It was great to meet you. Take care and maybe catch you later.
Xandria
Cye? Shadows rule the night? Shadows rule- as in Children of Shadows? But-
Cye. Red hair and eyes like chocolate.
"Oh my God! She means Cyprus!"
One of the women cleared her throat noisily and glared, but Katelina dashed past her into the main room. Kai was still on the couch and Katelina grabbed his shoulder and shook him violently. He turned a questioning eye on her and she shoved the note into his hands. He read it over and handed it back with a shrug.
"Don't you get it? She's with them! She's one of-" A sudden realization dawned. "The bombs! Sadihra said they were usually planted ahead of time but this time they couldn't be because they were watching everyone. But they're not watching everyone. They're not watching the humans!"
Kai grasped her meaning just as the first roar sounded and the building shook. It was too late! Xandria's twerpy master had called for her, one of them had killed the escorting guard, then they'd planted the bombs and left to detonate them from safety.
Like they had in the other places.
"This is the usual arrangement in this area of the world."
And that was why they'd started with Turkey. Not because their vampires were superior, but because their citadels would be easiest to infiltrate. No wonder Malick needed to put out videos to lure the older vampires to him. They couldn't risk this trick in the unsegregated places.
The building rocked again and plaster dropped from the ceiling. There were cries and a shriek, and the guards drew their swords and looked up as if enemies might crash through any moment. The women hurried out of the bedroom, clutching their nightgowns to their bodies and rattling off a language Katelina didn't understand.
One of the guards shouted, "Stay calm. You will be safe here." But no one believed him.
Katelina pulled Kai off of the couch and toward the door. He dug in his heels and said, "We should wait." She shook her head furiously, but he wouldn't budge. Finally, in disgust, she abandoned him and made for the door herself.
She jerked it open and Sorino and Verchiel nearly bowled her over. Without a word of surprise, Kai snatched up his bag, stuffed his battered laptop inside, and slung it over his shoulders. The guards shouted that the vampires couldn't be there, but another blast tore their attention away.
Katelina grabbed Verchiel. "Where the hell is Jorick?"
"Off being heroic, of course." He looked up, as if he could see through the plaster to some unknown excitement. "They decided to surprise us at the last minute."
Katelina shoved the note into his hands and rattled off her theory. The redhead's grin melted into an appreciative smirk. "See? Leaving you down here was a good thing. You'd have never solved it otherwise."
Kai joined them, and Sorino held the door for him. The boy hurried into the corridor, and Sorino motioned Katelina and Verchiel out, then swept after them.
A fourth explosion ripped through the fortress, closer this time, and Katelina stopped and clutched the wall. "They must have planted bombs all over!"
"Seems that way," Verchiel chirped. "Come on, we've done this before back home. Though if we don't hurry we'll miss all the fighting."
The guards had abandoned the golden gate, so there was no one to challenge them. They passed the narrow staircase and Katelina grabbed Verchiel's arm. "She said stick to the back ways."
The redhead shrugged. "Hey, I'm game if you are."
Sorino nodded, and the four of them hurried up the narrow stairs. As they neared the top, the sound of battle reached their ears, growing louder with each step; shouts, clangs, the sharp report of fired bullets. It was a war zone and they were willingly running into it.
Crazy.
The stairs ended at a door. Verchiel threw it open and thick black smoke billowed through. Another explosion blasted the fortress, knocking them all backwards and cutting off the lights. Bits of rock and rubble rained through the door and Katelina shielded her face, choking on the smoke.
Without the electric light, the stairwell was lit in a diffused glow that filtered through the smoke. In the gloom she watched Sorino pull Kai to his feet, and she struggled up on her own. Verchiel was nowhere to be seen, and Kai motioned to the door as if to say the redhead had left.
Sorino cast an impatient look at her, and then pulled Kai into the chaos beyond. She hung back, trying to catch her breath, and asked herself why she wasn't in the Secure Place or hiding somewhere safe, as Xandria suggested. But she knew why. It was the same reason Torina didn't want to be left behind.
"I'm not useless," she said and then strode through the door.
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