Chapter 43
Katelina wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep when the light and noise woke her. With a trembling hand she wiped away the crust of the previous night's tears and then tried to focus on her surroundings. The room, which had been dark and empty the last time she'd looked, was now filled with light and vampires running around in a mad dash of activity.
She covered herself as best she could and stared through the bars. Her vision was blurry, but she made out Claudius seated in his large chair, his sulky face contorted with rage. He waved his arms furiously as he gave instructions to Troy and a group of vampires. She pressed her face against the cold metal cage and strained her ears to catch his voice over the sounds of the others, but she failed to discern much of what he was saying.
Around them, other vampires scurried. Some hurried through the room and up the stairs, while others disappeared through the door on the far wall, only to reemerge and then head up the stairs as well. Claudius was emptying the place and, as the population of vampires dwindled, Claudius' voice became clearer. One phrase in particular struck her ears, "Go to Sorem, I will meet you there later."
She gripped the bars tightly, uncertain what her fate would be. The last group of vampires made a sign of allegiance to Claudius and then turned and hurried to the stairs, leaving him and Troy alone. His attention no longer diverted, Claudius turned his face towards Katelina. His green eyes glittered with cold malice and his features were twisted in a black fury that made her heart pound. In a single, graceful motion he stood and moved purposely towards the cage like a cat stalking prey. Troy shadowed his steps, wearing a cruel and expectant smile.
A whimpering noise escaped Katelina's lips as she backed against the far end of the cage. Moving made the world tip dangerously and gave a surreal quality to it, like a nightmare. Even as Claudius reached into his pocket and produced a key, she tried to tell herself this wasn't happening. But as Troy took the key and jammed it into the padlock, the echo of the click forced her to face the facts before her.
The metal door groaned in protest as Claudius forced it open. He stepped inside and grabbed her arm. His lips curled back in a snarl to reveal dangerous white fangs; a warning against any resistance. Though she drug her feet in fear, he tugged her out of the cage with seemingly no effort.
Troy looked her up and down as crude laughter slid past his sneering lips. Katelina felt her cheeks turn red under his prying gaze and tried to cover her naked body with her free arm, but Claudius jerked her to him and snarled in her face, "Evidently we weren't thorough enough in our search!"
She swayed, too dizzy to stand on her own. Terror and confusion shone in her eyes and her voice was lost to fear.
He shook her violently so that her teeth clacked together. "What do you have to say to that? Do you still want to insist your innocence? Where is that device?" He clawed at her body with his free hand.
"I don't have any ... device!" she cried. Tears stabbed her swollen eyes and the room swam. She didn't understand why he was doing this again.
"Liar!" He threw her to the floor. Her elbows locked painfully, but she saved her face from slamming into the concrete. She tried to roll away, but he knelt down quickly and grabbed a handful of her hair in his fist. He used it to pull her head back and force her to look at him. "Where is it?"
"There isn't one! I don't know what you're talking about!"
Troy stood behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and a sneer on his face. "Then how did he find us?"
He? Could they mean-? A white hot spark of hope flamed inside her. "He's here?" she asked, unable to stop herself. "Jorick's here?"
"Not yet, but almost," Troy replied. "Too bad he'll be too late."
Claudius' face contorted with rage, until he looked more like a beast than anything that had been human. He shook her like a ragdoll and bellowed, "This was his plan, wasn't it? To use you to find us? To play me as a fool? I am no fool!"
She tried to get away from him and her hair pulled until she thought her scalp would rip loose from her head. He forced her head back and leaned over her, his fangs bared, ready to strike her exposed throat.
She screamed and struck out, pummeling his face and chest. In surprise, he released her and she fell back against the cold cement floor. Crab like, she tried to crawl away on her back, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned her down.
He loomed above her, a terrifying figure with savage teeth. His breath was hot on her face, scented like blood and death as he hissed coldly, "Guild or no Guild, there will be nothing left of you when he gets here."
"He'll kill you," she threatened weakly, her voice hoarse.
"He won't make it this far before my coven beats him back and leaves him with no option but to run! I'm not afraid of him, and it's time he understood that!"
She struggled and thrashed her head from side to side as she searched for an escape. All she saw was the deserted basement and Troy. The bald vampire stood some paces off from them, a sick smile on his lips.
Her heart roared in her ears. Sweat beaded on her skin. It made her wrists slick in Claudius' hands, but still she couldn't get away from the weight of his cold body pressing her into the floor.
She tried to fight him off, but her efforts were futile. She was no match for his strength, still she refused to surrender without a fight. Horrified thoughts flashed through her mind; terrible images of different things he could do to her.
Troy looked amused. "How like a human to fear that more than anything."
Claudius' head snapped up. Intelligence returned to his eyes as he stared at his underling. "You can hear her thoughts? What is it? What does she fear?" He turned back and sneered into her face "All her fears will be realized before I am finished with her!"
Troy's face went white and he shifted uncomfortably. "Yes," he answered hesitantly. "It comes and goes. I can't always - "
"I don't care right now!" Claudius shouted. "What does she fear most?"
He hesitated again before answering. "She fears what all women fear, my lord."
"Does she?" His voice was low and snake like. "How pathetic and primitive! Does she not realize the things I can do to her?" He leaned his face close to hers. "Do you?"
She whimpered in reply and looked over his shoulder at Troy's leering face. She could almost feel him inside her head, scraping against her mind and violating her most secret thoughts.
"I will take that as a no. When I have finished I will peel the skin from your bones and drink from your entrails while you beg for death!"
