Chapter 430
Katelina woke, lying on her side across a yellow cushion, and rubbed her aching head. Flickering lamps illuminated a pillared room. Four men stood against the wall, their expressions frightened. She followed their gaze to find Samael kneeling on a pillow near her, frowning.
"It seems a mortal mind cannot contain so many millennia of knowledge. The old masters were not as ancient when they passed on their wisdom to their wives and children, so I did not realize. No matter. I have taken it back and will return it once the change has taken place."
Katelina sat up slowly, unsure what he was talking about. She had a smeary memory of kneeling, of seeing her life flash behind her eyes. All the insignificant moments drained away to make room for something more important. There was a vision of two men and then-
"My brother and myself," Samael said.
"What was his name?" she asked vaguely. She felt as though she had known something important, but now it was gone.
"I don't remember. Nor do I remember my original name."
She only half listened, busy trying to recapture what she'd lost. "It's Samael."
"No. Samael was given to me long after I was asleep. I have had many names. The last I used before the darkness was Kanghui."
"And Lilith?"
"Lilith is not her name, only one she took later. Like me she has many."
"What do you call her?"
"There can only be one word for her. Hate."
Katelina couldn't understand why he was married to her if she was so terrible.
"She was not always so, or I did not see her for what she was. The marriage, if you wish to call it that, was done by arrangement. We were content enough for a short time." He frowned. "Memories of those days are shrouded in mist. Over the slow centuries I have tried to recall them clearly, but cannot. Perhaps they never were, but are only a figment of my imagination. Perhaps she always favored my brother."
Katelina understood what he meant about foggy memories. Many of hers were that way now. From what she could recall, she plucked the legend of Samael and Lilith, a story that involved Adam and Eve and the beginning of the world.
"I know nothing of the world's creation," Samael said to her thoughts. "I would suppose that in your legend Adam has come to represent my brother, and Eve his wife. I scarcely remember them, only that they were the cause of heartache." He paused then considered. "No, I suppose she was the cause and they were only caught up in it."
Katelina waited for more and he supplied it. "The whore of the darkness, the one you call Lilith, preferred my brother. Though he rebuffed her, she pursued him relentlessly, and took no pains to hide her efforts. I was foolish and hoped that things would change, so I kept her. I don't recall how it came to pass, but my brother's wife visited me in tears. She was sure my brother had finally succumbed to Lilith. She wanted to get revenge; an eye for an eye, a husband for a husband. I don't remember the encounters, only that they were fruitful. Lilith discovered the truth, some clever thing to do with cycles. It was made more bitter by the fact that she herself had not been able to conceive. She had blamed everything from the gods to me, but now it was obvious who was at fault. The gods had allowed me to impregnate my brother's wife, but did not give Lilith a child because she was unworthy.
"In her quest for vengeance Lilith did the same as I had donean eye for an eye, a husband for a husband. She gave my brother drink and laid with him. When his wits returned, he crawled home to his wife, confessed and begged her forgiveness, never knowing that the child she carried was mine. She kept her secret and gave him his absolution. In my foolishness I suffered guilt for what had happened, for the evidence that daily grew within my brother's wife, and so I thought nothing of Lilith's transgressions and sought only to appease her."
Katelina tried to wrap her head around his story. "Didn't Lilith tell your brother that his wife's baby was really yours?"
"If she did, she was not believed. Enough talk of the past. The night wanes and morning light comes soon. Though the sun does not burn me, you must be tired after this ordeal."
He was right. She was tired. More than tired. Exhausted. Somehow she found the strength to stand and follow him. Outside, the sky was the navy blue of early morning, and she wondered where the night had gone.
"To the ritual," he replied. "Even compressed, a thousand lifetimes take time to live through. Do not worry, the purification of the spirit will be less taxing."
Katelina was barely in her room before the two women from earlier reappeared. In a flurry they turned down her bed, changed her clothes, and practically stuffed her under the blankets before they left.
She shook off the whirlwind of their urgency and closed her eyes. For a moment the lost knowledge hovered just at the edge of her consciousness. Then sleep took her. She drifted on tides that were more memory than imagination, back to a happier time, and found Jorick in the shadows. She lay in the safe circle of his arms. The ocean surf lapped the sand in time to Jorick's heartbeat. Palm trees framed the edge of her vision, obscuring the group of vampires who lounged farther down the beach. Above them hung the moon, crowned in a silver halo and holding court over the stars. It was perfect.
She brushed strands of Jorick's dark hair from his face. His eyes twinkled, and his smile left a pool of warmth in her stomach.
"You look happy."
He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Of course I am, little one. I'm with you."
The school girl giggle escaped before she could stop it, and she blushed. "You say that, but-"
"But what?" Some of the amusement slipped from his eyes.
"I don't understand how you can prefer me. The vampire women are more appealing than I am."
He laughed softly and stroked her hair. "Only to you, because their immortality dazzles the minds of mortals. I'm immune to that. But if you're worried about their vampiric charms when compared to your humanity, we can remedy the situation. What better place for the change than so-called paradise?"
"I'm not ready yet, thanks anyway."
"I know." He pulled her close and settled her head against his chest. "I know all about your commitment issues. But someday you'll have to. I won't watch you grow old and die before my eyes."
"I'm only twenty-five. I have a long time before that happens."
"It may seem long to you, but to me fifty years is nothing." His mood lightened. "There are more important things to worry about in the company of a beautiful woman."
