Chapter 435
Katelina rubbed her head. Jorick. Jorick was coming here.
"Of course he is," Verchiel said to her thoughts. "He's not going to let someone kidnap you and stay home with his feet up."
She started to comment on the intrusion, then remembered that Verchiel was a mind reader like Samael, only not as powerful. She was surrounded by them and sometimes she wished she was one.
"If you let him turn you, you will be," Verchiel whispered. "You can't go through with it."
"I don't think I can tell him no." She felt suddenly hopeful. "You said Jorick was coming?" He was strong enough to stand up to the ancient vampire.
"I don't know how far behind Jorick is. He can't have left for at least a day after me, and he'll be slower. His reflexes aren't as good as mine. He can't drive as fast. And if he has an army they won't be able to travel in the daylight like I did. It could be several days before he gets here."
"Jorick will have Sorino. He's a tracker and he'll find us faster than you did."
"Not any faster than Kai." Verchiel jerked his thumb toward the boy. "That whisperer shtick isn't the only thing he's gained."
Whisperer? Of course. Katelina remembered how Kai had been able to send thoughts to her, and had even controlled a person once. Though still human, he'd had a lot of Sorino's blood over the years and had inherited weaker versions of his master's traits. Apparently that included tracking abilities.
The conversation died when Zhilan and Lin bustled back into the room, carrying hair brushes and accessories. They quickly twisted Katelina's hair into a complicated updo. When they finished, Samael appeared. He nodded to Verchiel and offered Katelina his arm.
She allowed him to lead her outside. Their feet whispered over the stones as they walked out of the palace complex and down a winding path, over bridges, and finally past an island topped with an ornate building. She recognized it from a dream she'd had, though she couldn't remember when.
At last they stopped under a pagoda. An altar had been set up and draped in embroidered cloth. In the center sat a carved bowl and a pair of flickering candles. Ornate braziers burned on either side of it and threw long, misshapen shadows. What had Samael called it? The altar to the night god?
Several of the humans waited. As Katelina approached, one hurried forward to place cushions on the ground. Katelina knelt on one without realizing it, facing the altar. Samael did the same on the pillow next to her. As he had the last two nights, he opened the ritual with sing-song syllables. The words thrummed in time to the chirp of the crickets. She closed her eyes and disappeared in them. They spoke of cool evenings, violet shadows, and silvery moonbeams. It was a song to leave the sun behind, and she felt as if she knew every word.
He stopped. The sudden silence seemed harsh. She turned her eyes on him. A command was on his face and she held out her arm. One of the men moved forward, a knife in his shaking hand. He gulped as he slid the blade over her skin.
The pain lasted only a moment before it faded into the peaceful oblivion she'd grown used to. The man held a bowl under her arm to collect a few drops of blood, then pressed a rag to the cut and turned to Samael. Katelina absently held the cloth to her wound, her attention riveted as the trembling man did the same to the ancient vampire.
He stirred the drops together with the knife, then deposited the bowl on the altar and stepped away. Samael raised his hands and spoke again in the sing song voice, calling on the night god to bless the ritual.
Katelina felt eyes bore into her head. She looked over her shoulder to see Verchiel. He leaned against one of the pagoda's pillars, his coat open and his hand on the hilt of his sword. There was a message in his hard expression, but she didn't understand it.
Jorick.
The name was forced into her mind, and she flinched at the empty ache that came with it. Jorick. Yes. She needed to remember. She needed to-
The thoughts fled when Samael turned toward her. She knew what came next. He would drain her, then he would feed her his blood and she would change. No longer human, but immortal. A god like he was. A vampire.
He leaned close, his lips parted. She could see his fangs glitter in the firelight. She felt the scrape of his teeth on her skin, the tickle of his breath.
Somewhere in the back of her mind a voice screamed. This was wrong. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to be him!
Samael leaned back and touched her face. A thousand lightning bolts shot through her; not painful, but exquisite. "There is someone else you wish to take the gift from?"
She stared blankly and tried to think. Was there? Was there anyone else in the world besides Samael and his dark gleaming eyes? Could there ever be anyone else?
A name was forced between the sandwich of her confused thoughts. Jorick.
Samael nodded and drew back. Though he didn't look at Verchiel, Katelina knew his next words were directed at him. "You need not take her by force. If that is her desire, so be it. What I offer is a gift, not a prison."
Verchiel slowly released his sword but he didn't relax.
Samael stood in an elegant sweep and offered Katelina his hand. She took it and, after he'd let go, stared at her tingling fingers.
Samael made a noise in his throat and her eyes snapped to his face. "Go to him if you wish. But remember my warning. A lover will only betray you."
He motioned to the humans and they extinguished the flickering candles. "You may stay or go as you please. Should you choose to return, you will always be welcome." Then he turned and seemed to float away into the night.
Katelina stared after him as Verchiel moved to her side. "What happened?"
"We're leaving." The redhead glanced back to Kai. "Sorry, no time for a bath."
She couldn't concentrate on the conversation. She didn't understand why Samael had gone. What about the ceremony?
Katelina returned to her rooms to find a Ziploc baggie of odd items and her old clothes laid out on the bed. The shirt had holes in the shoulder and back, and the jeans had the knee torn out.
"At least they're clean," Verchiel joked as he fingered the denim. His eyes lit up and he snatched the bra. "Whoo hoo. Black underwear. I knew you were the saucy type."
She jerked the undergarment away from him and tried to focus. She needed to get dressed and then-
"You can change later." Verchiel stuffed the baggie in his pocket, then grabbed the corners of the blanket and tied them to form a sack. "We need to go before he changes his mind."
He pressed the bundle on Kai, then led them out into the courtyard.
"It's nice here," Katelina said absently. She wondered if she should stay. Though she couldn't remember the world outside, she knew it was hectic and bloody. Did she want to go back to that when she could live surrounded by tranquility and gently lapping lakes?
"There are a lot of other nice places." Verchiel dragged her forward. She stopped again to gaze toward a roofed walkway. With a sigh of impatience, Verchiel scooped her up and carried her to the wall. He carried her over it, then went back for Kai.
A brightly lit town was nestled up nearly to the walls of the complex. Verchiel led them through what might have been a parking lot. They joined the street near a set of gates that led into Samael's domain. On this side, giant metal doors were securely fastened and padlocked. Barricades were covered in brightly colored caution tape and signs. Though most of the languages meant nothing to Katelina, both the English "Warning" and the pictures that hinted at some kind of gas leak sent a clear message.
"I guess they have to tell people something," Verchiel said. "They can't exactly say 'mad, ancient vampire has taken over'. Now come on, let's get you two fed and get as far away as we can before dawn."
