Chapter 450
They walked back to the others in silence. Katelina paused just outside the door and heard Jorick say, " Loren killed the man who slit her throat."
Slit her throat? Whose throat?
Jorick's voice shook with anger, "I should have destroyed Malick after Velnya died but to kill one's master-Now death is not enough for him. He can never be forgiven for taking Katelina, leaving her broken and bleeding. Having her murdered. Forcing her to be under another master. He's stolen much from me over the years and to take even this-He deserves the old way: to be buried in dirt for centuries!"
At his words, her hand went to her neck and an image popped into her head. She saw herself lying in a pool of blood, her throat gaping open like the murder photos in the Chinese magazine.
Oh God.
Etsuko made a soft sound and Katelina tried to pull her thoughts together as the Japanese vampiress led her inside. She caught a glimpse of Jorick's fury before he spotted her and his face smoothed. "Don't worry. You'll get better with practice."
Better? Better at what? Then she realized he meant the feeding. "Right."
Oren cleared his throat, as though pushing away their previous conversation. "We need to interrogate the prisoners. Etsuko can take care of Katelina."
"I've only just gotten her back. I don't want to leave her." Jorick wrapped his arm around her waist.
"An hour's parting, in the same building, is hardly a separation. She'll be fine. Now that she's one of us, you need to stop coddling her."
One of us. The acknowledgement seemed odd coming from Oren.
Jorick made an unhappy noise. "You sound like Micah."
"Really? I suppose even an idiot is right once in a while."
Jorick muttered something under his breath, then brushed a kiss across Katelina's forehead. "I'll return, little one. If you need me, send Etsuko to the basement."
He gave her a final reluctant glance before he left. With nothing to do, Katelina and Etsuko headed back the way they'd come, pausing in the fountain room.
The green plants were oddly comforting; as if they represented life instead of the strange place Katelina was living now. She perched on the edge of the fountain. "Malick had me-" she couldn't say the word "killed", but it was there, and somehow worse than vampire. It was strange enough to know that she wasn't human anymore, but that she was actually dead- "I don't remember it."
"That's normal," a voice said from above. Both women looked up to see a red haired figure leaning on the railing of Malick's balcony, a grin plastered across his face.
Katelina leapt to her feet, her startled eyes on the lean figure. "Verchiel! I thought you were dead!"
"Me? Hardly." He swung over the railing and landed in front of her. With a cry of relief, she threw her arms around him. He stiffened in surprise, and she heard the sharp intake of his breath near her ear. After a moment he patted her on the back, then disentangled himself.
A wall went up in his eyes and his smile seemed a little off. "You left us in a pickle in China. Luckily the Gu¨¬zish¨¯uChinese Executionerswere kind enough to take control of the scene and slap Kai and me in a cell in Beijing."
"Is Kai-?" She couldn't finish the question.
"Nah. He's recuperating. They patched him up and gave me blood so they could question us for hours. You missed a lot of fun."
"Why were they questioning you?"
He gave her a wink. "Governments get nervous when you have battles in their jurisdictions."
"And they let you go?"
"In a manner of speaking." He grinned. "Jorick and his little friends sprang us. I imagine China has been on the phone to Munich and America ever since. Not that they weren't from the moment they captured us. There's a surprising lack of cooperation among all the guilds. Enough about me. You're the one with the news. Come on, let me see." He caught her chin and tilted her head up.
Katelina took an unconscious step back. "See what?"
"The fangs of course!" He leaned close and lifted her lip with his finger. "Ah! They're tiny! But I guess they'll get the job done." He let go and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It was Micah, huh?"
She rubbed her mouth absently. "Yeah."
"That's a shame. No mind reading. I guess that means you'll have to get good at guessing like me." She cocked an incredulous eyebrow and he went on. "What did you inherit? He's a titan, right? Are you super strong?"
She hadn't thought about that. "I don't know."
Verchiel pointed to one of the larger potted plants. "Lift that."
"That has to weigh over two hundred pounds!"
Etsuko bobbed her head. "Then it would make an excellent test. The idea is sound, Katelina-san."
Though she felt like a freak on display, she marched to the massive pot and sought out handholds. With a final roll of her eyes, she lifted. To her surprise, it wasn't as heavy as it looked. She was able to heft it a couple of feet before it slipped and fell with a crash.
Verchiel appeared next to her and patted her shoulder. "Not bad for a first try." He kicked a piece of shattered ceramic. "Though someone needs to repot the plant now. No reason to let it die."
Etsuko stepped forward. "I can do that, if Verchiel-san wishes." He nodded and she bowed to them. "Afterwards I have promised Oren-sama that I will do laundry. I will see Katelina-san and Verchiel-san later."
She disappeared and Verchiel took Katelina's arm and steered her out of the room. "How's the conversion going? I suppose it was a shock to wake up and find you owed the Neanderthal a blood debt. How's Jorick handling it?"
"He punched Micah's face in."
Verchiel laughed. "That's what I expected. I guess it's a good thing I didn't beat Micah to it. I'd hate for him to ruin my nose."
They stepped out the front door and her sarcastic reply died on her lips. Though the sky above was black, the landscape was lit like early evening. She could see past the airstrips, through the fence, and beyond to what she had imagined was a ruined village. From the look of the burned and damaged buildings, she'd been right.
Her eyes moved upwards and she caught her breath. Like long exposure images crowded with light the human eye couldn't see, the sky was a mass of stars. Some shone in faint shades of blue, purple, and pink, while others were giant gleaming diamonds.
"Oh my God."
Verchiel grinned and let her go. She drifted forward a few steps, captivated by the twinkling brilliance. "It's beautiful."
"If you like that you should look at the moon." He moved next to her and pointed to the silvery orb. She followed his finger and made a soft sound of agreement. Though the splattering of craters was crystal clear, she could still see the halo of white light around it. There was something cool and pure about it, like taking a drink of water.
He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Now you see why I don't miss the sun."
She turned toward him and stopped, her breath a lump in her throat. Though she'd looked at the others since her transformation, she hadn't really looked. Through her new eyes Verchiel seemed different; his skin had gotten creamier, and his eyes, no longer just violet, were stabbed through with different shades of purple and blue.
"About time you noticed how good looking I am."
She backed away, flustered. "I wasn't thinking that!"
"Sure you weren't." He gave her a wink. "It's just the vampire eyesight. I hear there's a lot of difference."
"Yeah, there is." She turned back to the sky. "I'm going to miss food, though."
"You can still taste it, just don't swallow or you'll vomit it up." He flopped on the porch steps. "There are vampires who chew it and spit it out."
"That's gross."
"If you're craving something bad enough, I guess it's worth it." He turned his attention to one of the metal outbuildings. "Looks like we have company."
Katelina followed his gaze to see a pair of males with Asian features. One had long black hair while the other's was shorter, spikey, and bright orange. Between them walked a tiny vampiress who looked somewhere between eleven and thirteen. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore a red Lolita style dress, complete with puffy sleeves and a lacy parasol. The doll in her arms wore a matching ensemble, even down to the shiny white shoes.
Katelina gaped. "Maeko?"
The girl broke into a fanged grin and hurried to her. "Kate-chan is recovered!" She pressed the doll on her long haired companion, then threw her arms around Katelina. "We were worried!"
Katelina returned the hug before the child pulled away. "Kate-chan has changed nicely, though it is a shame Jorick-ue was not allowed to impart his gifts. Still, it is better to have some than none."
Surprise stole Katelina's voice. The last time she'd seen Maeko had been after they'd woken Samael. The child vampiress had gone back to her home in Japan. Though Maeko was Jorick's first fledgling, turned in the early sixteen hundreds, Katelina hadn't thought to see her again. Until they'd gone to Japan, seeking the Heart of the Raven, no one had even known that she existed. "What are you doing here?"
Maeko giggled. "I have forgotten my manners!" She bowed and greeted her formally, then straightened and pointed to her companions. "Kate-chan will remember Hikaru-san and Takeshi-san." She nodded and the girl continued. "Jorick-ue called us, after Kate-chan was taken by Samael-sama, and asked if we would help with a rescue. Sadly we were not much use until Beijing where we found Verchiel-san and Kai-chan in jail. The Chinese Guild, as you would call them, were most uncooperative, and I had decided to take out the guards with only the help of Hikaru-san and Takeshi-san when fate brought Jorick-ue and his friend Jamie-san. Together we were five whisperers and persuaded the guards to release their prisoners so we could come here."
She giggled and Katelina realized that was what Verchiel had meant about Jorick and his little friends. But... "His friend Jamie? You don't mean the Executioner?"
Maeko looked thoughtful. "I believe Jamie-san wears the emblem of the Executioner. Kate-chan is surprised?"
Katelina frowned. The last time they'd seen Jamie had been in the United States. As the second in command of the Executioners, he'd had a lot of duties to perform after Malick's revolt. What was he doing in China? Was he also hunting Samael?
"Perhaps Kate-chan should ask?" Maeko hooked her arm through Katelina's. "We will find them!"
The child led Katelina back inside, Verchiel on their heels.
