Chapter 454
The drive to Munich felt uncomfortably familiar. Katelina noted with surprise that a crimson uniformed guard drove the SUV and not the usual Scharfrichter. Were they all busy?
The SUVs stopped in front of a red roofed building. The guards led them inside and down a narrow corridor. The room at the end had been shadows and hints of heavy furniture to Katelina before, but now it was clear as daylight. She could even see the figures in the heavy paintings.
The back wall slid open on a secret room where four vampire guards sat at computer monitors. They quickly saluted and Sadihra spoke to them in rapid German. After a hurried phone conversation, one of the guards pressed a button and another wall opened.
Katelina caught Jorick's hand as they stepped through into a corridor. She could feel the thrum of the Kugsankal, pounding up from the deepest recesses of the building. Though she sensed they were more alert, they weren't as overwhelming as before. Perhaps because she was now immortal.
In the marble lobby, the information desk sat empty except for a sign that said "Closed. Please see the second floor office for information". Chips in the floors, a cracked wall, and a broken pillar were all signs of the revolt they'd started on their last visit.
"We didn't start it," Verchiel whispered. "The H?here Rat did when they locked the stronghold down and refused to let anyone in or out. We just pushed things a bit."
Hethin and the guards peeled off to the left, dragging Boris and Braydon with them. Katelina assumed they were taking them to the Scharfrichter office to be checked in, but where would they go from there? The dungeon? Half formed memories of screams and horrific experiments surfaced. Jorick had told her she'd dreamed it, but it didn't feel like a dream.
Sadihra stopped in front of a bank of gilded elevators and took the clipboard from a waiting guard. "Der H?here Rat wishes to speak with Jorick, Jorick's humanermfledgling, Verchiel, Jamie, Maeko, and the human who belonged to Malick. The rest of you are free to check into rooms, though you will need to go to the second floor office."
"If they want me to stay they can pay," Oren snapped.
Verchiel adjusted his unconscious burden. "Your presence wasn't requested, so they probably don't care if you leave."
Torina grabbed her brother's shoulder. "Let's go."
Oren hesitated, and Etsuko cleared her throat. "Oren-sama has not asked my opinion, but if he would be willing to listen I would share it."
Torina rolled her eyes. "I bet you would."
Etsuko waited until Oren gave his consent. "I believe it would be best for Oren-sama to remain here, lest he is separated from Jorick-san again. Meeting up together was very troublesome, and I am sure Oren-sama would not wish to suffer such inconvenience."
"Maybe if Jorick would get a phone it wouldn't be such a pain?" Loren smirked.
Sadihra interrupted them. "The choice is yours. I'll leave you to decide. Meanwhile, if the others would come with me?" She paused and studied Verchiel. "You can carry the human, though we will need to wake her up before she sees der H?here Rat." She waved them to the stairs. "I apologize. The main elevators were damaged."
Could it get worse?
As they walked down the steps Katelina tried to figure out what they would be tried for this time. She, Jorick, and Verchiel were no doubt in trouble for escaping during the revolt, and Jamie was an Executioner so they probably just wanted his testimony, but Maeko-What did she have to do with it? And Xandria. Was it her affiliations with Malick and the Children of Shadows that earned her a spot on the list?
Sadihra stopped before a plain door. She disappeared inside and returned with a bag of blood for each of them. "Drink quickly. We are running late for your scheduled appearances."
Jorick ripped the bag open for Katelina. She swallowed the contents in one long gulp. When everyone was finished, they threw away the bags then followed the Scharfrichterin to a set of double doors.
"You will need to wake the human now."
Katelina started to say, "I am awake," then realized Sadihra meant Xandria.
Verchiel propped the woman up on a bench and snapped his fingers. Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn't stir. With an impatient snort, Jorick laid his hand on her forehead. Xandria's eyes opened slowly.
"Holy crap! Where am I?" She pushed Jorick back and jumped to her feet. Her memories seemed to return as she unconsciously gripped her arm. "I-I don't feel good."
"You probably need blood," Sadihra agreed. "I am sorry, but we don't have time to wait. You may go to the infirmary once the inquiry is over."
"Inquiry?" Xandria asked.
"It's a formality," Verchiel said. "We're at the stronghold. You slept through the trip."
Formality. Yeah right. Katelina remembered Jorick telling her that, right before the H?here Rat ruled to keep them prisoner.
Katelina met Xandria's eyes. She thought she saw a different kind of fear flash through them, as if Xandria was afraid she might finish her off given the chance.
Though Katelina wanted to run, she followed Sadihra into a huge pillared room. The stained glass ceiling shone with imitation sunlight. The walls, half plaster and half paneling, were hung with flags in red, green, blue, and yellow. What looked like an old courtroom dock sat in the center of the room, occupied by a pair of unfamiliar vampires. Behind it ran several benches where onlookers and prisoners waited. Six carved wooden boxes sat two to a wall, like jury boxes, but only the pair against the far wall were occupied by vampires in deep green robes. Between the councils, four vampires stood in a smaller box; three wore royal blue and one gold. They were all the H?here Rator High Council. Though they were not as old as Malick, she could still feel the heaviness of their years. After Samael it seemed like nothing.
Sadihra showed them to seats. Katelina and Xandria squeezed between Maeko and Jorick. As she wondered again about the child-vampiress' summons, a memory popped into her head. A bonfire crackled against the night sky. Executioners murdered Oren's immortal children, simply for the crime of being turned young.
Katelina's heart skipped a beat. Maeko was young. Would they-She couldn't finish the terrible thought.
The double doors opened and she looked up to see Hethin and a pair of guards bringing Braydon and Boris inside. They didn't look like they'd been tortured, but she wouldn't be surprised to know it was coming.
