Chapter 525
It took Sarah a moment to begin her story. "When I didn't hear from you, I went to your house. There were a couple of guys there. They thought I was you, and took me to Claudius." Katelina nodded, this much she knew. "They interrogated me about where you were. I didn't know, and finally Claudius said I could be put to death. He gave the job to Troy." She said the name with enough venom to poison a small city.
Her hands tightened around her purse strap. "I thought I was dead when he hauled me out of there. I probably should have been. He took me to the house and...and that's when he did this to me."
"Did Claudius know?" Katelina couldn't believe the sulky master would have allowed such a thing.
"No. Kurt," she paused after the name twisted from her lips and grimaced. "Kurt said Troy was making a private army to overthrow Claudius. We were all supposed to be dead as far as everyone else was concerned. I don't know. Whatever he had planned, he disappeared a week later. We figured out he wasn't coming back, and finally escaped. We stayed together for a little while, then I worked my way here." She dropped the purse and caught Katelina's hand. "I'm so glad you're all right. Well, as all right as can be expected now that we're this." She motioned to herself. "When Troy didn't show up with you, I was afraid you were dead."
Katelina remembered the horrors of Claudius' den. She didn't want to think about what Sarah had endured. "No, but he is."
Sarah's shoulder's relaxed a little. "I thought so. I can't explain it, but we all felt it."
Jorick cut in, "You mentioned a Kurt. Was he one of the others? How many were there? Where are they now?"
Katelina gave him a sidelong look. He wasn't an Executioner anymore. It wasn't his job to keep tabs on vampires.
Sarah didn't meet his eyes. "Six. I left them in Pennsylvania."
Jorick made an unsatisfied noise, but at Katelina's glare, let it drop.
With a deep breath, Katelina asked the most important question, "You haven't told Brad or Mom about-"
Sarah's eyes went wide. "Good lord, no."
Katelina nearly collapsed with relief. "Thank God. If you had-" She broke off. "The Laws."
"The what?" Sarah looked from Katelina to Jorick.
As Katelina explained about The Guild, The Laws, and the Executioners, Sarah looked more and more concerned. "They have police?"
Katelina nodded.
"I had no idea. I saw a few of them at Claudius', then Troy and the others. That was it until you and Jorick showed up tonight. But why do you keep saying vampires? That's not I mean, we aren't-"
"What did you think you were?" Jorick asked mildly. "A zombie?"
"No! There's no such thing as zombies. And there's no such thing as-I mean Kurt used that term but-but it's so ridiculous."
Katelina understood. "It's just a word. You can use anything you want. In the end it all means the same thing."
Sarah sighed. "I suppose so. I understand why they'd use it; the blood drinking and the sunlight. I don't know. I thought of it more as a contagious virus."
"Like a zombie," Jorick muttered.
"It's not contagious," Katelina said. "You have to give people your blood to turn them."
"So you mean biting them won't make them-this?" Katelina nodded and Sarah looked away. "Ah. I thought-I mean-we thought biting them-that you had to kill them to keep them from changing."
Katelina didn't like the way she put that. "No. You can drink a little bit and be okay." She thought of the disappearances Brad mentioned. Sarah never liked Karen, and she'd always hated- "Have you visited your parents?"
Sarah scowled. "No. I didn't spend time with them before, so why bother now?"
Katelina heaved a sigh of relief. She'd thought Sarah might have gotten back at her abusive father and dishrag mother.
"I thought about it, but after everything else, it was pointless."
Katelina started to reply, then realized Sarah had read her mind. "Not you too?" Sarah looked confused and Katelina clarified, "You're a mind reader."
"Aren't all of-us?"
"No. There's a bunch of different abilities." She explained that vampires inherited their traits from their masters, and sometimes through being predisposed. "As they age they get extra powers, so really ancient vampires can do everything, but it takes a long time."
Sarah shook her head, as if processing too much information. "It's all kind of overwhelming."
"Yes, a master is supposed to teach you these things," Jorick said.
Katelina didn't want to dwell on what Sarah had missed out on, so she asked, "What are your plans? I know your apartment is gone, and you can't work."
Sarah nodded. "I'm staying at Brad's old place. He's in the middle of moving. When he's done, I don't know. Your mom said you're living in a van?"
Katelina groaned. "No. Jorick has a house in Maine. We're going home after this."
Sarah brightened. "I could come with you. I've always wanted out of this place."
Jorick made a low noise in his throat and Katelina kicked him. "We have a spare room in the basement."
The last of Sarah's tension drained. "Thank God. Trying to pretend to be normal-it's almost impossible. Trying to hide my teeth, and not being able to eat food. And they know I don't have a job. After a month or two that's going to get awkward. When are you leaving?"
"We're visiting Mom tomorrow, but after that we can go."
"Ok. Brad has most of my stuff boxed up in his house. I don't have room for it in my car. I'll have to get a storage unit. I think they're open until seven tomorrow, I might make it in time."
Her stuff. The concern seemed so normal, so every day, that Katelina didn't know what to say. It was as far removed from their new reality as the sun.
"So, about Brad?"
"Yeah." Sarah's eyes dropped and she shrugged. "When I got back he and Patty were together. He apologized, but made it clear he was happy." A smile stretched over her lips. "And that's what matters. With me being this it's just as well." She stood quickly. "Anyway, I'm going to go pack and get things ready for storage. I'll see you tomorrow?" Katelina nodded and Sarah paused to dig an ink pen from her purse. "What's your number? I don't have a new phone yet, but Brad still has a landline. He got money off of his internet for it."
"Um-we don't have a phone. We're staying at the motel, down from the gas station where Patrick used to work." Saying his name felt weird, and Katelina cleared her throat, as if to push the last shreds of guilt away.
"Okay." Sarah stashed her pen. "I'll look it up. Have a good night." She gave Katelina a final hug. "God, I'm so glad to see you."
"I'm glad to see you, too."
Sarah hurried toward her car. As she disappeared, Jorick caught Katelina's eye. "You don't seem that glad."
"I'm glad. I'm just-I'm still in shock. I never imagined-Did you?"
"No. I admit I didn't."
"I feel like if only we'd known sooner-But at least she wasn't alone. I guess that's why she didn't come back right away."
Jorick shrugged. "You could ask her."
Though she couldn't explain it, the topic felt like a bad idea. "Maybe."
