Chapter 539
Late arrivals appeared after dinner. Katelina followed Jorick and Jamie to the entryway. Cutter was already in conversation with a broad shouldered man. He wore a heavy beard. Blonde hair fell in long curls to his shoulders. His scowl said news of the security measures wasn't to his liking.
Katelina turned to comment that he looked like trouble, when she noticed the hard line of Jamie's mouth and the uncomfortable set of his shoulders. There was a name on the guest list that had disturbed him. What was it? Edgar? Ebert?
"Eagan," Jamie muttered. Though the timing was perfect, she suspected it was more coincidence than mind reading.
"Do you want me to handle him?" Jorick asked.
Jamie sighed. "Not particularly. I bear him no ill will but-it's been a long time."
As though Eagan sensed their conversationand Katelina thought he probably didhis eyes landed on Jamie. He nodded to Cutter, then stalked to them in long heavy strides. Both his movements and appearance made Katelina think of an old warrior.
"Jamie, is it?" Eagan asked in a thickly accented voice. "I did'na think to see ya here, lad." His attention slid to the Executioners' emblem. "Ah. So you're one of them, are ya? Caitrin will be interested to hear the news, and glad to know yer still alive."
Jamie's expression stayed neutral. "You still speak with them?"
"Aye. They left the coven a hundred years hence, but we still see one anither now and again. They've gone to Wales, if ya can believe it." He laughed. "No different than ya joinin' up with the guard, so ta speak. Never thought ta see ya there, what with yer hatred for authority."
Cornelius appeared at Jamie's elbow, looking apologetic and terrified. "Sir, should we start searching his luggage?"
Eagan slapped the guard on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "Aye, aye, best be gettin' on with it so I can get to my bed." He inclined his head to Jamie. "Good to see ya, lad." Then he turned and followed the horrified guard.
When he was out of range, Katelina asked, "Was that your master?"
It took Jamie a minute to answer. "Not in the sense you're thinking. He didn't turn me, but he was the master of the one who did, so he owned us."
Katelina balked. "I knew it meant you were in their coven, but to own you?"
"It's because of the blood debt," Jamie answered. "Had the debt been paid before Caitrin turned me then he wouldn't have owned me, she would have. Since it wasn't paid, anyone she or I made belonged to Eagan."
"Was Caitrin your girlfriend?"
"Sister," Jamie said stiffly. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
He strode away and Katelina shot Jorick a questioning look.
"He was nearly killed in some battle or another, and returned home on death's door to discover his sister and her husband made immortal. It was the husband, I think, that Eagan actually made, but he turned his wife, and she her brother. It's a sore topic for him, even after all these years. I don't know what it was, but something happened between him and his brother-in-law. That's why he came to the colonies."
"Since you made Oren, and he turned his sister and the rest of them before his debt was paid, did that mean you owned them?"
"I suppose, though I'd never want to claim them."
Katelina turned back to the scene at hand. "Eagan is interesting. You don't see many vampires with a beard. Why is that? Ancient people wore beards all the time."
"Maybe they did, and maybe they didn't. Regardless, it's usually standard practice to prepare before being turned."
"You mean by shaving?" He nodded and she thought of his hairless chest. "Did you?"
"Yes. As did Oren. It's one way to tell if someone was turned by an old master or a new one. The new ones don't bother with it, but old masters tend to be pickier."
It was the kind of preparations Katelina had wanted to do. She was distracted from her regret by newcomers. A pale vampire wore a dark ponytail and a long traveling cloak. The vampiress on his arm wore one of a similar cut, though violet in color. Her midnight tresses spilled out around the hood, and her voluptuous blood red lips were a bright contrast against her cocoa skin.
A third vampire walked toward them, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. His curly hair was cropped short, as was the beard on his strong chin. He stopped next to the pair, and the woman pulled the glasses from his face with an admonishment.
It was Des, Anya's ex-lover, the vampire who'd let them take Thomas.
Katelina grabbed Jorick's arm. "What's he doing here?"
"He's accompanying his mother and her lover, Demetrious. Sadly, he won't be the last familiar face we see. With so many guests it's not surprising."
"Just how many are there?"
"Fifty guests RSVP'd. That's why I asked you to be careful."
If she added in all the entertainers, decorators, extra staff, servants, and coven members, the number was dizzying. It would be impossible to keep track of everyone at once. No wonder he was worried.
He cut in on her thoughts. "It looks like Jamie has things under control. Let's go for a walk."
She nodded her head. Anything was better than the crushing chaos of the house.
Outside, the stars throbbed in the sky. With her vampire eyes she could see colors; pinks, blues, yellows, reds, and a thousand pinpoints of light she'd never known existed. The moon was a sliver of silver and she drank in its light like nectar.
Jorick led her around the house toward the pond. They walked silently out onto the little pier. She watched the dark waves lap the supports, and wondered how cold the water was.
"It's a beautiful night," Jorick said softly.
She made an absent minded noise of agreement.
"I'm sorry."
His apology caught her off guard. "What?"
"I'm sorry, for this. I promised we were finished, yet here we are."
Oh. That. "Sorino said you can't help yourself."
"He did, did he?" His anger melted with a sigh. "It isn't that. I've lived a long time, Katelina, and in those years-You aren't the only one I owe something to. You should be the most important one, and you are, but"
She laid a finger to his startled lips. "It's okay. I get it. Whether you want to use the word or not, Jamie is your friend. He probably saved your life a time or two, and you probably saved his. When Eileifr sent him to Indonesia to bring you home, he disobeyed orders and stayed to help look for me. He helped you defeat Malick, a vampire he'd once sworn loyalty to. If you didn't come, he'd be by himself with the bumbling guards, or they'd have sent a newbie who's barely better than they are. I admit, I was upset at first, but it's okay."
Jorick sighed with relief and wrapped his arm around her. "You never cease to surprise me, little one." He frowned. "If that's not the problem, then what's bothering you? Is it what happened with the hiker?"
She leaned her head against him and listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat. "That was upsetting, but no. It's Sarah. She's been acting tense and stiff all day."
Jorick made an uncomfortable sound. "Did you have a fight?"
"Not exactly. We were talking yesterday. I don't think her introduction to immortality was a nice one. She said something about being locked in a cage in Troy's basement until December. God, you guys killed him in October. That means she would have been in there more than a month with no food. I don't know. I guess she's mad because she thought I'd been a prisoner of Claudius', and a vampire, for the whole time; that I'd only recently escaped. When she found out I was only a prisoner overnight and I stayed human until Malick-I think she's just confused. She thought she understood what happened, only to find out she doesn't. I wish I knew how to help her."
"All you can do is be there for her, and be careful."
She peered up into his face. "Be careful of what?"
He didn't meet her eyes. "Sometimes, when people have suffered-It may take her some time to heal."
"I know." Katelina relaxed again. "I wish there was a magic way to make everything better."
Jorick's voice was so low she could barely hear him. "Don't we all?"
They wandered back inside near daybreak. They were barely through the door when Jamie pounced and dragged Jorick into the portrait lined hall. Katelina stood uncomfortably near a statue and examined a bouquet of flowers, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Excuse me," a female voice purred.
Katelina looked up to see the pale top hatted twins from earlier. The dark haired vampiress was between them. She wore a designer dress and heels. Though it hugged her body, it didn't make her look slutty or provocative, only sexy.
Before Katelina could make other observations, the world dipped and swayed, then returned, almost too sharp and clear to be real.
"I said, my friends are hungry," the vampiress repeated, though Katelina had missed it the first time. "Where can they get a snack?"
Katelina's mouth worked on its own as she gave directions to the kitchen. When she finished the vampiress said, "Thank you, child," and started away.
One of the twins hung back. His smile was more terrifying than friendly. "You should not wander alone. You're too interesting to get lost."
Before Katelina could ask what he meant, they were gone and Jorick was hurrying toward her.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded and rubbed her head absently.
He caught her hands with a frown. "Who was it and what did they want?"
"It was those pale twins and the woman they came with." She racked her memory, but there was only a dark edged hole. "It's weird, but I can't remember what she looked like, just that she was well dressed."
Jorick pulled her to him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It doesn't matter. You're safe."
