Chapter 543
Katelina readied for the onslaught, knees bent and hands at the ready, only Trevor charged past her toward Kai. The boy dispassionately delivered a roundhouse kick that knocked Trevor's knees out from under him. When he regained his footing, Sarah tackled him.
Katelina shouted to his masters, "Call him off!"
Callise drew back, her lip curled. "Saul, I expect you to report this."
"Report what?" Katelina demanded. "Your servant attacked us!"
A snarl caught her attention. She whirled around to see Trevor with his foot in the center of Sarah's chest and his hand wrapped around Kai's throat. The dangling boy's face was calm as he reached into his jacket.
In a flash Katelina understood. Kai was Saul's prize. It was Trevor's job to do the messy work and fetch him, like a rich man whose butler brought him a slice of pie. Only Kai wasn't a snack.
With a snarl she slammed into Trevor. They crumbled to the ground in a heap. Kai sprawled nearby. Before Katelina was up again, he had a knife drawn and unsheathed. Calmly, he stabbed the fallen redhead in the back. Trevor cried out and flailed his arms.
Sarah jerked the knife out. Katelina pulled back on her haunches, ready to call an end before things got worse, when Sarah rammed the blade into Trevor's head. The vampire's screams fueled her as she ripped the blade free and stabbed again and again.
Katelina shook off her shock to grab Sarah's wrist. As the bloody weapon fell to the ground, her friend cried, "What in the hell are you doing?"
"What am I doing? What are you doing?" Katelina shouted over Trevor's gurgling moans. "You're going to kill him!"
"Are you stupid? He was going to kill us!"
"No, he was only after Kai."
"I saw it in his mind!" Sarah shrilled. "Would you rather I let him murder us?"
Katelina couldn't find words that sounded sane, so she pulled her friend to her feet and turned to the teen. "Are you okay, Kai?"
The boy stood and dusted himself off. Though Sarah continued to shout, Katelina tuned her out. She spun toward the party guests, but only Callise remained, and she looked furious.
"Where's the other one?" Katelina demanded.
Footsteps sounded and Saul rounded the corner. On his heels was
"Jorick?"
"Katelina!" He pushed past Saul and hurried to her. He wiped blood from her face and growled.
With a nod to Trevor she explained, "It's his. Sarah went berserk."
"I'm not berserk!" Sarah shouted. "He attacked us!"
With a snap of Jorick's fingers she fell quiet, her face slack. In the ensuing silence, Jorick turned to Saul and Callise. His eyes glittered dangerously, and his mouth was a thin line. "Tell me again what happened."
Saul took a wary step back, but Callise cried, "These servants are unruly. I expect Andrei to do something about it immediately."
"These servants are with The Guild," Jorick said coldly.
Callise pressed her lips together and Saul muttered, "They seem young to have a position of authority."
"It's not your call," Jorick snarled. "As for the human you told me you wanted for sport"
Saul interrupted. "Andrei said"
"Andrei said the humans in his employ were provided for your enjoyment, and asked you not debilitate or kill them. However this human isn't one of Andrei's. Sorino charged his care to these two and it was their responsibility to defend him. If that means injuring your subordinate, so be it. I will file a report and any charges Sorino cares to make against you. Should you have questions, feel free to speak with Jamie."
"This is outrageous!" Callise cried. "Being charged for trying to drink from a human?"
Saul silenced her. "No, no, pet. He's right. The human is Sorino's property. There was a misunderstanding."
Callise glared. "Then why did they not say so?"
"You didn't give us a chance," Katelina snapped.
Jorick motioned her to silence. "We're done here." He addressed Katelina and Kai. "Come."
Sarah followed like a robot as they made their way to the house. Only after Jorick led them to an empty room and shut the door did he release her. She sagged, then snapped to attention, angry eyes darting around. "Where am I? How did I get here? What's going on?"
Jorick spun to face her. "I misused the power of The Guild to save you from the consequences of your actions, something that won't happen again."
Sarah stepped back from his fury. "If you mean fighting him"
"I mean trying to kill him."
Katelina laid a hand on his arm. "She was defending Kai."
"No, she wasn't. If she wanted to defend Kai, then break the servant's leg, or stab him in the knee, or, better yet, come get me. Instead she used it as an excuse to attack."
Sarah crossed her arms. "I should have let them kill the kid?"
"The worst they'd have done was taste him. Andrei has forbidden them to kill his servants." He narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing out there?"
Sarah snapped back, "Katelina and the kid were practicing mind reading."
"What?"
Katelina felt the familiar nudge in her head, but she'd had enough of it. With an angry look she envisioned a brick wall clomping down on Jorick.
His surprise doubled and he withdrew, though she knew he'd gotten what he wanted. "Since when did a human become an authority on mind reading?"
"Since he's the only one willing to help me."
"You haven't asked anyone else," Jorick replied testily. "Regardless, I forbid you from wandering off alone."
"If I'm with Sarah"
"You might as well be alone." Jorick scoffed. "She's barely older than you, and has less self-control. Another incident and she'll be reported to The Guild. Between this and Niagara, that makes twice she's gone crazy since she's been in our company."
"I'm not crazy!" Sarah shouted and stepped toward him threateningly. Splattered in blood, her face wadded in fury, it was hard to take her sanity seriously. "You may command Katelina because she lets you, but you don't tell me a damn thing!"
She threw a final growl and stormed out.
Jorick shook his head. "As I was saying"
"You were forbidding me?" Katelina replied sarcastically.
Jorick coughed. "Perhaps forbid was a strong word. I'm only trying to protect you. If we can get through this"
"If we get through this we retire to Maine and safety and peace forever. Number one, I doubt it and, number two, I can take care of myself."
She expected an argument about her weaknesses. Instead he relented. "Fine. But from now on there are rules. You have to stay in the house. No running all over the grounds and no being alone with guests. You have to stay where there are members of the coven or the staff, someone who knows you aren't fair game. And you can't take Sorino's human, or any human, with you unless I'm there. Humans are too likely to cause confusion."
Katelina wasn't sure about the terms. "How am I supposed to practice if I can't have Kai?"
"Practice with someone else. You may think he's helping you, but you're going about it wrong."
Katelina glanced to Kai's impassive face. "That's how Sorino trained him."
"By the time Sorino realized Kai had the gift, he was already doing it on his own. You aren't. You need to start smaller."
"Does it get smaller than a human brain?" She flinched and looked quickly to the boy.
Jorick waved it away. "You mean weaker. And no, probably not. Except Kai isn't an average human and it's easiest to form a connection with someone you're close to."
"Like you? But how am I supposed to know if I'm reading your mind or if you're helping me? I need someone who isn't a whisperer."
Jorick looked annoyed. "In case you've forgotten, Kai has some whisperer abilities, but fine, try Sarah. You've known her a long time. Your bond should be strong."
Katelina hesitated. "Do you think she would?"
"You'd have to ask her. In the meantime, we need to get back to work. I have no intention of letting you out of my sight for the rest of the evening."
