Chapter 544
They were in the lounge, watching over an escalating game of cards, when Sorino came for Kai. To Katelina's surprise, Jorick didn't mention the earlier encounter. As they walked away, she realized Sorino probably knew. He and Kai were linked. What Kai saw, he saw.
Which means he saw my bumbling attempts at mind reading.
The realization made her feel worse.
By dinner, Katelina was gloomy. She hadn't seen Sarah since she'd stormed away. After their meal, she let Jorick lead her upstairs.
To her annoyance, he flopped on the bed with a book. "I assumed you'd go next door and speak to your friend." He flipped a page. "She had dinner early and is hiding in her room. While you're practicing mind reading on her, you might suggest she try quieting her thoughts. They're almost as loud as yours used to be."
"Used to be? You mean I've gotten quieter?"
"Yes. That's why you feel it now when someone reads your mind: because they have to dig harder to get to your thoughts." His eyes moved along the text and he chuckled at something he'd read. As he turned another page, he commented, "I thought you were going?"
"You just want rid of me so you can read in peace." When he didn't reply she sighed. "Never mind. I'm going."
She knocked on Sarah's door. When no answer came, she pressed her ear to it. She could hear the soft sound of breathing. Her friend was awake.
"Sarah? It's me."
She could almost sense Sarah's sigh before she crossed the room and opened the door. "Come to check on me? I'm fine."
She stepped back and Katelina walked in. The room was like hers and Jorick's, small with a pair of beds, a wardrobe, and a night stand. Katelina sat on one of the beds and Sarah took the other. She'd obviously bathed and changed since the earlier fight. All evidence of Trevor's blood was gone.
"You're sure you're okay? You kind of"
Sarah cut her off. "Got mad? I had a good reason. I don't get these-people. They kill everyone, but if I attack someone in self-defense then it's wrong. How does that work?"
Katelina's unfinished sentence was actually, "You kind of freaked out on Trevor," but she didn't bother to correct her. "There are a bunch of Laws."
"So I keep hearing. Why was it okay for Claudius to kidnap us, torture us, even kill us?"
Katelina rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. "The laws about humans are really loose. So long as vampires don't reveal the truth to humans, or kill them in a way that reveals vampires' existence, no one cares, unless they're owned. Since Kai's marked by Sorino, he doesn't count as a human, but as property. It's like the difference between killing a feral cat and someone's pet. No one cares what you do to the wild one, but if someone owns it you have to pay them for damages." The comparison made Katelina's stomach turn. "I'm not saying it's right; just that it's the way it is."
"Sure. Accept it, even if it's wrong."
Katelina rounded on her. "What do you want to do? Go rogue? Kill whoever we want and wait for The Guild to send an annihilation squad? That's what they do when you break the Laws, Sarah. They label you a rogue and they kill you or imprison you so long you wish you were dead."
Sarah flopped back on the bed and threw her arms over her face. "This whole thing it's not what I thought it was. There didn't seem to be any rules or laws or annihilation squads keeping peace, only a bunch of monsters, outnumbered by the normal people." She sat up. "If there's so many of us, why are we hiding in the dark? Why are there all these rules about people knowing? If the ancients are so damn powerful why don't they rule the world?"
The words sent a shiver down Katelina's spine and transported her to another place, with another speaker. Sorino read the prophecy of Lilith, the same prophecy he'd tried to sell a copy of to Bassile. The scroll claimed that once Samael was woken they would wreak their wrath upon the world and subjugate the humans. It was a terrifying scenario.
"Because they can't! Imagine a world ruled by immortal lunatics. The older they get, the crazier they go. Do you want to live under their rule?"
"We already do."
Katelina wasn't sure what to say, and Sarah sighed. "It doesn't matter. I only meant their rules don't make sense."
"I think the problem is they started with something concrete and logical. There weren't many vampires, and there were a lot of wars so they weren't expected to live hundreds of years, plus each area had its own ruler, with different laws that worked with their culture and ideals. Then the Kugsankal started consolidating. To get everyone on board they had to add the different ideas into the mix, like Christianity did when it moved Christmas to December and incorporated all the Easter traditions and what not, so it ended up with a muddy mess of complications. The more complicated it is, the more the ones in power like it, because it keeps everyone confused and wary all of the time. The common vampire is so afraid of breaking a law they don't cause trouble."
Sarah shrugged. After a moment of silence she said, "Andrei talked to me after breakfast."
Katelina tried to figure out the topic change. "Oh?"
"He summoned me to the study and showed me all of these papers-Apparently he considers me a survivor of Claudius' coven." Sarah scoffed. "Anyway, the rest of the coven was killed in a war, so as the sole survivor he offered me a buyout of my share of the company."
Sole survivor? Katelina ran through a mental list. Joseff and Kale and Rachel were dead. And a couple went with Anya, but then maybe they were killed during the Thomas fiasco.
Sarah went on, "He's going to get things drawn up, and by the time this ridiculous party is over I'll have enough money to go out on my own."
On her own. She had no intention of going to Maine with them.
"As if Jorick really wants me. And I don't blame him. I'm interfering in your relationship, just like I did when we used to live together. Remember? You never had a serious boyfriend."
"That had nothing to do with you."
Sarah motioned the objection away. "That's why I got my own place when I got the newspaper job, so I wouldn't be in the road." Katelina started to interrupt, but Sarah held up a hand. "It's okay. I'm not looking for reassurance. I might still come with you for a little while to get the feel of things, and it will take some time to find a suitable house and all of that. We'll keep in touch. It's not like I'll disappear without a word."
She gave Katelina a meaningful look that left her feeling guilty.
