Chapter 553
Katelina found Sarah in the entryway, lit by flickering candlelight, holding both an empty glass and a conversation with Des.
"My friend isn't much of a mind reader, either."
Katelina made a noise in her throat and Sarah looked up. "Speak of the devil, there she is."
Des' friendly expression turned into a scowl. "You're with them? I thought you were part of Andrei's coven."
"Hello, Des," Jorick said with amusement.
Sarah frowned and narrowed her eyes at her dark companion, as if she was reading his mind. The longer she stared, the narrower her eyes got.
"I won't keep you," he said coldly, and stalked away.
Katelina dragged Sarah into the nearest empty room. "Why were you talking to him? He's an asshole who thinks Jorick and I are traitors."
Sarah pulled away. "No, he thought you were, but now he knows you're not."
"Then why is he still being a jerk?"
"Because he's a man and can't admit he's wrong." Sarah shrugged. "He isn't that bad, Kate. We had fun in the pool yesterday and"
"So what? You're trying to date him?"
Jorick laid a hand to her shoulder. "Enough, little one. Who she chooses to spend her time with is her business. You wanted to tell her something?"
Katelina remembered the phantom and the secret staircase. Sarah's interest was piqued, and they followed Jorick to a salon. A massive portrait opened to reveal a dark passage and a set of wooden stairs.
"This wall is hollow from the basement to the top floor," Jorick explained. "There is a corridor that runs inside, with stairs that go all the way up." He led them farther down the narrow hall and stopped at a nearly invisible door. "There are a few rooms that have direct access to it. Andrei's, for instance, on the second floor. This one leads into the kitchens." Jorick pushed it open a couple of inches. Katelina peered through to see the chaos of servants washing glasses and refilling pitchers.
They made their way through the passages and wound up to the fourth floor where a door opened into a corridor not far from their rooms.
"That's it!" Sarah cried. "This is why I can't catch them!"
"Maybe," Jorick said. "Though I wouldn't call the mystery solved."
"Since when did you believe us, anyway?" Sarah asked.
Katelina moved between them. "He's trying to be more supportive."
Sarah didn't look convinced.
***
Though they didn't have the list, Katelina and Sarah kept an eye out for anyone who looked suspicious or sleepy. They were seated in a large room, watching a trio of jugglers, when a Nordic vampire and what looked like a fourteen year old girl took seats behind them.
"About time, Rangvald," someone commented. Katelina looked over her shoulder to see a dark, irritated vampire.
"Sorry, Hopper," Rangvald replied without remorse. "We slept in."
"Again? That's been almost every day this week."
Katelina bit back a gasp and met Sarah's eyes. Could it be?
Hopper went on. "I'd ask what you and Petta are doing, but-"
"Probably the same thing the other late risers are doing," Rangvald replied with a tell-tale snicker.
His comment made Katelina cringe and left her disappointed. Others. As in more than the two of them. Still, she could feel the age of the pair, and with age came power, so they were worth keeping an eye on.
The show ended. Katelina and Sarah exited to see Sorino and Kai in a corridor. The thin vampire was locked in conversation with Andrei. Annabelle stood at her mate's elbow. Though her mask hid her face, her posture spoke of boredom.
"interested to know who's guarding his collection, if anyone," Sorino said.
Andrei shrugged elegantly. "Legally, it belongs to his coven."
"Legally, yes," Sorino emphasized the word. "However, I don't believe many remain. Most were killed in the attack on The Guild."
Katelina knew who they were talking about: Traven.
Kai nodded, whether in agreement or greeting she wasn't sure, and Annabelle smiled. "Good morning."
"Hi," Katelina said uncertainly.
Sarah flinched and squeezed Katelina's arm. Her eyes shot from vampire to vampire, then she muttered an excuse and pulled Katelina to the parlor with the piano.
"There was a voice in my head," she whispered. "It said the papers were finalized and I would receive the money and the property tonight."
Money? Property? "It was probably Andrei. Apparently he's a whisperer."
"Not exactly," Jorick said. "Andrei is the next evolution, an imparter, some call them."
"What's that?"
"A whisperer speaks to you in the voice of your thoughts, because what they actually do is make you think what they want. An imparter can do that, but they can also talk to you in their own voice, as though they were speaking to you in person. You know it's them. Like with Samael or Malick."
The clock in the corner chimed and Katelina jumped.
Jorick chuckled. "It's lunch time. Come, we'll speak to Jamie."
Instead of Jamie, they ran into an irritable looking Fleur.
"You're back early," Jorick commented. "You can take my shift, after all."
"We already made arrangements," the vampiress responded. "I prefer to stick to them."
Jorick didn't bother to hide his amusement. "I imagine you do. Did you discover anything?"
"Not especially. Whoever killed them cut them up and took their hearts after they were dead. The autopsy lists a jagged knife as the weapon used to" she mimed a slicing motion across her throat. "and they may be right."
"May?" Katelina asked.
Fleur shrugged. "I'm not an expert, and certainly not after the bodies have sat for a bit."
"But knives," Katelina pressed. "That isn't a vampire murder?"
Fleur shrugged again. "Could be. Could not be. There's nothing that says vampire but-"
"There's nothing that rules them out," Jorick finished. "Are there other vampires in the area?"
"Yes, on the other side of the Island, but these boys were taken from the mainland and brought here. Also, the missing hearts match the M.O. of a killer the humans are hunting."
Missing hearts? Did she mean the Heartless Killer?
"Does the rest of the scene match that killer?" Jorick asked.
Fleur deposited her empty glass. "I don't know. Why don't you look it up?"
"I could," Jorick agreed with a grin. "But it's not my assignment and besides, I have a shift to start. Looks like it's up to you."
Fleur only rolled her eyes.
