Chapter 557
Katelina inhaled deeply. There was only the smell of frost and cold, evergreens and dead weeds. Then she smelled the birds, the musk of the wildlife, and finally, underneath, a thin thread of death. Her first thought was animal, but somehow she knew better; she knew it was
"Human," Trivila said.
The scent that had once filled Katelina with dread now made her stomach tighten. She followed the women past the well-kept area and into the weeds. Annabelle's dress snagged. She stopped to untangle it, and Katelina pushed past them. As the scent grew stronger, she picked up speed. At last she crashed through a tangle of undergrowth to discover a spot where the dead weeds were mashed down. Nestled in the center and sprinkled with snow was the mangled body of a boy.
His eyes were forever closed against the cold. Dark lashes rested on frosted cheeks and wisps of dark hair that escaped from his knit hat. His hands were at his side, one with a mitten and one naked and white against the brown of the grass. His jeans, slashed and ragged, revealed wounds underneath, and his bright yellow coat was open to show his gory chest. Frozen blood splattered his face and clothes, and clung in a heavy crystal mass where his throat was torn from one side to the other.
Katelina let the screen of weeds fall into place as she stumbled back. The scent that made her hungry now left her sick. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if she could force away the image, but it was burned on the back of her eyelids.
Trivila crashed through the underbrush and stopped to push the weeds aside. With a gasp she let them spring back and took a step away.
"Who is he?"
Katelina shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe from a house around here?"
Trivila frowned. "There's a village not too far, but I don't know."
Annabelle appeared, her dress hiked up above her pale knees. She looked sorrowfully toward the weeds. "None in my coven would take a child."
Katelina bit back her surprise. Of course she'd know without looking. She was a mind reader and had probably pulled it from Trivila's thoughts. Or maybe Trivila was a whisperer and flat out told her.
"Even if it was an animal that attacked him, he couldn't get here by himself," Trivila said quietly. "Not unless he braved the pools and climbed the fence. I know none of us would kill him, but what about the guests?"
Annabelle shook her head. "We asked that they not take victims from the surrounding area. Too many disappearances would raise eyebrows."
"Just because you asked, doesn't mean they listened," Katelina said. "I need to tell Jorick."
Annabelle dropped her skirt and wrung her hands nervously. "Yes, I suppose that's best."
Katelina didn't want to feel suspicious but shouldn't she want a murder reported?
Except they don't consider it murder, she reminded herself. No more than humans considered a hamburger evidence of foul play.
When no one moved, Katelina left the women and the body behind. She hurried through the trees, then across the crunchy lawn. She ducked through a side door and down a corridor, ignoring the sensation as a pair of ancient eyes brushed over her.
Jorick was in the library where she'd left him. He lowered his book and asked, "What is it?"
She gasped out the tale, and Jorick snapped the book closed. "Did it look fresh? Never mind, I'll look for myself, assuming they've left things alone."
Katelina waited impatiently as he fetched Jamie from his second floor rounds. After a brief explanation, the Executioners followed Katelina outside, and into the trees. The scent of blood seemed stronger to her, maybe because she knew to look for it, and she quickly found Annabelle and Trivila huddled together.
"Where's Andrei?" Annabelle asked.
Jamie and Jorick's eyes met, and the former said, "We haven't told him yet."
Katelina could feel Annabelle's unhappiness, but the vampiress only motioned to the screen of weeds.
Jorick pushed through first. Jamie followed. Despite Katelina's aversion, she peered after them curiously.
Jamie studied the corpse. "He's on top of the snow, so he must have been left after the storm."
Jorick crouched and gently prodded the stiff body. "There's a lot of damage." He peeled back the frozen coat. "The heart is missing. But there are minimal signs of animal activity, so he can't have been here long."
Jamie stood back and sniffed. He frowned and sniffed again. Jorick did the same. Katelina followed their example, though she had no idea what she was smelling for.
The men stepped over the body and pushed past a fluffy conifer tree. Katelina hesitated, her eyes drawn against her will to the body of the dead child. Ice crystals clustered on his lashes and around his nose. A splatter of blood on his cheek ran down in a tiny frozen rivulet, like a moment stopped forever.
She forced herself to look away as she stepped over him, and tried to shut out the thoughts crowding her mind; the questions about his parents, his grandparents, his siblings. Was his mother sitting at home, clutching a favorite toy, praying her baby would come back safely? If so, it was a prayer that would go unanswered.
Katelina's chest caught and she dabbed at her eyes as she followed the men deeper into the forest. She could see them ahead of her, standing over something.
"What is it?"
Jorick looked up and panic danced across his features. "No, little one, don't" but it was too late.
She covered her mouth and spun away, though it did nothing for the image seared into her retinas. What was left of a little girl was spread in the snow. Reddish-blonde curls were splayed around her head, and her pink coat was torn and dirty. Like the little boy, her throat had been savaged and her chest ripped open, but unlike him she'd been there for a few days. A layer of snow covered half of her body, and what was exposed was gnawed on by wildlife, leaving frozen valleys of crystal carnage.
"Oh my God. Another one."
Jorick moved to pull her protectively against his side. "I tried to warn you."
"I know," she murmured. "My God, it's like the Heartless Killer."
"Heartless killer?" Jamie asked as he stopped next to them.
"The one Fleur went to check on."
Jorick made a hissing noise of comprehension. "Yes. The two boys discovered in the park not far from here. She went to look at the bodies."
Katelina nodded and tried to stem tears as she pictured another terrified mother. "She said their throats were cut and their hearts were missing."
"Come little one. I'll take you inside, then we'll have Fleur see if this is similar to those murders. It may be a coincidence."
Jorick deposited Katelina in the library before he went for Fleur. She started by sitting in the chair, then climbed to her feet and paced restless circles. In her mind she could see those imagined parents grieving for their children, never knowing what happened. Though the Executioners might look into this, there was no way they'd contact human police.
The door opened to reveal Fleur, her cell phone pressed to her ear. "Right. Right. It looks the same." She glanced to Katelina and scowled. "Hang on, I'm still looking for somewhere private-No. I really don't think-Just hang on."
She slid back out the door, but Katelina had heard enough. She thought about the red dotted map the news had shown. How many kids were on it? Could their murderer really be a vampire, and one of the guests? If the bodies were on Andrei's private property then it had to be. No human would have been there, and since the children in the park were from the mainland, it had to be someone who'd also come from the mainland, not someone who lived there. But who?
She understood that vampires had no qualms about murdering humans, but children? Surely that taboo carried over, otherwise Annabelle wouldn't have made the comment that none of her coven would do such a thing. That meant they were dealing with a vampire who thought they were above social norms and the rest of their society.
Like that helped narrow it down.
She threw herself into the chair and chewed her lip. Her new fangs were sharp and she tasted blood.
"Fucking vampire shit!"
The door opened again. This time it was Jorick and Jamie, Andrei on their heels. Like Fleur, Jamie was on the phone.
"You'll have to send someone. We're stretched thin as it is."
Jorick took a seat in the chair closest to Katelina. She caught his attention and asked, "The Guild is going to investigate?"
Jorick nodded. "Canada got the incident they wished for and Eileifr has no intention of letting it turn into a debacle."
"I didn't think they'd care. The High Council probably has kids for breakfast all the time."
Jorick frowned at her angry tone. "They care because the killer's made headlines. What would happen if he's arrested?"
"They'd rescue him," Katelina said bitterly. "And probably kill any of the police officers who'd seen him."
"They'd more likely wipe their minds, but yes, they'd rescue him. Now imagine the heyday Canada's pro-independence group would have. They'd use it as proof that the United States can't keep a handle on things."
"Maybe they can't. I don't understand why you care so damn much. Let Canada have their own Guild."
"It's Munich that cares. They want to keep things consolidated. The fewer Guilds, the fewer councils to rise up and challenge them."
"Who cares what they think?"
"If Eileifr is determined unequal to the task of leading the Council, the H?her Rat can dismiss him and appoint Heng, Obi, or Celandine, or they can send someone new. Losing Canada goes a long way toward showing incompetence."
"I guess. But if Canada thinks they can do better, why didn't they catch the killer sooner?" If they'd figured out it was vampire related back when there were only a couple of red dots on that map-
"There wasn't any proof until now, and technically there still isn't. The Assembly is sending an investigative examiner to look over the bodies, and The Guild will send someone. Probably Ark."
She thought about the head Executioner. "He's an ass."
"Yes, but he's intelligent and focused." Jorick patted her knee. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Tell that to the kids' families.
