Chapter 559
Cornelius brought Sorino and Kai. The vampire left the teen at the door and took a seat.
"Sorino, fledgling of Percy, 1536." He gave them a smug smile. "I can recount my movements for the last year. The three months the killer was most active I was with Jorick overseas. This is my first visit to Canada in some time. As to your next question, have I noticed anything out of the ordinary, I would say yes. Urian and Taylor had quite a fight the other evening and Urian accused the younger vampire of sneaking to town to meet with someone else."
Katelina remembered the fight over Grayson, but before she could comment Jorick asked, "Are they lovers?"
"No. Taylor and Grayson are. Urian is Grayson's ex, however they still share a coven. I imagine spending time with them is as interesting as traveling with you, Jorick."
Jamie made a note. "Anything else?"
Sorino gave a pointed yawn. "Not that pertains to this, but you may be interested to know William and Acwellen have been cooking something up."
Katelina and Sarah turned to one another. They were both on Jamie's list, and Jorick admitted they had issues with him. Not to mention Katelina remembered seeing them alone in a boat, away from everyone else.
A slow smile spread over Sorino's lips. "I'm glad you took my meaning. If there's nothing else?"
Jamie sent for the "young stud" Taylor. When pressed, he admitted he'd spoken to William, but not romantically. "I think he was feeling me out so he could recruit me for something. I made it clear I didn't want involved and he quit talking to me. End of story."
Again, William was up to something. Maybe the death of an Executioner. He and Acwellen passed the twins to take top place on Katelina's stalker list.
She waited impatiently while both Urian and Grayson were interviewed, then tensed when Jamie called for William.
The vampire who came through the door had the smooth unlined face of a man in his early twenties, with vivid green eyes and shoulder length black hair. In another setting she'd have found him good looking.
He took his seat and gave Jorick a nasty look. "Hoping for the go-ahead to butcher some more of us?"
Katelina nudged Sarah. Exhibit A: He still resented Jorick.
Jamie cleared his throat and William's gaze swiveled to him. "You know who he is, don't you? The Hand of Death, leaping at orders of massacre without a second thought."
"You broke the law," Jorick said disinterestedly.
"No, we didn't, but we didn't have friends among the Council like McKenzie's coven."
Jorick shrugged. "It had more to do with an illegal attack than with friends on the Council."
"It was perfectly legal. They were in our territory and they'd taken hostages."
"Enough!" Jamie snapped. "We aren't here to rehash old wars."
"Old illegal wars," Jorick commented with a barely hidden smirk.
Jamie gave him a warning look. "Please state you name, master, and approximate fledgling date."
"William. My master is Henry, deceased." He gave Jorick a hard look. "December, the year of our Lord 1222."
"Can you account for your whereabouts in the last year?"
"I could, but I see no reason to." He glared at Jorick again.
Jamie straightened and grabbed his medallion. "William, fledgling of Henry, I am an Executioner, so assigned by the United States Guild and Sanctioned by the H?her Rat in Munich. You will cooperate with these questions or be put under arrest and sent to the Citadel where you will be detained and questioned by the High Council. Are we clear?"
"If they're all as young as you, it's hardly a threat," William replied coldly.
"Enough." Jorick stood and met William's eyes. Though Katelina couldn't hear the thoughts she could feel their mental struggle, trying to penetrate and be impenetrable. Finally William snarled, "Myanmar. I've been in Myanmar for the last three years."
"Was that so hard?" Jamie asked coldly. He reeled off the other questions: had William seen or heard anything suspicious, had he left the premises, did he know anyone who had. He was as uncooperative as he could be, and Jorick struggled with him until Jamie finally waved him out.
William paused at the threshold and glared back at Jorick. "Stay out of my way, Executioner, or else." Then he stormed through the door.
Katelina grabbed Jorick's shoulder. "He's the one stalking you, isn't he?"
Jorick turned to her with surprise. "I thought you suspected the twins."
She ignored Sarah's hard glare. "You said you hadn't run into them before, but William and his buddy are mad at you, everyone agrees they're up to something, and in case you missed it, he threatened you! Didn't you see anything in his head?"
"He was hardly in it," Jamie said. "And I couldn't get past his barrier at all."
Barrier. They'd run into those before. It was an ability of a vampire to shield their thoughts. "But you were in his head at least a little, right?"
"Enough to know he was telling the truth," Jorick replied.
"But is he the stalker?"
"I didn't look for it. I realize you aren't well versed in mind reading, but a dream stealer doesn't just open their brain and hope to stumble on something useful. They focus their query and bypass all of the junk. Otherwise they'd have to listen to days of rubbish."
Sarah shifted uncomfortably and Katelina stared at him. So it was like a vampire search engine. "How do you find out something unless you already know to look for it?"
"One doesn't need to look for something specific, a feeling is enough sometimes, like guilt or anger. It gives the dream stealer something to focus on."
Katelina bit her lip. "Is that what you meant when you said I was doing it wrong?"
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Yes and no. There's nothing wrong with the open attempt if you want to know what they're thinking right now, but if you want something deeper-The few times you've gotten it to work, I imagine your subconscious was looking for something specific without your being aware of it."
Katelina dropped back into her chair. "If you say so. When they bring in Acwellen, please check his brain."
Except Eagan came next. He answered the questions, then nodded to Jamie. "You should visit your sister, lad. She worries."
"I doubt that. You can go."
"Yer still her blood, boy."
Jamie's shoulders stiffened. "So was our father. Pity she didn't feel that way about him. Next, please."
"Aye, but she did. She's told ya before, was the English that hung yer father, not Androu."
Jamie's hand wadded into a fist around his pencil. "Because he let them! You know he wanted Father's lands and title, but I stood to inherit, not Caitrin. He made deals with the English to get what he wanted and murdered my wife. Because of him half our clan was arrested, tortured, and murdered. You want me to forget that?"
Eagan shook his head. "He did what he had to, to keep Caitrin safe. He's her husband, lad, an' that's his duty. If he hadn' made deals with the British they would've put an English Laird in his place. They knew ya were a rebel and would never have allowed ya the power. As to yer wife, Margaret caught a fever shortly after ya left. Was no doin' of Androu."
"You would say that!" Jamie broke off. "Enough. The past is the past. You are dismissed. Next."
Eagan shook his head as he walked to the door. He paused to throw back a, "Yer should at least send her a letter," before he disappeared.
Jamie slammed his fist on the table. The pencil snapped, and the top half narrowly missed hitting Jorick in the head.
"Don't let him get to you," Jorick murmured.
Jamie growled. "Cornelius, for the love of God, bring the next! I don't care who!"
Cornelius hurried away and returned with Demetrious. He was followed by his wife Diana, then Bassile, then Grimald, then several vampires Katelina hadn't run into before, and finally the redheaded Rangvald. None of them had any relevant information, and Jorick assured her none of them had any thoughts about sneaking outside their room.
One of Andrei's servants came to announce dinner. The slender vampire stood and stretched. "I think that's enough interrogation for today. You can resume Monday, if you wish."
"Monday?" Katelina was pretty sure it was only Friday.
Andrei met her gaze. "Yes. Tomorrow is the Feast day, and Sunday is a day of rest, even for non-believers. You will excuse me?"
Without waiting for a reply he strolled out the door.
Sarah tossed her notebook on the desk. "Now what? That was pretty much a waste of time."
Katelina groaned. "I feel like my brain is going to fall out of my head. If I have to deal with one more argumentative vampire I may go crazy."
"Welcome to the life of an Executioner," Jamie said with amusement. "They're all argumentative, and most are idiots." He stacked up his notes and shut off his laptop. "By Monday, Ark should be here. He can spearhead this."
"Sounds good to me." Jorick stood and straightened his shirt. "I don't know about you, but an afternoon of idiocy means it's time for some well-deserved refreshments."
Jamie nodded. "It's times like this I miss alcohol."
Sarah murmured softly, "Me, too."
