Chapter 57
Katelina stared at her bloody shaking hands. The implications of what she'd done crashed over her. Shed' killed someone. A vampire, yes, but still a living creature who'd at least looked human. At Kateesha's instruction, she'd slammed the blade through him and now-
But, before she could dwell on it, Kateesha clapped a hand on her shoulder, her mouth close to her ear. "Wasn't that delicious?" she purred and then her voice hardened and she barked, "Get your dagger!"
Katelina obediently knelt to the floor, her body running on autopilot. She gingerly avoided the slowly spreading puddle of blood and pulled the dagger free with a sickening squelching sound.
"Wipe it off," Kateesha ordered impatiently, and Katelina stared at the blade helplessly. "On your dress!" Katelina again followed the instructions.
"Good." Kateesha smiled evilly. "I don't have time to babysit you, so you're on your own now." She moved away to grapple with another vampire and sent him crashing noisily into a set of shelves.
Katelina stood shakily. Though she clutched the dagger, Jorick and Kateesha quickly made short work of the remaining vampires without her help. When it was over they stood amidst the carnage, gazing around at the dead.
Kateesha brought a hand to her mouth and slowly licked the blood from it, a smile of ecstasy on her face. Jorick moved quickly to Katelina. "Are you all right?"
She nodded her head dumbly, unable to trust her voice. She was afraid it would crack and betray how her insides quivered.
He pulled her against him as he glared at Kateesha. "She didn't need to get involved."
"I could have let her die," the vampiress replied, her voice demonstrating that both options had held equal appeal. "But she was a willing pupil. Regardless, someone is missing. I would say Claudius is hiding like the rat he is."
Jorick squeezed Katelina tightly and then released her as he addressed Kateesha. "He'll be here somewhere. Come, we'll find him." He gave Katelina a reassuring smile and then carefully guided her up the stairs.
Kateesha followed them closely, still licking the blood from her fingers like a cat cleaning mouse from its paws. When Katelina glanced back, Kateesha only laughed and snapped her teeth together. Katelina looked away and tried not to think about the reality of her situation. These were monsters that walked with her and, outside in the darkness, more of them undoubtedly waited.
The smell of frost and dead leaves filled her nose as they stepped out of the protection of the cellar. She shivered as the cold breeze skimmed her damp body. Jorick seemed completely unaffected by the temperature, as did Kateesha. She wondered if they were even aware of how cold it was, but she doubted it.
The three of them went unmolested as they walked around the small house. When they reached the front they found the door hanging open on sagging hinges. Light spilled out onto the small concrete porch in a pool of electric yellow, while inside creatures moved, twisted, fought.
Jorick tightened his grip on Katelina. "Stay out of trouble." He nodded to Kateesha who grinned broadly, then, wordlessly, they plunged through the door and into the fray.
Katelina hung back on the porch and tried to follow the fight raging inside. Oren and Torina were already engaged in battle. Oren's face was grim and Torina's was alight with joy. Meanwhile, Jorick and Kateesha wasted no time in finding opponents.
Katelina drew closer to the door. Her eyes flicked from the fighting vampires to the faded walls and the bare wooden floor. Overturned furniture littered the corners of the room, smashed until it was no longer recognizable.
"Who are you?" a gruff voice demanded and she found herself staring into a set of dark bloodshot eyes. She faltered, and when she didn't answer he grabbed her with one hand and dragged her into the light. "I know you!"
Katelina panicked, and pulled back. The dagger flashed as she swung it towards him. She felt it connect and she heard him cry out in surprise, but his hold didn't lessen.
"You bitch!" With a hand on his face to catch the blood she'd spilled, he snarled and pulled her towards him, his teeth flashing. She twisted away so that all he could get was the fleshy part of her left forearm. It was enough.
She shouted at the pain and slashed the dagger again, but he was ready for it. He pulled her into the room, and pinned her against the wall, his face snarling into hers. Horrified, Katelina stared into the depths of his angry eyes - and then his head was gone and she was staring at a bloody stump.
She screamed.
Despite losing his head, the vampire continued to hold her in place. She screamed again and her eyes landed on Oren, who stood behind the headless body with the bloody machete in his hand. Coolly, he rammed the weapon through the vampire's back. He jerked it straight up so that it split the torso in half. Blood spurted, but the hands let go of her and the body fell to the floor to land near the wide-eyed head.
Oren met her eyes and then hurried to his sister, who was surrounded by three snarling attackers. Katelina stayed against the wall, the dagger still in her hand, and her left arm throbbing from both the shoulder wound and the new bite. Despite the pain, she couldn't take her eyes off of the severed head at her feet. His lips were still curled back in a snarl, and his blood-shot eyes stared, cold and empty but no less menacing.
She managed to stay out of the battle as blood splattered amidst screams and howls. She wanted to close her eyes and block it all out, but she knew better and forced herself to stay alert, though her mind tried not to process the carnage around her.
When Oren finally hacked the last vampire down, the four stood gazing towards a gaping doorway. As if on cue, Claudius strode through it, an ornate axe in his hand. His wounds from the previous night were completely healed, and he was restored to his perfect, sneering self.
A wave of power rolled through the room at his entrance and smashed against them like the stormy sea breaking against rocks. Katelina made a noise of fear in her throat. She couldn't move, held in place by the sheer will of Claudius.
As if in answer, the space around Jorick seemed to crackle with his overwhelming presence. Between the two of them, the air was so thick with energy Katelina could barely breathe.
"So you've come back, Jorick?" Claudius' sulky face took on a superior air as he came to a stop. His eyes flicked to the dead and his face grew sulkier. "You saw fit to kill everyone, I see." Then he saw Katelina and smirked. "But you brought me a present. How nice. I can finish what I started."
"You won't touch her," Jorick stated flatly. His dark eyes burned in his grim blood-splattered face.
"I already have," Claudius replied and laughed. Cold and cruel, it was a sound that made Katelina's knees tremble. Jorick growled and leapt at the haughty blonde.
Claudius stepped out of the way. Jorick hit the ground rolling and came to a stop, crouching, next to a fallen body. Snarling, he jerked a jagged shuriken from the corpse's back and with the other hand grabbed the spiked tonfa from the vampire's dead fingers.
Jorick leapt to his feet and hurled the shuriken at Claudius. He easily deflected it with the axe, but it gave Jorick time to cover the distance between them.
Claudius swung his weapon. Jorick dodged, but the blade caught his arm and sliced through his shirt to leave a shallow gash in his skin.
Claudius swung again, but Jorick stopped the blow with the tonfa. Jorick ducked to the left, and when Claudius spun to follow him, he kicked his legs out from under him. The blonde crashed to the floor, but rolled away before Jorick could slam his weapon into him.
