Chapter 571
Katelina was back in the attic, free from Sarah's memories.
Sarah held her head in trembling hands, her eyes wide and horrified. Her chest rose and fell with her panting breaths. "You-you"
Katelina fought back her own terror. Not mine. Not mine. Not real. "I didn't see anything."
Sarah lowered her hands and stared incredulous. "Do you think I'm stupid? I saw it. I felt it! You-"
Katelina knew Sarah would be looking and concentrated on being frustrated, on telling herself over and over that she didn't see anything.
The mind reading sensation ended and Sarah looked confused. "But I felt it. Someone-" She swept to her feet and looked in all directions. "I-I'm sure-"
"I say we give it up." Katelina stood and quickly stacked the chairs. "I'm bored and it's creepy staring at you."
Sarah clutched her arm. "You don't understand. Someone was in my head. I felt it. They were-they saw things I don't want anyone to see."
Katelina felt guilty. Why hadn't she admitted it was her? But she knew why. Because if she admitted she'd done it, then she'd have to admit she knew those horrible secrets. If they acknowledged that she knew, they'd have to address them. They'd have to discuss them. They'd have to deal with them. And neither of them wanted to. Or knew how to.
"There's no one else here," Katelina assured her. "Maybe you were concentrating too hard, trying to give me something to mind read?"
"I don't think so-" Sarah stepped back and wiped at her eyes. "I guess it doesn't matter. If there was someone, there's nothing I can do about it now."
"It's okay. Bad things happen."
Katelina and Sarah jumped. Their heads swiveled in all directions. "Did you hear that?" Sarah demanded.
Katelina nodded. "Yes. It was-I thought it was in my head, but-" But if Sarah heard it, it was out loud. The question was: who was it?
They tore through the storage area, and into the corridors beyond. Empty spaces and shadowy corners were all they found. As they circled back, they passed a door. Katelina tried the knob, but it was locked.
"That's Annabelle's room," Sarah reminded her. "Remember, from the tour?"
"Oh, yeah." Katelina gave the door a last shake for good measure. Something tickled the back of her mind, but she couldn't catch it. Something she should remember-
Sarah's words pulled her to the present. "I wonder what's in it."
A warning sounded in Katelina's head and she stepped back. Inside was something they didn't want to see, didn't want to deal with. "I don't know. Come on. Let's get this cabinet moved."
As she suspected, moving the cabinet was easier than it appeared. The trouble was it looked out of place next to Sarah's bedroom door. "No one's going to believe it goes there."
"Why? Maybe it has linens in it? My grandma used to have something like that." Sarah's voice changed. "After she died, we got it. I used to hide in it sometimes."
It was more territory neither wanted to step into, so Katelina made a point of fetching the chest and lugging it to the secret passage. They tucked it near the top of the stairs against the wall.
Sarah surveyed their handiwork. "Which do you want tonight? The cupboard or the chest?"
The plan wasn't going to work, so it hardly mattered. "I don't care."
She could feel Sarah thinking before she announced, "You can have the cabinet. I think it would be too much like-" Though she trailed off Katelina knew the rest: too much like hiding in the cupboard from her father.
Katelina checked her watch. It said nine p.m. and a heart rate of sixty-six. At least it was still beating.
"Since there's time until lunch let's see if we can find Kali and the twins."
Just what she needed. More horror.
They passed Jamie on the stairs. He paused and nodded. "Jorick is helping with the interrogations in the library."
"We're looking for Kali," Sarah said.
Jamie's face showed no emotion, but Katelina felt his suspicion under the edge of her own terror. "I think I saw her in the blue parlor. Why are you looking for her?"
"I want to show Katelina that Tol and Ren aren't out to get her."
"You might be better joining Jorick than looking for ancient vampires." His tone held a friendly warning but, at Sarah's narrow eyed expression, he shrugged and continued on.
The women wound their way to the blue salon. Sure enough Kali sat with several vampires around a leather topped table.
Katelina stopped inside the doorway and tried to ignore the goosebumps racing up and down her spine. She could feel the heavy years of the vampires pulling her down, crushing her with their combined weight.
"It's all right," Sarah whispered. "Kali won't let anyone do anything to us. I told you, that feeling you get from all the old ones eases off when you're with her."
Katelina wasn't so sure.
Kali didn't even turn around as Sarah approached. "Hello, darling. You were faster than I thought you'd be. We're playing bridge now. Tol and Ren are running an errand. You may sit in if you'd like. When this is finished we'll start a new game." Kali looked over her shoulder and Katelina felt her eyes touch on her. "It's a pity your friend doesn't want to join. No matter, she's free to leave."
Sarah looked to Katelina sharply. A surge of terror swelled. Katelina nodded, then hurried out the door, as if Kali's comment was a command.
Maybe it was.
When Katelina reached the shadowy entryway, she turned from the repairmen installing a new chandelier, and leaned against a pillar to gasp for air. Air you don't need, she reminded herself. The thought didn't lessen the panic that had been tearing through her since she'd read Sarah's mind.
Not mine. Not mine.
Except maybe it was. When visions of Troy popped into her head, it was like she was in Claudius' lair, praying for Jorick to save her.
Make it stop.
"Are you all right?"
Katelina blinked and looked into a pair of violet eyes shot through with hints of blue. "Wha" She shook her head and looked again to see
"Verchiel! What are you doing here?"
