Chapter 576
Jorick stalked out the door and down the stairs. Annabelle buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook with soft sobs. The bedroom door opened and Estrilda peeped out.
"He's gone."
With the pronouncement she rushed out to her mother. Annabelle's sobs grew louder as she wrapped her arms around the child.
Annabelle spoke aloud in the same foreign language, no doubt to some silent comment of her daughter's.
Katelina fluttered uncertainly. She knew she should leave them to their private moment, but at the same time she wanted to apologize. This was her fault. If only she hadn't woken up to follow Estrilda.
"No." Annabelle dabbed her eyes and looked up. The uninjured half of her face was hidden by her hair, so it was only a single green eye and a sea of perfect plastic that looked at Katelina. "If not you, then Sarah would have discovered Estrilda on her own." Her voice turned bitter. "Your mate is correct, Estrilda gets lonely. But she's never left her room before."
"Sarah is lonely too. And scared."
"I know, sweetling." Annabelle tightened her hold on her daughter. "Like you were. You wanted to help her."
Estrilda nodded.
Annabelle pressed a kiss to the child's bald head. "Go to your room and play. I'll visit you later."
The girl pulled away, stopping at the door to send the mental message, "Goodbye, Katelina." before she disappeared.
Katelina wondered why the girl still wouldn't speak out loud, even in front of her mother.
"She has no tongue," Annabelle said. "She can only speak telepathically. She gained the ability when she was turned."
Annabelle rose to sit on the couch. After a long sigh, she arranged her skirt, as if giving order to her world with the gesture. "What will Sarah do?"
Katelina hadn't expected the question. "I don't think she'll do anything."
Annabelle nodded. "Please send Andrei to me."
Though Katelina had no idea where he was, she agreed then rushed away. Jorick waited in the room below. The women gave them hard looks and Katelina watched her feet as they exited.
When they were in the hallway she asked, "You don't really think Estrilda would be better off dead?"
Jorick didn't meet her eyes. "Luckily it isn't my place to decide. I will say The Laws about turning children also apply to the feeble minded and those so disabled that blood can't repair it."
"Like her scars? Why didn't Andrei's blood fix her?"
"I'm sure it did. I can only imagine what shape she was in before. I'm surprised she survived at all."
When they reached the grand staircase, Katelina caught his hand. "Thank you for not turning them in."
He cocked an eyebrow. "You think that's a favor for you? I love you, and I try to please you, but if you weren't here, my decision would be the same. I told you, I'm done judging who lives and dies. There's enough blood on my hands."
His words came back to her again, "M?ngkedai turned several children who had to be destroyed." Duties like that had to weigh on him.
Andrei was on the back patio, talking to a group of vampires. The stage beyond was cloaked in a heavy curtain. From the sound of hammering, they were building something big.
Their host met her eyes and his face went rigid. He gave her a long, hard look, then excused himself. Though there were no words, she knew the meaning. Shut up and stay shut up.
Sarah wasn't in either of the dining halls, and neither was Des. Obviously they were together, but Katelina had no idea where. Jamie admitted he hadn't seen them. Katelina was left with the option of combing the entire estate or putting off their conversation. Not that there was much point in it now. If Sarah was going to tell Des she'd have already done it. Katelina could only hope that she hadn't.
***
Katelina got ready for bed. She hadn't seen Sarah all day, and her friend's bedroom was still deserted. "I can't believe she spent the whole day with Des."
"Maybe she's with someone else?" Jorick peeled off his socks and wiggled his pale toes.
"Like who?"
"The twins and Kali."
Katelina shivered. "How can she stand them?"
Jorick climbed out of his jeans. "I don't understand your revulsion."
"It's the way they look into me. I don't know. I can't explain it. It's like Malick, only worse; more casual. As if they don't care about what they see and only do it because they can."
Jorick sat on the edge of the bed and looked thoughtful. "The twins are younger than me, and have no documented mental abilities. There's no way they should be anything like Malick."
"At least one of them is. Probably Ren. He seems to be the most interested in scaring me. Never mind. I guess I'll talk to Sarah tomorrow, though by then she'll have told everyone."
"I doubt it. If she had, we'd have heard, and if she hasn't, she's probably not going to."
Despite the logic, Katelina's dreams were visited by the ghostly eyes of another vampire child, one she'd watched burned to death. It was a relief when the dream faded for a brightly lit room. Samael reclined on a lounge. His robe fanned around him and his long hair fell over his shoulders in a waterfall of night. Katelina met his jewel eyes then looked away. Even in the dream he was too beautiful.
"Welcome child. Come, celebrate with me, for the end draws near."
She took a step forward. "The end of what?"
"The end of the she-demon. The end of my life's desire. I have found her."
Katelina felt his joy wrap around her and a smile rose unbidden. "I thought you couldn't sense her?"
"I can't. Her very invisibility has given her away. Against the backdrop of the world I can sense the void, the place where something should be, but instead there is nothing. One small spot, perhaps, but she has cast her protective net too wide and obliterated too much. A space so large does not exist with nothing in it."
Katelina understood. Like a phantom, Lilith masked herself, but she'd also masked everything around her. "When you find her you'll kill her."
His one word answer held a thousand oaths and assurances. "Yes."
She felt compelled to help him though, if Lilith was as powerful as he was, she didn't know what she could do.
"Do not fear, child. I will destroy her with my own hands. Then the true celebration will begin."
The memory of Sorino's scroll hung in the back of her mind. Subjugating mankind. Destroying the world. "What kind of celebration?"
"One meant for a god. Do not fear. You and yours will remain safe. It is repayment for releasing me."
His answer didn't set her at ease, but before she could press he said, "You need not concern yourself. All will be as it is meant to be. Sleep now, and share my joy."
As the scene faded, she wasn't sure joy was the right word.
