Chapter 58
Katelina watched the fight, horrified. Jorick and Claudius crashed into one another again and again, but the other three vampires made no move to intercede. They only watched from the edges of what had become the gory arena, their expressions cool and their eyes interested but dispassionate.
Claudius took a swipe at Jorick, but he slammed the tonfa into his knuckles and jammed his elbow into his face. Claudius cried out and the axe fell to the floor with a clatter. He stumbled backwards, his hand to his bleeding nose, and screamed, "Dover!"
A short, squat vampire ducked through the door, holding a whip with shiny bits of metal braided into it. With a snap, he cracked it at Jorick, slashing him across the back. Jorick dropped the tonfa in surprise and spun towards the new threat. Taking advantage of the distraction, Claudius leapt away from him and sought a weapon among the fallen bodies.
Dover made to whip Jorick again, but he didn't get the chance. Jorick crashed into him and slammed him to the gory floor. He struggled, but his weapon was useless at such close quarters. It took Jorick only a moment to snap his neck and shove a well-aimed fist into his chest.
Jorick was back on his feet quickly, his hand clotted with gore and dripping blood. Claudius was ready for him, a nasty curved dagger in his hand.
"How many more do you have hiding back there, waiting to save you?" Jorick asked with sarcasm.
Claudius' eyes shifted towards the empty doorway and then back to his opponent. "Enough."
Jorick smirked. "There's no one left, is there?"
"Why don't you find out." Claudius sneered.
Jorick advanced on him slowly. Claudius shuffled backwards, waving the jagged dagger menacingly. Seconds became aching hours as Jorick crossed the floor.
When he was near enough, Claudius lunged for him, but Jorick spun out of the way and kicked the dagger from his hand. Claudius stumbled and Jorick slammed him into the wall.
As if by some silent signal, Kateesha sprang forward. Jorick stepped to the side quickly so that she collided with Claudius. As he struggled against her, Jorick held his hand out and Oren tossed him the machete. Kateesha barely had time to duck before the bloody blade bit into Claudius' neck. His severed head flew across the room from the force of the blow. It hit the floor in a spray of blood, bouncing and rolling until it stopped against one of the fallen bodies.
Headless, Claudius raised his hands to continue the fight, but Kateesha thrust her hand through his chest and pulled out his heart in her fist. She smiled as his body slid down the wall, then she deliberately turned to face the others before she sank her fangs into the organ.
"It's done," Oren said unemotionally as he wiped his hands on his jeans.
Jorick nodded and then his eyes snapped to the front door. Four vampires stepped through, various weapons still clenched in their hands. They stopped just inside the door and stared at the aftermath in confusion.
"Your master is dead," Kateesha said silkily as she stepped forward, the ruined heart still in her hand. "Swear your allegiance to me and live."
They stood motionless as their eyes flicked from ruined body to ruined body. Claudius' head had landed face down, and Torina kicked it so that the face rolled around and stared at them.
Slowly, they lowered their weapons and the tallest one said quietly, "You have it."
The remaining three nodded their heads in agreement.
Kateesha's laughter rang through the room and something broke inside Katelina. Whatever had been holding her up gave way, and she slipped down the wall until she was sitting on the floor with her knees folded against her chest. Her fingers went limp and the dagger slipped from her grip and landed on the floor with a clatter. She closed her eyes and images flashed behind them of snarling faces and spurting blood. She opened them quickly, but what she saw was no better: the dead lying in heaps, their chests hollow, blood and gore eking onto the floor until the wooden boards were slick with it.
A hand touched her and she looked up into Jorick's battle smeared face. He crouched down before her and met her eyes. "You're unhurt?"
She nodded numbly, and his gaze swung toward Kateesha, who was leading her four new underlings from the room. "She has drunk from the heart of Claudius," Jorick explained in a half whisper. "So she will be their new coven leader - those who do not accept her will die."
Katelina reached up and softly traced the long scratch the vampiress with the red nails had left across his perfect cheek. "I suppose that's the law?" she asked hollowly.
"Yes." He caught her fingers with one of his hands and gently pressed them to his lips before he spoke again. "I'm under no obligation to any of them." His eyes took a faraway gaze. "I broke with all covens long ago - including Malick's. He may be my master in blood, but I owe him no allegiance."
"You said if the others don't accept her they'll die?" she questioned. "But, aren't they all dead?"
He shook himself to the present. "Maybe, maybe not. Who can say if all of them were even here. He may have had some running errands or guarding his other properties. But it's Kateesha's problem to find them all."
He released her hands and examined the deep fang marks in her arm, his brow furrowed. "It isn't bad. Still, perhaps Kateesha was right. You may have been safer in the car."
Oren crouched down next to him, his eyes on the door Kateesha had disappeared through. "And where do you think those four were? You know as well as I that they were sent to the car to find the human."
Jorick ignored his description of Katelina and ran a weary hand through his dark hair. "I know."
"She will be no better than Claudius was," Oren continued, his voice urgent. His golden eyes met Jorick's dark gaze. "She thirsts for power - and for you. She won't stop until she gets what she wants."
Jorick started to agree, but shook his head. "She is The Guild's problem now. Malick can deal with her."
"We should never have agreed to let her have his heart," Oren whispered. "She'll just create more problems and Malick will leave you to deal with them."
"That may be, but we needed a fourth," Jorick responded firmly. "What's done is done. How much trouble can she cause?"
Oren's laugh was mirthless. "You won't think that when she comes after your human."
Jorick scowled. "She has no need."
"Of course she does. Or are you completely blind?"
Jorick opened his mouth to reply, but Kateesha swept into the room, the four vampires on her heels. Without a word she quickly combed through the bodies until she found one to her liking. She bit into it and drank, a trickle of liquid crimson leaking from the corner of her mouth.
Oren looked at her and then at Jorick. An appeal flashed in his eyes so quickly that Katelina thought she might have imagined it. Jorick made no sound but broke eye contact with him as a reply.
He stood in an elegant sweeping motion, then held his hand out to Katelina. She took it and allowed him to tug her gently to her feet. Her legs shook, but they were sturdier than they'd been moments before. Once she was standing, Jorick held her to him with one arm. Though she leaned against his chest, her eyes were on Kateesha. She watched the monster at her meal and shuddered in disgust and fear, more afraid of the memory that would haunt her than anything else.
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