Chapter 583
Katelina gaped. White haired teenage twins. Like Tol and Ren.
Jamie stiffened. "You're sure?"
The redhead produced several printed papers from his pocket. "You better appreciate these. I had a heck of a time getting your laptop to work with their printer. I had to install it and"
Jorick cut him off. "And none of these cases were associated with the Heartless Killer?"
"Nope. However, the newest case, the boy from the village they found in the ditch, also mentions young white haired males." Verchiel tugged the papers back to show them. "I didn't take it seriously at first because Tol and Ren would draw attention in a village, even if they were just buying smokes. But, since they're mentioned elsewhere-"
Jorick and Jamie's eyes met and they nodded in unison. "We'll need to arrest them for questioning," Jamie said.
Verchiel held up a cautioning hand. "Before you jump the gun, there's something else you might want to know."
"What?" Jamie asked impatiently.
"You remember I told you Kali's real name is Talon? Kately suggested she might be lying, so I did some checking. Surprise! She was right. Talon is still in Denmark, and was quite confused when her Guild contacted her about being a guest at this party."
Katelina caught her breath. "If she's not Talon, who is she?"
Verchiel shrugged. "Beats me. I guess we'll figure it out after we arrest her. Though Andrei wants us to wait until after the ball."
"You spoke to him about it?" Jamie asked sharply.
"I told you I had to install the printer. I promised Andrei we'd wait until the ball was over, and do it quietly. He doesn't want the rest of the guests to be alarmed."
Jamie scoffed. "I doubt they'd care. Still, a few hours shouldn't make much difference. Have you told Fleur?"
"I wasn't sure I was supposed to," the redhead said.
"I'm not playing the politics game," Jamie replied. "We're working together, so we work together."
"Okay. I'll go find her." He glanced at his watch. "Whoa! Actually maybe you'd better find her. I need to get my costume on. And so do you, Kately. I don't want to show up with a disheveled Maid Marian."
Jorick's jaw tightened, but he only muttered, "Go get dressed. I'll tell Fleur," before he walked away.
Upstairs, Katelina paused in front of Sarah's door, but her friend wasn't inside. She hadn't spoken to her since the fight the day before and, despite Jorick's advice, that felt wrong. Maybe she should try at the ball?
Which will be great until we arrest her friend.
Sarah thought the sun rose and set with Kali. She'd never believe she was a child murderer. And if she did, would she care? She'd let them kill the hiker without so much as a shrug.
But a teenager and a kid were different. Even Jorick admitted that when Sarah dreamed she killed a child she was upset by it.
A sick idea settled through Katelina. The child murder and Sarah's locked mind happened close together. If Kali was responsible, maybe she'd taken Sarah along. After all, they were both missing that day. Maybe Sarah really drank from the child, then freaked out, so Kali erased her memories. Jorick said there were scars where a whisperer had been playing. Maybe they leaked out into Sarah's dreams, and after Jorick sensed the manipulations, Kali panicked and sealed everything away, to stop anyone from figuring it out.
Katelina dismissed the horrible idea to get dressed. She slid on the gown and tried to do something with her hair. In the end she pulled back the sides and let the veil cover it, using the circlet to hold it in place. It wasn't amazing, but it would work. A touch of makeup and she was done; done but not ready to face a ballroom full of vampires.
She stared at herself in the mirror and gave an experimental smile. The fangs were still jarring, so she looked away. It seemed like she got all the inconveniences of immortality, but few of the bonuses. Bravery, for instance. The other vampires were always cool and collected, while she was a bundle of nerves. Jorick told her that becoming immortal didn't change who you were, only made you live longer, but it was hard to believe they were all so self-assured in life.
In life. As if they were in something else now.
She grabbed her maska plain white face made of papier-m?ch¨¦ glued to a stickand exited to the hallway. She realized she had no idea where Verchiel was. Great. So much for entering together.
She picked up her heavy skirt and made her way down the stairs. As she navigated a second floor corridor, she heard a familiar giggle in her head.
Estrilda?
Though she didn't know the girl's scent, she could feel her presence. She followed it to a locked door, where she knocked. No one answered. She was ready to call it her imagination when the lock clicked and the door creaked open.
She stepped inside Annabelle's pale blue sewing room. The door on the back wall stood open and the sofa had been slid aside to reveal a small grate in the floor. Estrilda crouched over it, her eyes focused on what was below. She wore a purple dress and long pink wig, with translucent fairy wings strapped to her back.
Katelina closed the door. "Shouldn't you be upstairs?"
Estrilda laid a finger to her mouth. "Momma lets me watch the party if I am quiet."
"Is that a good idea?" The words were out before Katelina could stop them, but it didn't matter. As a mind reader, the child knew they were there.
"She always lets me watch. I like to see the costumes." She turned to Katelina. "Mother used to have dresses like that."
She supposed she should approve of the historical accuracy, but it just left her unsettled.
The girl stood and gave a little spin, her arms held out from her body so her skirt flared out. "I am a fairy."
Katelina flashed back to when her cousin's daughters were small. "A very pretty fairy. I'm Maid Marian."
"Are you going with Robin Hood?"
"I'm supposed to." She gave the child a smile that looked more worried than sincere. "You need to be careful. If the other Executioners find you-"
"Momma warned me. I am always quiet. Quiet like a mouse." A giggle played in Katelina's head.
Estrilda turned back to her grate and Katelina stepped toward the door. "I better look for Robin Hood before he gets lost."
The girl giggled again and waved. Katelina returned the gesture and quickly let herself out. She looked up and down the corridor anxiously, but it was deserted. With a sigh of relief, she hurried away.
To her surprise, the redhead waited by the staircase. He wore a green felt hat at an odd angle. It was a different shade than the large belted shirt, which was a different shade than the leggings. With his grin he looked more like a preternatural Peter Pan than Robin Hood, even with the undersized bow slung over his back.
He made a show of bowing low and took her hand. She was afraid he might kiss it, but he dropped it at the last second with a laugh. "Milady. Shall we?"
She checked her watch. 11:45 and pulse of seventy-two. "Are they going in already?"
"A few of the early birds are, not to mention security." He offered her his arm. With no excuse, she took it, and let him lead her.
The corridor outside the ballroom was decorated in strings of lights and colorful paper lanterns. A pair of giant flickering candelabras flanked the wide double doors. Andrei and Annabelle stood just inside, dressed as a king and queen. He in a scarlet fur lined cape, and she in a flowing gown of crimson. Heavy golden crowns on their heads glinted in the light. They held their decorated masks before their faces, and nodded to Katelina and Verchiel. She felt like she should apologize to Annabelle about the fight with Sarah, but Verchiel tugged her on before she had the chance.
