Chapter 589
Katelina dropped on the bed, still wrapped in a towel. Lost in thought, she jumped when the door opened. It was Jorick, covered in grime. He nodded to her and disappeared for a shower. When he emerged he smelled of soap.
Katelina picked at the bedspread as he sat next to her. "You don't think Sarah's bad, do you?"
"I don't know," he said slowly. "She was unconscious when they left."
"That's what I keep telling myself. Kali forced her to step in front of her, and from there on she was out of it. Maybe if she'd been awake she'd have fought them."
Jorick stroked Katelina's naked shoulder as she went on. "If she's a victim, what stops Kali from killing her? She used her as a shield because Samael promised he wouldn't hurt anyone I cared about. But at the end, he intended to break his promise."
"Maybe not."
She nodded firmly. "I know he did. He told me so."
Jorick looked away, a hand to his stomach. "I need to get dressed and help interrogate the prisoners. Verchiel is handling it now, but his abilities are questionable at best."
She stood and moved for her luggage. "Hold on and I'll come with you."
When she was ready, she followed Jorick downstairs. They stopped at the kitchen for blood. After two glasses, both his wound and her swollen face were healed, and they headed to the basement. They ducked into the secret room. She shivered as she recognized the place she'd caught Borne and the goth twins; where the hiker had lain in a pool of sticky crimson, her throat cut.
Now Verchiel stood guard, still wearing the green shirt and leggings of his Robin Hood costume. Four vampires, streaked in dirt and blood, sat in a row, hands tied behind their backs and mouths gagged. Roger and Cornelius stood at each end, weapons drawn. Something in Roger's eyes said he hoped they caused trouble.
"You didn't catch Anya?" Katelina asked.
Verchiel shook his head, then turned to Jorick. "Taking over?"
"If I need to." He studied the prisoners. "Why were you following William?"
No one spoke, and Jorick asked again. In the silence that followed, she felt him pressing on them, breaking into their minds.
Satisfied, he turned away. "It's as we thought. William recruited for Kali, or Lilith I suppose we should call her. He told them that they planned to overthrow The Guilds, but I imagine that was a lie. If she is Lilith, she's powerful enough to do that herself. If she's recruiting help, it's probably to fight Samael."
"Did he know her before they came here?" Verchiel asked.
Jorick ran through them. One after another stiffened, then sagged. "Yes. William and Lilith met in BurmaMyanmar."
Verchiel went for his pockets. When he found none, he settled for putting his hands on his hips. "Do they know where she went?"
"No."
The redhead made an unhappy noise. "How am I supposed to arrest her for improper disposal and purposeful revelations to mortals?"
Katelina choked. "That's what you're worried about?"
"I do my job." He winked. "Jamie said The Guild and the Assembly are trying to track the plane, but so far nothing. Fleur asked for reinforcements. Dardenima is on her way, and another should arrive tomorrow." He motioned to the corridor with his head. Though Jorick looked annoyed, he took the hint, and the three of them filed out.
Verchiel shut the door, then walked purposefully to the deserted pool room. "Fleur hasn't figured out who Estrilda is. I think it's better if she doesn't."
Jorick scoffed. "If you're worried I'll say something"
"No" Verchiel said. "The point is Andrei can't file an official complaint without revealing the kid's existence, which means there won't be an official rescue operation."
"We'll find her when we look for Sarah," Katelina said.
Verchiel brightened. "So you're already planning to go? Great!"
"Of course we are. Did you think we'd leave her?" Katelina demanded.
"Never can tell. In all seriousness, though, what if Lilith doesn't keep them together? What if you find Sarah but not the kid? Will you keep looking?"
"Obviously!" Katelina snapped.
Verchiel patted her on the head, despite Jorick's hard look. "That's what I like to hear. All right, back to prisoner duty. Oh, and Jorick, Fleur wants you upstairs. Since Anya is working with Lilith, she thought Thomas might know something."
Thomas. In all the excitement, Katelina'd forgotten about him.
They headed upstairs. Graham, fully healed, stood in front of a bedroom door. With a nod he stepped aside and let them through.
The bedroom beyond was deep carpet and heavy wallpaper. A Victorian style couch sat under a set of heavily draped windows. Polished furniture was scattered around and framed paintings hung on the walls. Doorways to the side led to bedrooms. Through one Katelina could see a large four poster bed hung with gauzy curtains and heaped with pillows.
Finally, Katelina's eyes were drawn to the one thing she didn't want to look at. Thomas was strapped into his wheelchair. His perfectly waved hair fell over his forehead. A polo shirt hugged his chest, but short sleeves fell empty, as did the legs of his trousers, left to flap above the chair's feet rests. She met his eyes and cringed away from the mixture of anger and terror that slammed into her.
Fleur stood next to him, hands on her hips. "Thank God. A mind reader. All I can get from him are weird noises."
Jorick looked to Thomas and he jolted in the chair. His terror and desperation grew until Katelina could barely breathe under the weight.
Jorick broke away. "He doesn't know where they've gone."
Thomas rocked and gave a low rattling moan.
Fleur's nose wrinkled. "What does he want?"
"He wants to know where his sister is."
"He doesn't know?"
Thomas' distress increased while the Executioners hesitated. Finally Katelina couldn't stand it. "She left with Kali."
Thomas fell still, his eyes wide. She felt his despair before she saw the tears.
She left me.
Katelina tried to distance herself from his agony. "What's going to happen to him?"
The Executioners looked away, but she saw the pronouncement on their faces. "He didn't do anything."
Jorick choked. "Not this time-but it doesn't matter. He can't take care of himself."
"And you're willing to kill him for that? He may be a horrible person, but he didn't ask anyone to do that to him!"
"No more than a child asks to be turned, but it's The Law, Katelina. With no one to take care of him, he'll slowly starve to death. Is that better?"
"It's not fair."
"Life's not fair. I'm sorry. I do what I can to protect you from reality, but sometimes you have to face it. I'm not going to be responsible for Thomas to make you feel better. We already have a human in Maine, and your friend we need to rescue. There are limits."
Fleur cleared her throat. "I might know someone." Katelina looked to her hopefully and she sighed. "My master's friend likes to collect-oddities. Midgets, deformed vampires, that kind of thing. I'm sure he'd find this interesting. I'm not saying Thomas would be happy. He'd be taken care of, sheltered, fed, clothed, but I can't say whether there'd be any affection."
"It's already more than he deserves." Jorick gave Thomas a hard look.
Fleur pulled out her cell phone. As she dialed the number, Jorick tugged Katelina to the hall. She glanced back and met Thomas' eyes. For a second the room disappeared and dropped her into darkness. The smell of dirt and mold filled her nose. Her body screamed from thirst. But there was nothing. Nothing and no one. No way to scream, no way to get free, no way to die. Only the dark.
Please let me die. Please.
Despite the silent plea, Katelina couldn't do it, couldn't be responsible for it.
Jorick gave her a gentle shake to pull her back to the present. "I hope you never learn there are worse things than death, little one."
She shuddered as she turned away. "So do I."
