Chapter 612
Against her will, Katelina moved toward the doors. She was vaguely aware of Jorick shouting behind her, and of someone holding her arm. She pulled free and headed outside.
The National Guardsmen were clustered in the light, their guns pointed at the darkness.
"Identify yourself," one of them shouted. With the detached observation of a dream, Katelina noticed that his hands shook.
Something moved beyond the shadows. Then, she saw him. He stood, his head down. Waist length hair hid his face like a waterfall of darkness. Of slight build, a long coat hung from narrow shoulders. The wide sleeves reminded Katelina of a wizard's robe. His shirt and slacks were also black. To the humans' eyes, he was nothing but a piece of night.
She stepped closer to the soldiers, unheeded. Their terror throbbed. They didn't understand what was there, or what they were facing, but they knew it was something that shouldn't be there, something they needed to defend themselves against. Something wrong.
Some kind of monster.
Samael's voice came silent in her mind, "Yes, I am."
He stepped to the edge of the light. One of the soldiers fired. The others followed. Katelina covered her ears against the loud pops.
Samael raised his hand. The bullets stopped in midair. Katelina marveled at the way the brass jackets caught the light.
He flicked his wrist. The bullets tinkled to the parking lot. With a motion of his arm, he ripped the guns from their hands and sent them skittering across the cement. One of the men screamed. The others fell back, eyes wide with horror.
"What?" one whimpered as Samael drew closer. Katelina could feel the pull of energy that gathered in the vampire's palm, the same explosive force Lilith used to destroy the town.
No! No more destruction.
Samael cocked his head at her, shrugged, then swept toward the men. He grabbed one up and snapped his neck. Though the others tried to run, a second and third followed before Katelina emerged from her half-trance.
She flung herself on Samael's arm. "No! They're just scared."
He shrugged again and stepped back. With a flick of his wrist, the remaining men dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Katelina looked from the fallen bodies, to Samael's impassive face. Smoothed by thousands of years, he looked like living porcelain, with eyes that held a thousand sunbursts.
His voice came in her head, urgent and impatient, "Where is she?"
Katelina knew he meant Lilith. "I don't know." She forced herself farther out of the fog. "We think Sarah escaped." Her words grew stronger, braver. She straightened her spine and looked to the soldiers. "You didn't need to kill them."
"And I did not need to spare them. Now, where is she? Speak, child, or I will take the memories from you."
"I told you, I don't know. If Sarah escaped, we think Lilith might be waiting to recapture her, or else..." Or else she already got her and took off.
Samael motioned her to silence, closed his eyes, and raised his chin a notch, as if listening. Katelina could feel his senses reaching over the grounds, spreading like an invisible net to cover miles.
Finally, he lowered his head and opened his eyes. "I do not sense your friend."
Katelina's heart sank. "Could Lilith shield both herself and Sarah?"
"She could. However, it is doubtful that she is. When she shields herself and others it creates a blank space, a spot in the universe where there is nothing, a black hole of perception. From a distance it may be overlooked. Close by it stands out. I cannot find such a thing here."
"What about Estrilda?"
She felt Samael in her mind, pulling up the identity of the unfamiliar name. When he found it, he said, "I do not sense her, either."
And that was that. Sarah and Estrilda weren't there. It meant Lilith had recaptured her prisoner and moved on. They were back to the beginning.
"The beginning is much farther away than you comprehend. You have not stepped back, only not gone forward. "
He looked over her shoulder to the row of lobby doors. Katelina was aware of someone banging into them from inside, as though they were locked.
"Your lover grows concerned. Tell him I will see him when it is necessary."
Samael turned, his coat flaring out around him, then he was gone, as though he'd been completely absorbed by the night.
The doors burst open. Jorick, Jamie, and Verchiel rushed out. Both Jamie and the redhead held their swords. Jorick's hands were fists. Behind them were Micah and Loren, who dropped into fighting stances, heads swinging in all directions.
"Where the fuck is he?" Micah roared.
With no fight, Jorick rushed to Katelina and caught her by the waist. "We heard guns-" he broke off when he saw the heap of soldiers.
"They fired at Samael," she whispered. "He stopped the bullets in mid-air and ripped the guns right from their hands. Oh my God. He was like-"
"A monster?" Jamie suggested as he sheathed his sword. "That's because he is. Ancients are something unfathomable. Samael and Lilith even more so. How you expect to fight them is beyond me."
Katelina's shoulders sagged. Though she wanted to make Lilith pay for Sarah, Estrilda, and the children in Canada, Jamie was right. How could they hope to do anything against her?
"The Guild can deal with them," Jorick said firmly.
She hesitated to agree, but Micah didn't. "Damn right. It's not our goddamn problem."
"Where's Samael?" Loren slowly relaxed. "What did he want?"
"He was looking for Lilith," Katelina said. "He left. He said Sarah isn't here."
"How the hell would he know?" Micah demanded.
"He knows." She met Jorick's eyes, seeking serenity in their dark depths.
Ark appeared in the lobby door. Jamie motioned to the heap of soldiers. "We'll have to deal with this. So much for leaving. Verchiel, see if the coven has evacuated yet. Jorick, thank you for your help. If you hear anything-?"
"Of course, and if you come across anything-?"
Jamie nodded. "Good luck. For what it's worth, I hope you find Sarah and-" He glanced at Ark. "And the Kugsankal deal with Lilith and Samael. Only, I doubt they will."
He gave a half wave then stalked back to the building, no doubt to handle anyone who'd heard the gunshots.
Micah tugged out a cigarette. "I guess if your friend ain't here there's no reason for us to hang around, right? Pipsqueak, go get Oren and Torina."
Loren rolled his eyes, but started for the school when Jorick called, "I suppose you should get the others as well. Sorino and Brandle are in the library."
"And Des?" Loren asked.
Jorick nodded and the teen disappeared. Micah took an angry puff on his cigarette. "Tell me again why that piece of shit is here?"
Katelina pulled her attention away from the twisted corpses. "Why do you hate Des? He accused Jorick of being a traitor, not you."
"Sure. If you wanna overlook the fact he called me a liar. I told him who the traitor was, remember? Jackass should have known me better."
Jorick made a low noise and squeezed Katelina to him. "Do you want to return to the hospital?"
"No. There's a curfew. They'd throw us out. Besides, the nurse has Verchiel's number. If Mom wakes up she'll call him."
"Only I'm not coming with you, yet." Verchiel sheathed his sword.
"Then you can call Sorino and he can pass it on," she said impatiently.
Verchiel gave her a mock salute. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my evacuation duties."
"Why is evacuating that coven so important?" she asked. "I didn't know The Guild cared."
Verchiel shoved his hands in his pockets. "With all the lockdowns and swarming agencies, they're worried about a vampire being taken into custody. Besides, this group is older than us. The Guild gives ancient vampires special treatment."
Micah crossed his arms. "Pity we can't recruit them to take Lilith out."
Oren and Torina exited the building. The vampiress picked her way over the fallen bodies, a frown on her face. "Did they give you trouble?"
"Samael," Jorick said, as if the one word explained everything.
Loren returned a moment later, Des, Sorino, Kai, and Brandle with him.
"I've phoned my pilots," Sorino said. "They'll meet us at the nearest open airport, which is not that near. Apparently, everything is closed because of terrorists."
"That's fine," Jorick said. "We're going to Oren's den for the day."
"And leaving tomorrow?" Sorino asked.
Jorick hesitated. "We'll decide later."
