Chapter 619
Jorick and Oren's so-called plans revolved around what to do with Zander if he showed up. Oren wanted to take him with them "He's nearly an ancient!" but Jorick was hesitant.
"He may be old, but his own coven said he's been coddled. Can he fight?"
"You could read his mind?" Katelina suggested.
Jorick shook his head. "He and his brothers have a natural shield. I might be able to get past it, but he'd know. I don't think he'd appreciate it."
Oren sighed. "No, I suppose one shouldn't steal secrets from their allies."
"He might not come," Katelina added hopefully. But, by the time they headed to the basement, she'd resigned herself to the possibility. Did they really need another person they couldn't trust? Wasn't Des enough?
Katelina got comfortable on her blanket as the others bedded down. Torina was the last to appear, wrapped in a silk robe, her curly red hair piled on her head. Katelina stared at the vampiress' casket long after the lid was shut. The weird conversation came back to her. She made sure Brandle was asleep, then shook Jorick.
He jerked awake with a start. "Katelina? Are you all right?"
"Is it true you would have divorced Velnya by now?"
"What?" She felt his confusion, followed by mind reading. "I don't know. Perhaps. Go to sleep."
"Perhaps? I'd hoped for something more concrete."
"Who can say?" he murmured. "I can't guess what might have been."
"But"
He gave an exasperated sigh. "I love you, Katelina. You are my soul and my world. Our love was fated from the beginning of time. If need be, the universe would have torn itself in two so we could be together. Now can I rest?"
The delighted smiled slipped from her lips. "You didn't mean a word of that, did you?"
"Of course I did. Stop fretting and go to sleep."
She chewed her lip. Her fangs were sharp and she quickly tasted blood. "Ouch!"
"Goodnight, Katelina."
"Fine. Goodnight. You do love me, though?"
"Yes. I love you. Go to sleep before I enchant you."
Katelina broke off the questions. As she drifted off, she wondered if she was really falling asleep or if it was his influence.
***
Katelina blinked at the dream, more memory than imagination. The park was awash in bright sunlight. The ice cream cone melted in her hand. It was a treat; a reward for making it through the self-defense class. Or trying to.
"You could try harder," Sarah said with her best disapproving look.
"I'm not cut out for that stuff," Katelina replied. She wasn't athletic like Sarah, able to get her foot over her head, or do fancy moves. She was better suited to ice cream and TV.
"Don't give me that. You can do anything you want to, and this is important. You need to be able to defend yourself."
"Against what?"
Sarah drummed her fingers on the picnic table. "Against muggers, or rapists, or robbers. Everything. The world is a dangerous place."
"I know, I know. But one class was enough. I got the basics."
"Kate, you barely passed."
"But I did pass, that's what matters."
"Tell me that when you get attacked and I'm not there to save you."
Save you. Save me.
The memory melted into darkness. Sarah's face changed, twisted. Blood leaked from her eyes like tears. "Why won't you help me?"
"I'm trying," Katelina said desperately.
"Not hard enough. You just have excuses."
Estrilda appeared, crying, her clothing ragged. "Help me," she begged silently, unable even in the dream world to speak out loud. "Please. Before she kills us."
"We're trying, but-" But what? Why hadn't they found them? Why hadn't they saved them? Sarah was right. All she had was excuses.
Sarah, Estrilda, the clouds, the park, even the ice cream, dissolved, leaving Katelina in a dusty warehouse. Samael sat at the far end, perched on a stack of boxes, his young face creased in anger. Though unhappy, he was still beautiful enough to make Katelina catch her breath.
The usual feeling of peace was gone, replaced with an itchy impatience. She stepped toward him, and forced words. "What's wrong?"
"She's gone south," he answered. "I caught a glimmer of her."
"South where?"
"South of where you are. I know not the place names. This continent-it is new to me. I have seen it only through the thoughts of others until now."
"Are you following her?"
"I will, when the sun has sunk enough. Though I can endure much, midday leaves me weak and uncomfortable".
Right. Because unlike other vampires, Samael could walk in sunlight, thanks to the thousands of years he'd endured.
The dream from moments ago resurfaced in her mind. "Lilith. Are Sarah and Estrilda with her? Are they alive?"
"Yes."
Katelina brightened. "You're sure? You sensed them?"
"For a moment, then the darkness took them. It is how I know they are south."
"You said before, when she shields herself and others it makes a black hole, can't you find them that way?"
"Such a hole is harder to detect across distances. The closer it is, the easier to notice."
"But we know for sure they're alive, and Lilith has them?"
"Yes." She felt his irritation.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to be sure."
"Be sure of this: I will find and destroy her."
Though Katelina had always known it was his goal, she couldn't stop from wondering. "What will you do when she's dead?"
She felt Samael's smile. Some of the uncomfortable urgency dissipated. "I have told you before, we shall celebrate."
Katelina rubbed her arms. "Yes, but that's a little vague. There's a prophecy that says you'll destroy the world, and subjugate mankind and-"
Samael motioned her words to a stop. "Who made this prophecy?"
It was a good question. She had no answer for it.
"Do not worry for what will come. The future watches itself. For now, we must find her. Rest."
Before Katelina could say anything else, the dream faded to darkness.
***
Katelina woke the next evening. The threads of Samael's dream hung in her mind. South. What did that mean? South of Ohio, or south of the United States? Since he'd mentioned the continent, she assumed Lilith was still in North America, but since North and South America were connected, did he realize there was a difference?
At least she knew that Sarah and Estrilda were alivewith Lilith, but alive. That was something.
With that thought, Katelina headed upstairs. She passed Xandria in the living room. The woman smelled like a combination platter. To avoid an incident, Katelina ducked into the kitchen and downed one of the bottles Etsuko'd prepared the night before. Only after she drained it, did she think Etsuko might have been saving it for something. It was too late, so she rinsed it out, grabbed her suitcase, and headed for a morning shower.
When she was clean, she brushed her hair and rifled through her luggage for clothes. At the bottom, in a nest of sock balls, was a golden dagger she'd acquired by accident: the blade of Memnon. An ancient vampire cult had used it to sacrifice victims to the Goddess of Night, the same goddess Zander followed.
She traced the blue jewel on the hilt and thought back to the party in Canada. Half way through, they'd held a feast to celebrate the Night Goddess; a feast that involved a blood bath. Though the memories were strangely hazy, she could see snapshots of terrified people, flashing fangs, and a floor slick with scarlet.
You were there, and as bad as the others.
With a grunt of anger, she shoved the dagger back in her suitcase and pulled her clothes on. More dream than reality, she thought she'd participated, that she'd drank from someone, but she wasn't sure.
Maybe I blocked it? Or maybe someone else did?
In a house full of mind meddlers, it was a possibility. One she didn't want to think about.
