Chapter 626
The others caught up. Stopping now and then to kick some half burnt object aside, they moved through the remnants of several houses before Loren asked, "What are we looking for?"
Verchiel rolled over a metal can. "I have no idea. I guess evidence of what happened before the Atormentadores torched everything."
"And what does evidence look like?" Micah kicked a charred beam in half.
"Like Ohio," Verchiel muttered.
"Yeah? Thanks to the fire, it all pretty much looks like Ohio," Micah said.
Katelina kicked a set of handlebars that turned out to be a child's bike. The truth of its owner's fate weighed on her. She turned away, as if not looking could make it disappear.
Micah pushed over a heap of bricks and picked up a pair of unbroken plates hiding under them. "I don't get why some big bad vampire queen would want to attack this place? It's some nowhere village in-"
He kept talking, but the words ran together in Katelina's ears. The world faded out, like ink pooling down the drain. Her attention moved farther down the street. A breeze stirred the ash into a swirling cloud. As it died down, a figure stepped out. Dressed in black, with a long coat, and long dark hair, Katelina knew who it was without seeing his face.
Samael.
She took a couple of steps forward, then waited as the ancient walked toward her. His voice rang through her head, like thunder and rain. "She was here."
"They-They think so," she stuttered.
He came to a stop and lifted his head. "I can feel the remnant of her presence, like the stain after blood has been wiped away. She is near, no more than a day distant."
A noise came from behind Katelina. She looked to see Loren shying back. Micah stood hard and resolute, a low growl in his throat.
Always trying to be tough.
Verchiel crunched past him to face Samael. "You know where she is?" Samael's gaze swung to the Executioner. Though Verchiel flinched, he didn't back down. "Are you planning to attack her?"
"I will destroy her."
"And anyone and anything near her?" Verchiel pushed. "There's been enough destruction."
"No one will stand between me and the ruin of the great evil. If some flowers must be pruned to eradicate the disease, so be it."
"If you endanger humans or vampires, The Guild will have to step in."
Katelina felt the silken brush of Samael's amusement. "You can try."
The heavy atmosphere thickened. She looked to Samael, a plea for him to stop, but his attention was locked on a partial stone wall.
"Show yourself!" He boomed.
Rubble rolled away. A male stepped out into the open. Long black hair skimmed his shoulders. A thin beard peppered his chin. As with most ancients, it was his eyes that demanded attention. Orangey-brown, like dried blood, they glittered hard and cold with a fury Katelina'd never seen in one of the Kugsankal. Especially not their leader.
"Ishkur," she whispered, and unconsciously drew away.
Samael's expression was impassive, though Katelina felt his fury. "Her lapdog has appeared. How long did it take you to find me?"
"You are not the one I seek," Ishkur replied. "I look for Lilitu."
The name was similar enough that Katelina knew who he meant: Lilith.
Verchiel drew his sword and imitated the salute they'd seen the Kugsankal's underlings perform. "Excuse me, Master. I assume you're here at the request of The Guild to handle Lilith and"
Ishkur turned hard eyes on him. "Silence! I am not summoned by your insignificant council. Your petty concerns mean naught to me, nor will I suffer to hear them. Be gone! All of you!"
Loren drew back with a soft whimper, but Samael motioned them to wait. "They will come and go as I deem, child. Your claim of rule means nothing to me. Your commandments are like a breeze that whispers past unheeded. You will go, or suffer the consequences."
Ishkur growled low in his throat. "I do not fear you."
"Then you are both a child and a fool." Samael raised his hand. An invisible ball of energy gathered in his palm, swirling a miniature tornado of ash. Without emotion, he flicked the attack at his enemy. Ishkur disappeared. The ball of energy slammed into the partial wall, shattering it into chunky shards.
Katelina grabbed a twisted piece of metal, ready for the onslaught. Samael spun, gathering another attack, as Ishkur materialized near a heap of charred wood. The leader of the Kugsankal raised his hand. Katelina watched in horror as his own little swirl began, not as strong as Samael's but still there.
He flung the attack with a snarl. Samael easily blocked it. Ishkur disappeared and reappeared on the rubble near Micah. The bald vampire growled. Ishkur ignored him to hurl a twisted metal beam toward his enemy. Samael stepped aside. With a wave of his hand, he threw it back. The corner clipped Ishkur's cheek, knocking him back into the ashes.
Samael evaporated, only to appear over Ishkur, his hand raised. "You will not die here, but will take a message to she whom you seek. Her day has come. She will die in ways she did not know were possible. Go now."
Ishkur pulled up into a crouch. Katelina thought he was going to attack again. Instead, he snarled then disappeared. As the atmosphere lightened, she realized he was gone.
Samael's voice whispered through her mind. "I will follow him."
With Samael's exit, Loren's knees gave out. He dropped to the ground, his head in his hand. Katelina stepped toward him, but Micah beat her to it. "It's okay, pipsqueak. They're gone." Despite the tough words, Katelina heard the shake in his voice, left there by the overwhelming power of two ancient vampires.
Vampires who were old enough to have stood in ancient Babylon.
Micah cleared his throat angrily. "Who the fuck was that guy? And what the fuck did Sammy-boy mean we come and go as he deems? We're not his damn slaves."
"The other guy was Ishkur." Verchiel sheathed his sword. "He's the leader of the Kugsankal. He left to find Lilith after Malick was killed."
"Oh, yeah, in China," Micah mumbled. "I kind of remember that."
"Ishkur and Lilith were a couple," Katelina said softly. "Thousands of years ago, she got bored with Samael. I guess she ended up in Samaria, or whatever, and fell in with Ishkur, Inanna, and the rest of the True Council. Though I think there were a lot more of them back then. Anyway, eventually she came back to Samael, only Ishkur followed her. He was the one who helped drain Samael's blood and put him in the tomb."
"Fuck, and Sammy let the dude live? I'd have chopped his fucking head off, not given him a message to deliver."
"Samael is odd," Verchiel agreed. "Either way, we have our answer. Lilith was here. She's the one who attacked, though I have no idea why. I guess we should head back to the motel?"
