Chapter 663
Katelina jerked upright. Before her foot hit the floor, Samael was gone, a shadow flying out the window.
"Jorick?" she asked with a note of panic. "He doesn't mean she's here now?"
Jorick swung out of bed and pulled his pants on. "I don't know. Stay here."
"Where are you going? The sun's coming up!"
"There are no windows in the corridor. I'll be right back. Stay here." He emphasized the final words as he unlocked the door and hurried out.
Katelina sat on the edge of the bed, one foot on the floor, blankets clutched to her chest. She strained her ears. Slowly, sounds filtered through. Cars moved outside. A horn honked. Birds sang. A breeze ruffled the palm trees. A door shut upstairs. Voices came like murmurs, words indecipherable. Footsteps on the carpet. Another door, this one closer.
Footfalls hurried to her door. After the click of the keycard, Jorick was inside. "I woke Oren and Brandle."
"The others?" she asked.
"They can handle that." Jorick pulled on a shirt. "Though there's nothing out of the ordinary."
Despite that assessment, she could feel "out of the ordinary" in the air. Samael's words played in her brain over and over, "She is here."
"Where?" she muttered. "Why here? Samael said she'd come for him. She's had all this time and hasn't lifted a finger. We've had to track her down."
"Didn't he say she acquired an ancient bow?"
"Yes. I didn't know you heard that. He was speaking silently."
Jorick frowned. "Samael's silence is not so silent. As to Lilith, I can only assume she has her weapons and plans to use them immediately."
"But the sun!"
"Like Samael, she'd be immune to most of it."
Of course. Because they were the same age. "But her followers." Katelina pictured Sarah. The image was replaced with her friend covered in burns, as she'd been when they accidentally wandered into sunlight in Canada.
"William and Angelica may withstand some, but I doubt it was a consideration for Lilith. They're only useful to her as a distraction."
Katelina started to reply when a crash sounded outside. She hurried to the window and tugged the drapes aside. The sky beyond the buildings was gray and purple. A cloud of smoke rose in the street below.
Jorick jerked the drapes closed and pulled her back. "You can't endure sunlight!"
"Yes I can. Because of the blood from Samael I can take a lot more than Sarah or others my age."
"How much is that? Better not to risk it." He tossed her yesterday's clothes. "Get dressed quickly and go to Oren's room."
Sirens wailed in the distance, and she did as he said. As she slid her tennis shoes on, she asked, "Are you coming?"
"Not yet." Before she could object, he added, "I'll be there in a moment. Go."
With a last look at him, she hurried out. She'd barely knocked before Oren answered. His hair was down and his shirt hung open. Torina perched on the edge of the bed, dressed in a surprisingly conservative nightdress, cradling a sobbing Paylin. Jayleth whimpered, curled against her.
"What exploded?" Oren demanded.
"I don't know. Something on the street level. I couldn't get a good look before Jorick forced me away from the window."
Oren nodded as he fastened his buttons. "You're too new to endure sunlight."
A second crash made the building tremble. The children's wails grew louder.
"It's okay, pretty darlings," Torina cooed. "You're safe. It's okay."
"I don't know if they are or not." Oren finished his shirt and shuffled his shoes on.
Someone knocked. Katelina hurried to let Verchiel inside. The redhead gave her a cursory nod, before looking over the occupants.
"Where's Jorick?"
"He said he'd be right here. I left him in our room."
Verchiel disappeared before she could add more.
Oren stuck his head out into the hallway. A cacophony of sirens joined the children's cries. He plugged one ear and squinted toward the other doors.
"Brandle and Zander are awake. MicahAh. There he is."
Oren drew back inside to let the bald vampire charge in. A heavy scowl creased his forehead. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Jorick thinks Lilith may be here," Oren said.
"What in the hell?"
Torina glared over Paylin's curly hair. "Would you lower your voice? They're frightened enough."
"Sister, after where they've been, they shouldn't mind a little shouting." Despite his argument, his next words were softer. "What the fuck are we doing? The sun is coming up."
The fire alarm blared, followed by a crash that dropped plaster dust from the ceiling. Loren skidded through the open door, his shirt on backwards. "What's going on?"
"Lilith," Micah shouted over the din. "Where the fuck is Jorick?"
"Verchiel went"
As if summoned by Katelina's words, the red head materialized. "He's not there."
"Where the hell is he?" she cried. "Dammit!"
She slammed out and ran back to the room. She didn't have the keycard, but the lock was already busted. There was no one, just an unmade bed and drapes shuffling in the breeze. She shoved them aside, wincing at the sunlight. The street below was clogged with emergency vehicles. People streamed out of the hotel, backed by the shriek of the fire alarm. The building across the street was also emptying. She noticed the holes in it before her instincts sent her skittering away.
Verchiel's voice came from behind her. "I told you he wasn't here."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." She waved him to silence as she fished the dagger from her suitcase. "We need to find him."
Verchiel motioned her to wait a moment, his cellphone pressed to his ear. "Ark?...Yes! This is an emergency-You wanted me to tell you when Lilith showed up. Well, she's here."
Katelina scowled. "You're calling them?"
He covered the speaker with a hand. "Someone's going to have to deal with the fallout. There are civilians out there. Fire trucks, ambulances. Helicopters will be nextmaybe news helicopters. Do we want that?"
He motioned her answer away and turned his attention back to Ark. "Right. Yes. At the hotel. It's already started. The building across the street-I don't know. Cover ups aren't my department. But you'd better figure out something or the news broadcasts are going to be damned interesting tonight."
He dropped his voice. "If I were them I'd claim it's a dangerous gas leaksay it could be set off by vibrations and get everyone out of here." His voice got louder as he addressed Ark again, "Right-Okay. I'll see what I can do but, if I were you, I'd get people out soon. Bye-bye."
He hung up, stuffed the phone in his pocket, then crouched down, motioning to his back. "Hop on."
She hesitated. She'd ridden on his back at breakneck speeds before. It always made her sick. But that was when she was still human. As an immortal, maybe it would be better.
With that hope, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood swiftly, hitching her legs up around his waist. They flew out the door before she was sure she had a good hold.
"Hey! I wasn't ready!"
The stairs passed in a horrible blur of three bounces. She squeezed her eyes shut. It was only when she peeked again that she realized they weren't going down to the street, but up.
