Chapter 664
On the top floor, they stopped when the hallway dead-ended at a staircase. The light from a skylight was thankfully too weak to hurt them. For now.
Verchiel mounted the stairs to examine the door at the top. He frowned at the broken lock, then cautiously opened it. Outside a roof was being slowly lit by the dawn. Some of the light was blocked by the neighboring buildings and a long awning like structure. Katelina could see a penthouse, its windows like empty eye sockets.
Verchiel shrugged her off in a pool of shade thrown by the stairwell's enclosure. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
He zipped away, then returned, crouching quickly in the shadows. "I don't know if Ark is that fast, but they're already putting up road blocks and evacuating people. I don't see Lilith or Samael, only two holes in the building across the street. Hopefully they can get most of the humans out before anything revealing happens."
"Did you see Jorick?"
"No. I'm going to look again. Stay here."
He rushed off, then back, to drop into a crouch. She noticed he was breathing heavier than usual.
"It's the sun. It saps our energy," he explained. "Still no sign of anyone."
They both stiffened as a voice replied, "So you say."
Katelina peered around the corner of the enclosure to see Ishkur stride toward them. He wore a gold breastplate, his dark hair and cloak billowing out behind him like a fairytale warrior. The heavy mace in his hand was a threat neither of them could meet.
Verchiel jerked Katelina back. "Go to the room." He pulled his sword out of his beat up coat.
"And leave you to deal with him alone? He's like four thousand years old!"
Ishkur loomed over them, his expression one of cold indifference. "Where is he?"
Katelina wanted to be brave, she wanted to stand up against the monster, but her feet crept around the corner on their own. She felt the weight of his years, the icy power that flowed through his veins, the overpowering command to meet his eyes-
The world wavered. She felt the probing fingers of his thoughts, stabbing quickly, seeking information.
No!
Something slammed shut in her mind. Ishkur's impassive face wadded with a scowl. A low hum sounded in her ears.
Verchiel shoved her hard enough to send her rolling down the steps. She pulled up to her knees at the bottom. He shouted, "Go back to the room," before he kicked the door closed.
She heard Ishkur snarl, and the humming stop, replaced by the clang of weapons. There was no way Verchiel could defeat Ishkur himself, especially with that dinky sword, but she couldn't either. She needed to get help.
She hurried back down the hallway. None of them had Ishkur's years or power, but maybe together they could do something, like a swarm of bees attacking all at once.
She dashed down the stairs. When she reached the next floor, the fire alarm strangled into silence, and the lights flickered off. She pulled to a stop, listening. Without the blare she could hear the sirens outside, the cries of panicked people. Someone moving nearby.
She spun in time to see two womenno, vampires. Long red hair hung past their elbows, studded with beads. Identical green eyes focused on her. As they realized what she was, snarls revealed gleaming fangs.
Katelina could feel their years, not as heavy as Ishkur's but greater than her own.
Shit.
She raced down the stairs. The women were faster than she was. One slammed her in the back to send her tumbling. She sprawled on the landing, trying to get her bearings. A swift kick to her ribs left her curled in a ball of surprise and pain, followed by a kick to her back.
The twin in front readied another attack. Katelina pulled away at the last second. She struggled to her feet, jerking the dagger out of her pocket. The sheath stuck to leave her dodging blows. She ducked under a swinging fist, then launched herself toward the stairs. Taking them three at a time, she managed to beat the twins to the next floor, where she took off down the corridor.
It was the wrong floor. She cursed and ran on, hoping for an open door, another set of stairs. Anything.
An elevator yawned open. She dashed inside. Regret came when she realized the number pad was dark.
The power is out. Shit!
The vampiresses were right behind her. With nowhere to go, she pressed back into the corner of the tiny car and pulled the dagger free. The lead attacker pressed closer. "You're one of his little hangers on, are you?"
His? Of course, Samael.
"You're expendable, you know," the second said. "He doesn't care if you live or die."
"Any more than Lilith cares about you?" Katelina threw back.
"Lilith?"
"She means Ita," the other said.
The lead twin rolled her eyes. "Obviously. I just find the name interesting. Out of the hundreds she's used, why choose Lilith?"
The second shrugged. "Does it matter? I'll see if there's anyone else on this floor, Inget. You take care of this one."
Inget brandished a club worn smooth with age. "Gladly. Be careful, Gret."
Katelina raised the dagger, running through a calming mantra in her head. She could do this. She'd fought plenty of them before.
While Gret hurried away, Katelina inched forward, trying to find a way out of the constrictive elevator. She couldn't win if she was cornered.
Inget swung her club. To escape, Katelina slammed herself into the wall of the elevator. She pulled away with a grimace and sprang. The blade missed its mark, shattering a mirror. Shards of glass tinkled around their feet as she jumped back and slammed into the dead button panel.
The vampiress spun toward her. Katelina ran through her training in her head. Take out their legs. Right. Of course. She knew that.
She lunged, then dropped at the last second to stab the dagger above her enemy's knee. Inget cried out as Katelina wrenched the blade free. Gripping the weapon, she dodged out of the elevator and down the hallway without looking back.
She took the stairs three at a time, conscious of the vampiress racing after her. The irregularity of the footfalls showed she'd done damage, just not enough.
Shit.
The next floor was the wrong one. Katelina hurried down another. A framed painting looked familiar, so she left the stairs for the corridors. After two turns, she knew she was in the wrong place.
She rounded a corner, and crashed into someone. They tumbled to the carpet in a tangle. She wrenched free, ready to stab, when a familiar voice snapped, "What the fuck?"
She didn't have time to ask Micah what he was doing before Inget dashed around the corner, swinging the club. Katelina ducked and rolled, keeping her head intact by mere inches.
Micah leapt up. "Who the hell is this?"
"One of-Lilith's," Katelina managed as she dodged swings.
"I'll kill you in a minute," the vampiress snapped at Micah.
"Fuck that." Micah grabbed her arm and swung her around. Katelina took the opening to ram the dagger through her back. The vampiress' body arched, but Katelina had missed her heart.
Inget swung, catching Micah in the shoulder.
"Bitch!" He flung her across the hall. She crashed into the wall, rolled to her feet and up again, like a movie stunt, leaving a trail of blood.
Katelina charged. The vampiress dodged to the right, slamming the club across Katelina's shoulder blades. The shock of the impact folded her up. It was only the wall that stopped her from falling.
Katelina caught her breath and spun back to see Micah grappling with their enemy. A picture pulled itself off the wall and hurtled toward her head, barely missing her.
Apparently the vampiress was a ghost hand. Just what they needed.
A fire extinguisher pulled free and slammed Katelina in the jaw, hard enough to knock her back. Then it swung up and clocked Micah in the head. He stumbled with a cry.
Inget charged Katelina, but Micah tackled her. They went down together. Katelina heard a loud crunch and saw a splatter of blood. The pair went still.
Micah?
He pulled free, shaking blood and shreds of muscle from his hand. "God damn. I didn't think that bitch was ever going to die."
Katelina wiped her dagger on her jeans. The sheath was missingprobably still in the upstairs elevator. "She has a sister somewhere."
"That's something to look forward to."
