Chapter 83
Katelina stood by the road and waited impatiently for Loren to appear. Above her, the sky slowly changed from deep purple to dark black, and the moon rose to peek over the line of trees. The winter air was sharp and clear, and it made everything around her feel so real. Every rock, every shadow, stood out with a crystal clarity that she was sure she'd remember forever. She thought that, even years from now, she'd still be able to recall the way the bare trees swayed in the breeze, or how the sound of distant flapping plastic seemed to echo on forever and ever.
But whether she remembered or not, she was certain the world would. Long after she'd ceased to be, the very earth would remember that she'd stood in this spot while the moon watched silently, as it had for millennia; recording all but never passing judgment.
A door banged open, then closed, and Katelina looked hopefully towards the tiny house. Jorick appeared, but he never looked back to where she stood. Instead, he loped effortlessly through the tangled grass, towards the stand of icy trees, along the same path they'd walked last night. With his hands in his pockets and his long raven hair blowing behind him in ribbons of night, he faded into the darkness, until there wasn't even the sound of his footsteps left behind. Katelina's final memory of him would be his black silhouette melting into the shadows; a phantom of the night, accidentally conjured and now gone back to his dark haunts.
Time passed. She tried to convince herself that she was happy to go home. She'd be back in reality with Laundromats and coffee machines and computers. She even made a mental list of what she'd do when she got there. First, she'd go to her mother's house. And then she'd move somewhere far away; to a place where Patrick and Sarah's memories didn't cling - a place where dreams of dark vampire eyes wouldn't haunt her.
She saw the lights just before she heard the motor. As the car drew closer and closer, she glanced more than once at the trees and willed Jorick to stop this. It wasn't too late. He could still come tearing across the lawn and order her to stay.
But he didn't.
The car pulled into the driveway, though it wasn't Loren's. It was the small silver car that Kariss had been in. Katelina took a nervous step back and looked for Jorick again. Was this part of the plan? Because, if it was, no one had mentioned it to her.
Something felt very wrong. She couldn't explain it, but there was a feeling so sinister as to be almost tangible. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she took another retreating step, and then another.
She continued to back towards the house, her eyes locked steadily on the small car. The passenger door opened and a man climbed out. He seemed to go on and on as he stretched to his full height. His leather jacket was dull in the darkness and his short brown hair was cropped close to his skull. She recognized him vaguely as one of Kariss' "friends", but she had no idea who he was, or why he was there.
As if to answer her, he gave her a tight smile, the trademark of a vampire, and said warmly, "There you are."
"Yeah," she replied slowly and continued to move backwards. She threw a glance to the small house, trying to judge the distance, and wished she'd stayed closer to it. She'd been so hurt and angry that she'd wanted to escape as far away as she could. Smart move.
"Well, come on, let's get going," he coaxed, his voice still friendly.
But she didn't want to go with him. "Who are you? Where's Loren? Why are you here?"
He seemed only slightly annoyed at her questions. "I'm Adam. They needed Kariss back at the war coven, so she and Loren left. He asked if we'd stop and give you a ride first. So, come on, we need to go so we can catch up with them."
She shook her head no, but then a voice filled her mind, warm and reassuring. "It's all right. You can trust them. You saw them with Kariss and Loren. Jorick would trust them."
"No," she said aloud. "No, he wouldn't. He doesn't trust anyone."
Adam's eyes narrowed, but his smile stayed. "What?"
After her run in with Kateesha she knew what was going on. It was just like what Jorick had done to those teenage girls. Someone, Adam maybe, was trying to put thoughts into her head, and that was all the proof she needed about his intentions.
She imagined a brick wall and tried to hide behind it as she mentally shoved the foreign thoughts away. She tried to compensate for her fear with volume, but it made her voice too loud. "Actually, I've changed my mind." She took another step back. "Thanks anyway, but I'm staying."
Adam frowned and glanced back in the car, no doubt to the driver. A moment passed, then he gave a quick nod and looked back at her. "I don't really think that's an option for you, is it?"
She had to force her words past the lump of fear in her throat. "Oh, I think it is."
Adam pressed his lips together in irritation. As the veneer of false friendly disappeared from his face, so did the warm, cheerful feeling in her mind, as though he'd flipped a switch and shut the light off. With it gone, the fear escalated into pure panic.
He stepped towards her, and that was enough. She gave up any pretense of bravery and all out fled towards the sanctuary of the small house, flinging her bag from her as she ran. Her feet flew over the uneven ground, but she could feel him closing in on her; drawing nearer with each gasping breath that passed her lips. And then, hands as hard as steel gripped her legs and slammed her into the ground. Stars exploded behind her closed eyes and her teeth slammed together violently as her face smashed into the snow.
She tried to struggle loose, but he threw his bulk on top of her and pinned her to the ground. With the air knocked out of her, she struggled to breathe around the dead scream trapped in her lungs. Try as she might, she only managed a grating gasp.
Adam wrapped his fist in her hair and pulled her head back to expose her throat. Cold metal pressed against the soft skin, just above her collarbone, and he hissed in her ear, "I don't think you want to make a sound."
She swallowed hard, and tried to calm the pounding of her heart long enough to think. But what was there to think about? What escape plan could there be at this point? So, she nodded mutely and agreed to stay silent.
The weight pressing her down slowly lifted, and then Adam pulled her painfully to her feet by her hair. She struggled by reflex, and her eyes darted around the yard in search of either an escape or a rescuing angel. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. It seemed like a bad plot twist in a B-rated horror movie; the kind where the blood was a little too red and the villains a little too evil.
Adam kept the knife pressed to her throat as he pulled her back to the waiting car. When they drew near, the driver door opened and a Cockney accent declared, "That was too easy. There's no way."
They came to a stop and Adam glared at his invisible companion. "Well, do you see him, Nirel?"
"No," he agreed, reluctantly. "But it could be a trap. Tie 'er up and put 'er in the back."
"No," Katelina moaned in disbelief. "You have to be kidding."
"Kidding?" Adam seemed confused. "What?"
Nirel climbed out; tall and lanky with red hair and shifty eyes, the second of Kariss' friends from the other night. "Just ignore 'er," he ordered as he produced a length of cord. "Now 'old 'er 'ands."
Katelina struggled to get free, but Adam pressed the knife harder against her throat and she stopped. The pressure was so great that she could barely swallow, and she gagged on her own saliva.
Nirel tied her hands quickly, and then they stuffed her, face down, into the backseat. They stood outside talking for a moment, though she couldn't distinguish their words, and then they climbed back into their respective seats.
"You're right, there's no need to stand out there," Adam agreed to some unheard point.
"No, there ain't." Nirel peered through the windshield. "Just wish I knew what 'e was up to."
The car seat stank of dirt and mildew, and Katelina tried not to choke. She stared at the vampires' backs and struggled to understand why Kariss would do this. Was it because she wanted Jorick to join Oren and his war? Did Loren know? Had he agreed to this?
Questions without answers raced through her mind and minutes became aching hours. Nirel and Adam talked intermittently, but it was always the same words. "This is a trap", "Maybe not", "Then where is 'e? 'e's supposed to be 'ere."
Katelina tried to move but, when she made the slightest noise, Adam reached around and whacked her on the back of the head. By the third time, she decided she should stay still.
Adam glanced back at her, then to his partner. "Look, the guy's not here! He left. So let's just take her and go."
"Oh yeah?" Nirel asked sarcastically. "And where did 'e go? Visitin' the beach maybe?"
"I don't know! Her mind's all a sloppy mess. All I can get is that he left and he's not coming back! So come on! We're just wasting time!"
Nirel scowled. "You're sure 'e's not comin' back? Like, not ever comin' back?"
"No," Adam snapped testily. "He'll come back eventually."
"Good. 'e's supposed to see us take her, remember? If we just stroll out now, 'ow will 'e know she's been taken? After all, she's supposed to be going somewhere, or she wouldn't need a ride. It might be days before 'e finds out. Just stick to the plan."
"The plan's not gonna work now!"
Nirel ground his teeth noisily. "All right, you got a better idea?"
"Yes," Adam agreed slowly. "I do." Katelina could hear the smile in his voice. "He didn't set a trap for us, but it doesn't mean we can't set one for him. Why just take her as bait? Why not get him tonight and be done with it?"
Nirel's answer was slow in coming, and when he finally spoke his voice was tight. "If we fuck this up she'll kill us, you know that?"
"Then let's not fuck it up, huh?"
