They left the Black Vigil for the Persatuan. It was a building ringed with arches and palm trees and topped with an onion shaped dome. Jorick hung back and sent Sorino to find Wolfe, but the vampire didn’t reach the building before the Scharfrichter appeared, Sadihra at his side.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Wolfe said brusquely. “The Scharfrichter are patrolling the area. So far there’s nothing to report.”
Jorick nodded. “We spoke to Fethillen. They’re hiding out until the Children show themselves.”
“It seems everyone’s waiting,” Sadihra said. “By the way, I’d like to thank you for finding Wolfe.”
The Scharfrichter growled low and Sorino bowed dramatically. “You’re very welcome.”
When Sadihra looked surprised Jorick said, “He’s a tracker.”
“I thought he was a whisperer?” Katelina asked.
“He’s both.” Jorick turned to Sadihra. “How are things in Munich?”
“Restless. The Höher Rat lifted the lockdown after the revolt, but there is still fear. Many have left, even those that have made their homes there. It is mostly officials and the foolhardy who remain.”
“You said restless?” Sorino asked.
“Yes. The Kugsankal are restless, and their thoughts permeate the stone itself.” She turned to Wolfe. “You will no doubt need to speak to them when you return.”
“No doubt,” Wolfe said. He was tenser than usual, as if their restless energy could reach across the globe and infect him there.
“Are they still after us?” Katelina asked.
Sadihra frowned. “No, they didn’t seem to notice your escape. Of course, with the revolt and such there was a lot of chaos.”
Jorick raised his eyebrows incredulously, but didn’t say anything.
Sadihra motioned to approaching figures. “It seems your fledgling has arrived.”
Oren, Torina, and Verchiel strode across the lawn and stopped next to them. “You found Fethillen?” Oren asked.
Jorick nodded. “Yes. They plan to attack in their own time.”
“I’m not surprised.” The lion-maned vampire gave Ume a dark look.
Loren puffed up visibly. “It’s not her fault. She’s not one of them anymore. She quit.”
Something flashed in Verchiel’s eyes, but it faded quickly, and Torina said, “Just what we need.”
“Is everyone here?” Sadihra looked from one to the other. “If so we should go inside and meet with the Algojo.”
Algojo. Probably more Executioners. Katelina cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to stay outside since they use bombs?”
Sadihra shook her head. “You’re more likely to be blown up out here than in there. It seems in their other attacks they planted the bombs beforehand. We are watching everyone and everything. They cannot do it this time, so inside will be safer than outside.”
“The safest place would be in another city,” Verchiel suggested jovially. “But since we don’t have time to get to one, we might as well go in. Come on, Kately, you’ll be fine.” He clapped an arm around her shoulders but at a look from Jorick he let go. “Only being friendly.”
“Don’t.” Jorick took her hand. “Come, little one, it will be fine.”
With a sigh, she relented.
They walked through a pair of double arches across a porch. Sadihra and Wolfe flashed the golden emblems around their necks and two guards in red and white uniforms opened a set of wood and iron doors and motioned them inside.
They walked down an open hallway to a round visitor’s desk. Two smiling women stood behind it, and when they saw the golden emblems, they cheerfully pressed a buzzer and motioned them toward an elevator on the right.
“That’s to let the guards at the next station know we’re coming,” Sadihra said.
Katelina cast a final look over her shoulder. The building was beautiful and airy, with arched doorways, tiled floors, and intricately detailed ceilings. It was a shame that at any moment the Children of Shadows would arrive and destroy what had probably stood for hundreds of years. She supposed it was probably the same with the other places. What was left of the Birlik had been astounding, and she could only imagine what the building had looked like before. They made America’s guild, hidden under a grain elevator in no-where Iowa, seem crude.
The group fit inside the elevator with effort. There was only one button that went down, and Sadihra pressed it. Katelina squeezed back in the corner, and when the doors opened she was the last one out. The hallway was done in beige and green, and the patterned floor in shades of brown. It started as a large, open room, with another circular desk in the middle, and then narrowed down. Guards in red and white uniforms sat behind the desk, watching monitors, typing on keyboards and flipping through papers.
Sadihra motioned her entourage toward the desk and began the lengthy check-in process. Jorick and Verchiel had to show their Executioner emblems, and the others were forced to give names and declare luggage. One of the guards even made a show of searching the vampires’ bags, but ignored Kai and Katelina completely, as if they and their luggage didn’t exist.
When the guards were satisfied, Sadihra led them down the hallway to a set of gracefully curving stairs. They ended in a large octagonal room whose ceiling soared up into the building above. A central fountain was flanked with benches, and though Katelina guessed it was a popular gathering place, there were only guards moving among the pillars, carrying long curved swords. Their edges gleamed sharp and silver, and Katelina decided they were as functional as they were pretty.
A figure dressed in a black robe approached. He wore a short cape fastened at his throat, and a black hood that covered everything but his eyes. Around his neck hung a silver and gold medallion that was no doubt a symbol of his office. What had Sadihra called them? Algojo?
He bowed and Sadihra introduced Jorick and Verchiel as “Executioners from the United States who have come to help.”
The robed man bowed again. “Your help is most welcome.”
“These are their companions,” Wolfe said stiffly.
“You are also welcome. When the moment comes a single sword may make the difference. If you would come with me we are meeting in the office.” He noticed Kai and Katelina. “I will make arrangements for your humans to be cared for.”
“I prefer to keep Katelina with me,” Jorick said.
“I’m afraid humans are not allowed in many parts of the fortress. They must remain in the secure place on the third floor for the duration of your visit. You may, of course, have them sent to your private room for feeding or personal activities, but they must return to the secure place when you have finished with them.”
Katelina gaped. Secure place? If he thought she was going to go there and sit quietly he had another think coming.
Sorino glanced at Kai. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and then the vampire nodded. “That will be fine.”
Kai stepped off to the side and Katelina shook her head. She wasn’t going to be sloughed off so easily.
“This is the usual arrangement in this area of the world,” Sadihra said, as if that made it okay. “Most of the citadels keep them separated.”
“I prefer to keep her with me,” Jorick repeated.
“In that case I am afraid you and your human will have to leave and seek accommodations elsewhere.” Though the Algojo didn’t say it, the implication was that they didn’t need help badly enough to break their own rules.
Then they can do without us. Their loss.
Jorick growled low and looked calculatingly at Katelina. The smugness slipped from her face. He couldn’t be thinking—?
“If anything happens to her, and I mean anything, I will hold you responsible.”
“Jorick!” she cried.
The male bowed again. “Of course. The humans will be safe. No vampire is allowed in the secure place except for guards.” He called to a pair of the red and white clad vampires and spoke rapidly in a foreign language. They saluted and the Algojo turned back. “They will escort the humans to the secure place. If you will come with me?”
The vampires followed him toward an arched doorway and Katelina latched onto Jorick furiously. “What in the hell happened to ‘Until this is over stay close’?”
“You are staying close, and in retrospect this may be better. You’ll be removed from the attack, and should anything else happen I could be to you in moments. Meanwhile, the guards will do what they can.”
“By anything else you mean the owner of the mysterious voice?”
“Obviously. Once this is settled with the Children of Shadows we’ll find him.”
“Find him? I thought he was coming here, remember? ‘I’ll be there soon’?”
“Soon is a relative term.” Jorick looked impatiently to the retreating figures. “If there’s time after the meeting I’ll send for you, all right?” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then went after the others.
“Send for me? I’m not a harem woman! Jorick! Jorick!”
But he disappeared through the door with a final wave.
“Of all the—when I get my hands on him I’m going to throttle him to death!”
The guards looked at one another with raised eyebrows, and then motioned her and Kai to accompany them. Though she’d have rather gone back to the hotel than stay in a place that demanded she be cordoned off like a leper, she hefted her bag and followed.
The guards led her through the fountain room and down another set of curving stairs. A broad hallway went straight, and to the right was what looked like a pair of golden gates with two more guards. After a brief exchange, the gates opened, and Katelina and Kai were taken down a beige and turquoise hallway, past a narrow staircase, to a second pair of gates and another set of guards. They let them through with barely a glance and after another short spurt of corridor they were presented with a large red door decorated in swirling iron embellishments, but missing the all-important door knob. The guards knocked on it, and it opened to reveal another guard. They had a quick conversation and then Katelina and Kai were ushered inside.
The door shut with an echoing sound of finality and Katelina turned from it to look around the new room. Harem was a good word for it. The room was large, with pillars and alcoves. There were couches, chairs, and tables scattered like a waiting room. Bookcases were tucked into nooks, and a pair of televisions were noticeable only because of their bright screens and the knot of people seated in front of them.
A set of arched doorways were set in the back wall and Katelina moved through the expansive room to investigate. Each led to another large room with rows of neatly made beds, like a summer camp cabin on steroids. Red curtains hung between each one, and Katelina imagined they could be pulled closed for privacy.
Curtains or no curtains, she was too old for boarding school sleeping arrangements, and she turned back to the main room with a feeling of gloom.
A red haired woman abandoned her magazine and crossed to Katelina, her hand extended. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. Large hoop earrings glittered in her ears and a worn leather coat looked lived in. Her words were lightly accented, though Katelina couldn’t guess the country. “You look as thrilled as me. I’m Xandria.”
“Katelina.” She shook the offered hand. “This is stupid.”
“You’re telling me.” Xandria motioned to the room. “You might as well pick a bed. There are drawers under it to put your stuff in, but I left mine packed. Hopefully I won’t be here long.”
“Same here,” Katelina muttered.
She followed the other woman inside. “I took this one.” Xandria pointed to the bed at the far end. “I know it’s anti-social, but who wants to sleep next to strangers?”
“It’s bad enough with the vampires.” Katelina picked a bed in the middle of the unoccupied gulf. “What’s with them and communal sleeping?”
Xandria snorted her agreement. “I guess it’s because they’re so old they don’t know any better. People used to huddle together for warmth. Thank God for central air.”
Katelina stopped herself from shouting “Amen!” and stuffed her bag in the drawer under the bed. “I guess we’re supposed to entertain ourselves?”
“Until mealtime or your master calls for you.” There was a sarcastic tone to her words that Katelina agreed with.
“I don’t know about you, but I plan on kicking my so-called master’s ass when I get out of here,” Katelina said vehemently.
Xandria laughed and shook her hand again. “Man, am I glad to meet you!”
Kai was obviously settled in by the time Katelina and Xandria returned to the main room. He was seated on a couch, his laptop out and his earphones around his neck. He motioned to Katelina, as if asking if she wanted to watch a movie.
“Is that your brother?” Xandria asked.
“No, he belongs to another vampire.” Belongs. “I mean he travels with him. But we’re all sort of hanging out together.” There was no reason to explain the strange alliance.
“I got you.” Xandria squinted at him. “He’s going to be a hotty when he grows up a little bit.”
The idea jolted Katelina, both physically and mentally. “I never thought about it.”
“You must have a hot vampire if you didn’t notice this one. Shall we see what he’s up to?”
Kai only had one set of headphones, but he was amiable enough to pull them out and turn the sound up. They watched a movie about a killer tornado that barely followed the laws of physics, let alone logic. It had just ended when a loud knock sounded on the door. The nearest guard hurried to open it.
“Think they’re getting ready to feed the monkeys?” Xandria asked with a glance at her watch. “I know I’m starving.”
“I had breakfast for a change,” Katelina said. “Actually that’s not true. I usually get breakfast, it’s everything else they forget about.”
“Yeah, they think all they need to do is throw some scraps at the human once a day. Weren’t they human once? How can they forget so fast?”
“I think they do it on purpose,” Katelina said. “Otherwise how could they feed off of us without feeling guilty?”
“Hmmm. Intentional distancing. Interesting theory.”
The guard turned to the room and announced loudly, “Katelina, your master has called for you!”
“Master,” she snorted as she stood and straightened her shirt. “I’ll be back, though I can’t say the same for him.”
Xandria laughed and sent a “You go,” after her.
The guard opened the door wider and she went out into the hallway where another guard waited. He said something she couldn’t understand, and then led her through one gate, and then down the narrow stairs. The lack of ornament made Katelina think of a back staircase for servants. The idea made her even angrier.
They exited through a heavy door and the guard led her down a cramped corridor. Short numbered doors flanked the sides, and she had a feeling that they really were in a behind the scenes area, meant for those who were lesser.
They wound their way through a few turns. The guard consulted a slip of paper, and then stopped at door number 722 and knocked. A muffled voice answered, and the guard opened the door and motioned Katelina inside.
She was barely through when the door snapped shut. She moved away from it and into the center of the room. It looked much like a hotel with two double beds and the usual assortment of furniture, including a small table and chairs. Green floor length drapes hung against one wall, as if hiding a window, but when she pulled them back there was only blank wall behind them.
The bathroom door stood partially open, and she marched toward it angrily. “Look here, Jorick, if you think I’m going to sleep in that place like some kind of five year old on summer vacation then you—” She froze as she swung the door open to reveal, not Jorick, but Verchiel wearing nothing but a towel and applying goo to his hair.
“Well that was faster than I thought it would be. I was sure they’d make me sign something, or point out your mark. Half a minute, I’m almost done. Unless you want to help?”
She slammed the door. “Where the hell is Jorick?”
“He’s in a meeting, and he’ll be there all night from the looks of it. No one can agree on who’s in charge. The Scharfrichter think they should run the show. The Algojo feel it’s their fortress, so they should be in control, and of course Jorick and Micah refuse to follow either of them. I got tired of the circles so I nipped out early.”
“That doesn’t explain what I’m doing here. They said Jorick sent for me.”
“Really?” He poked his head out of the door, his hair finished. “I used my name.”
“Then why in the fuck would they say my ‘master’ called for me?”
He broke into a grin and disappeared again. She could hear the sound of clothes being put on. “I might’ve said that was me.”
“You? How did you expect to get away with that?”
“Well, on a technicality, you did drink from me that one time, if you’ll remember, and you do have a scar.” He leaned out again, wearing nothing but his pants, and poked the spot on her neck where he’d bitten her. “So it’s not a proper mark, but it’s close enough.”
She pulled away and he pulled his shirt over his head as she shouted, “Are you insane? Jorick will kill you!”
“Maybe. But what’s life without risk?” He leaned against the counter and pulled on his socks. “I’ve been informed you’re not allowed to leave this room. Talk about segregation. Still, it has to be better than being stuck in the secure place.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said coldly.
He walked past her and flopped on one of the beds. “Not too bad. You should try it.”
“No thanks.”
He grabbed the remote from the nightstand and flipped the TV on. “Oh come on, I won’t bite, unless you ask me to.” He batted his eyes innocently.
“Right, and I asked last time?”
He scrunched his face up comically, as if straining to think. “I don’t remember, exactly, but you did go into a prison cell with a starving vampire. That’s pretty much the same thing.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” It was the same thing she’d said to Jorick over and over, and she looked away in a huff.
Verchiel snickered. “I didn’t know you guys were still arguing about that. He’s touchy, huh?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Well you can stand over there if you want, or you can flop on the other bed. I don’t care.”
He flipped through the TV channels. Katelina stood stubbornly next to the bathroom, her arms crossed in defiance, but as the minutes passed it got boring. Plus it was hard to see the TV. She slowly moved across the room, a step at a time, and finally sat in one of the chairs by the table.
They were in the middle of a DIY show about how to lay tiles—something she thought would look nice in Jorick’s outdated kitchen in Maine—when someone knocked on the door. Verchiel hopped off the bed and started toward it. He reached for the nob when a horrific idea seized her. What if it was Jorick? If he found out that Verchiel had called himself her master, he’d kill the redhead on the spot.
She bolted for the bathroom and had barely barricaded herself inside before she heard the bedroom door open and Verchiel say, “Hello! To what do I owe this?”
It was Ume’s voice that answered, “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Come right in.”
Katelina crouched next to the bathtub. The porcelain was still damp, and she jerked her hand away and steadied herself on the floor amidst a sea of discarded towels.
My God, he’s a slob.
“How are you?” Verchiel asked his visitor.
“I’m fine. Let’s get to the point. I left the Black Vigil, but it isn’t what you think. I…you asked me what it was I wanted from you, and I’ve thought about it. I used to imagine you’d come back, and we’d go home, or find a new home, and things would be the way they were, but what that really meant was you’d take care of me. There was a time when I needed that, probably when we were human and maybe for a while after that, but I don’t need taken care of anymore. My time in Munich showed me that. At first I was panicked. How could I survive without Fethillen to look after me? But it turns out I don’t need anyone. Not Sibila, or the Black Vigil, or you. Loren invited me to travel with him and Micah, and I accepted.”
There was a moment of silence and the Verchiel said cheerfully, “Good for you.”
Katelina crept toward the door. Words were one thing, but she wanted to see their facial expressions.
“I wanted you to know that I don’t expect anything from you. You don’t owe me, and I would understand if you’d rather forget everything.”
Katelina pressed her eye to the keyhole. Despite Ume’s words, Katelina could see the vampiress’ uneasy expression.
“Pshaw! You can’t ignore it. It’s not every day someone finds out they have a sister they forgot about.” Katelina couldn’t see him, but she imagined him grinning. “It might be fun, so long as you don’t make me carry your shoes like Torina does Oren.”
Ume’s worry melted and she burst into laughter. “She makes him carry her shoes?’”
“Someone has to wait on her when there are no available men around. But if you spend enough time with them you’ll soon see it for yourself.”
Ume breathed a sigh of relief. “I feel better now. I was worried that…I don’t know what I was worried about. I guess that this would end badly.” She cocked her head to one side and studied him. “You don’t have a coven, do you?”
“Nope. I never have. It was just me and Kateesha and then she took off and I sort of wandered around on my own. I mean, I fell in with covens here and there, but nothing permanent.”
“Isn’t that lonely sometimes?” He didn’t answer and Ume said quickly, “Never mind. I should go. Loren’s waiting and he looked terrified that I’d change my mind after I talked to you.”
“I wonder if you would’ve, if I’d said, ‘Come! Join me.’” It was Ume’s turn not to answer and he rushed on. “All right. Have fun and if nothing else I’ll see you once the explosions start.”
Ume stood and adjusted her black shirt. “If they ever make their minds up about how we’re conducting the defense.”
“The Children of Shadows won’t wait for them to decide. If they start before the decision is made I guess it’s every vampire for himself. Or herself.”
“You have a point.” Ume tugged at her shirt again. “Okay, I’ll just—”
“Not without a hug!”
Katelina had a momentary view of Ume’s wide, shocked eyes before Verchiel swept her up and squeezed her with enough force to break ribs in a lesser being. He let her go and Katelina could see his grin. “Have a good time with little Loren. If he gives you any trouble, come let your big brother know.”
Ume took a step back. “Right. I will. I’ll…” she broke off again and sniffed the air. Then she turned and sniffed again and again, an odd look on her face.
“Something wrong?” Verchiel asked.
“Yes. I smell—” the look she gave him was a mixture of concern and warning. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
They disappeared toward the door and Katelina dropped back. She could hear Verchiel say, “I never know what I’m doing, that makes it all the more fun,” and then the vampires’ words faded. What had Ume smelled? Was it her? Had she jumped to some horrible conclusion? It was the obvious one, but Ume should know better!
The bathroom door flew open and Katelina fell backwards. Verchiel stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, laughing. “You could’ve at least cleaned while you were in there. But, if you’re done skulking around, they’ve finished with the tile and are installing the flooring now. You don’t want to miss that.”
It was after midnight when a knock sounded on the back door. Verchiel opened it to find a guard who wanted to know if he was “finished with his human.”
Verchiel tapped his chin. “Well, I suppose I can be. Though I may want her back later.”
Katelina glared at him but let the guard usher her out and take her up the stairs and through the gate. When she walked into the main room of the secure place, one of the guards politely asked her if she needed, “medical attention”. The implications left her horrified, and she assured him she was fine.
Xandria and Kai were still watching the laptop, and the woman waved and called, “You missed lunch!”
Katelina took a seat with them. “Figures. Was it any good?”
Xandria leaned back. “Not too bad. We had rice and meat in some kind of sauce. Weird local stuff.”
“Yeah, I’ve had a lot of that kind of thing.”
“So? What did he want?” Xandria grinned. “Did you get some personal time with your hot vampire?”
“Not exactly.” She didn’t feel like explaining, so she said, “Everyone’s worked up about the impending attack.”
Surprise flickered in Xandria’s eyes, then disappeared. “You’ve heard about that?”
“From the looks of it everyone has. There are guards everywhere, or is it always like that?”
“No idea. I’ve never been here before.” Xandria looked toward the vampires. “I’m dying for a smoke. You?”
A cigarette sounded heavenly, and Katelina nodded.
“Come on then.” Xandria gave her a wink and slipped off the couch. “We’ll be back,” she told Kai, and then strode toward the bathroom.
Katelina followed uncertainly. Inside was a row of stalls, a line of sinks, and another door in the back. Xandria leaned through it and motioned to her. “In here.”
Beyond the door was what looked like a large hot tub, but Katelina suspected it was more likely a communal bath. Xandria perched on the edge and produced a pack of cigarettes. The familiar silver package spoke of home and a life before vampires, and Katelina eagerly accepted it and shook a cigarette out.
Xandria lit them both and then blew a stream of smoke. “It’s no smoking in here, as if the vampires are gonna die from lung cancer. I guess the nonsmokers don’t like the smell.”
Katelina took a long puff and exhaled. “You get tired of what they want.”
“No joke, especially if you’re not tied to a hot one.” Xandria exhaled again. “I’m not. There’s this vampire in with them, and he’s smokin’. Red hair, eyes like melted chocolate, the kind you just wanna rip off his clothes and lick whatever you can before he throws you off. But he hasn’t looked at me. My master is a short, dark, ugly little twerp who couldn’t care less about anything except a servant. Not that I’m ungrateful. I can’t imagine having to do anything with him.” She shuddered. “So what’s your story? You and monsieur hot vampire a love match or just fucking for fun? ”
Katelina flushed. “It’s more a love match, though that’s how I met him. There was this guy, Patrick that I was kind of… well, you know, no commitments or anything, and Patrick got tangled up with the vampires. Then he got killed.”
“Sorry to hear that. Happens a lot. Makes you wonder why we let ourselves get dragged in. You look at the trail of death and think, ‘that won’t be me’, but eventually it will. It’s like playing with fire. One day you’ll get burned.”
“Or turned?” Katelina suggested.
“In some cases I’m not sure that’s better. Plus they don’t waste it on the peons like me. You? Maybe. If your vampire really loves you, he might turn you and train you into an equal. I’ll get disposed of one of these days. Oh well, I’ll go down in a blaze of glory. Latch on to you-know-who and refuse to let go until they scrape me off.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Might as well have a last hurrah.”
Katelina burst out laughing. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”
“You have to have fun or go crazy.” Xandria crossed her legs and leaned her chin in her hand. “I like to make up these crazy fantasies. I was working on a good one when you came in. This mysterious human gets put in here with us, right? I might add he’s hot. Unruly black hair, dark eyes, long tapered fingers. Mmm. Anyway, he looks secretly tortured and I know he needs help and, well, that’s when you came in and I decided to talk to you, so I don’t know what happens next. But I imagine he and I are going to spend some time in a hot bath for two. That’s when he’ll tell me about his cruel master who does unspeakable things to him, and I’ll feel this motherly rush to protect the poor dear and after a passionate love scene I’ll help him escape.” She broke into a grin. “I can add you in, too, if you want.”
Katelina wasn’t sure she wanted to be a participant in the woman’s weird daydreams, but she didn’t like to say so. “Uh, sure.”
“Good. I’ll let you know how it’s going later.” She took another puff. “So you and junior hotty are happy with your vampires?”
“You could say that. Why?”
“Call it fantasy imitating life, but I’m kind of a soft touch. I was gonna say if you guys were miserable, or being used as sex slaves and mobile dinners, I could sneak you out with me when we leave, but if you’ve got a good thing there’s no reason to ruin it. So few do.” Xandria turned on the tap and extinguished her cigarette butt.
Katelina thought of her own campaign to save the Russians and managed to nod.
Dinner was something strange. After Katelina finished it she decided she’d had enough of communal living for one day. Xandria followed her into the bedroom, and when Katelina opened the bag for her clothes the woman pounced on the camera. “Oh fun! I haven’t seen one of these in years!”
“Yeah, I didn’t know they still made them.”
“There’s probably plenty of old people who refuse to go digital. Say cheese.”
Katelina looked up in time to see the flash go. “I was saving those.”
“For what?” Xandria turned the camera on herself and snapped it. “You’ve got two shots left.”
Katelina took the camera back and shoved it in her pocket. “I’m trying to take pictures for my mother, to prove that we’re on a nice vacation.”
“Ha! A vampire vacation! I’m guessing she doesn’t know?”
“No, and I plan to leave it that way.” Katelina realized she had no pajamas. She’d left them in Munich. Great.
A dark woman leaned in and asked, “Are one of you a Kate-a-lina? Your master has called for you.”
Xandria elbowed her in the ribs and gave her a wink. “Better luck this time.”
Katelina followed the guard back to room 722, but this time it was Jorick who opened the half door. She ducked inside and he caught her up and captured her lips. When he finally broke the kiss he asked, “Are you all right?”
She pulled back and glared up at him. “I’m fine, no thanks to you. It’s communal housing down there. We’re all thrown in together and we don’t get a choice about what we eat.”
“I’m sorry, Katelina, but I already explained.”
“And I’ve already told you why I’m pissed off.”
“If it’s any consolation, I’m forced to share a room with the idiot.”
Well that explained why Verchiel had been there earlier. “Not really.” She sat on the end of the bed and glared at him. “I’m guessing we haven’t been attacked yet?”
“Obviously. At this point I assume it will come tomorrow.”
“Great, another day of weirdness.” She flopped back and something jabbed her. She reached in her pocket and pulled out the camera. On a whim she pointed it at Jorick and took a photo.
“What was that for?”
“Posterity. You might get killed tomorrow. I need something to remember you by.”
“I’ll give you something to remember me by.”
She squealed as he tackled her and nipped at her neck. She wrestled playfully, and had just surrendered into a deep kiss when the bedroom door opened and Verchiel called loudly, “Oh my! I don’t want to interrupt. Maybe I should leave?”
Jorick growled and pulled back to glare at the intruder. “Maybe you should have done that to start with?”
“How was I to know we had company?” the redhead asked innocently. “I can pop back out if you want and you can get back to—Oooo!” He stooped and retrieved the fallen camera. “You naughty little girl. They won’t develop those kind of pictures.”
“Go away!” Jorick snarled, but Katelina pushed him off of her and sat up.
“Forget it. He’s ruined the mood.”
“You could get it back?” Verchiel suggested. “We might die tomorrow.”
“You’re going to die tonight,” Jorick snapped.
“Hey, I’m on your side. It’s your girlfriend who’s being unreasonable.” Verchiel grinned and took a self-portrait. “There, I’ve made the whole roll of film worthwhile.”
“God dammit. That was my last picture!” Katelina jumped up and snatched it away from him. “I can’t send my mom a pic of you grinning with your fangs hanging out.”
“Why not? She might like it.”
Yeah, like it enough to have another heart attack.
It was after three a.m. when Katelina announced she was ready for bed. Jorick leaned out into the corridor, but the guard wasn’t around, so he decided he’d take her.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to do that,” she said.
“I’ll do what I like when it comes to my human,” he muttered darkly.
Despite his words of authority, she had to show him the way through the winding maze of back hallways to the stairs. They took a wrong turn, and came to a dead end where a guard sat slumped against the wall, legs extended, and chin on his chest.
“Wake him up and ask him for directions,” Katelina said with irritation.
“Hey.” Jorick nudged him with his foot. “My human needs taken back to the secure place. Hey! Wake up!”
The guard slid sideways, and landed on the floor in a heap. Katelina jumped back and Jorick knelt to examine him. He rolled him over and found a long, pencil like cylinder stuck in the vampire’s back. He pulled it out to reveal a sharp, cruel point coated with gore.
“Oh my God, is he—?”
“Yes. They obviously knew what they were doing. They stabbed him in the heart from behind.” Jorick rolled him over again and wiped his hands. “Come, little one. I’ll take you back and then report this.”
“If someone’s killing guards maybe I should stay with you?”
“You’ll be safer there,” he said absently. Katelina could see the wheels turning behind his dark eyes, though she didn’t know what theory he was working on.
The guards at the gate were alarmed to see Jorick, and they quickly told him he wasn’t allowed there. “You should have waited for the guard,” one of them said.
“I would have, but he’s dead.”
Jorick’s words had the desired effect. One scrambled to get to a phone and the other quickly ushered Katelina through the gate. She had a final look at Jorick, who stood superior and dark, right in the midst of things.
Where he likes to be.
Verchiel’s words came back to her, “That’s the problem with dating the hero. He’s always busy being heroic, and you’re left on your own.”
For once, the redhead was right.