Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II

by Naylor, Joleene

  Jorick stood next to the couch, his hands clenched into fists and a murderous expression on his face. “And by what order do you plan to seize us?”

  Verchiel casually tossed Bren’s bloodied sword to the floor. “You know very well. But for the benefit of everyone else, the command came from Malick.” There was a gasp of shock from many of the assembled vampires. Verchiel took advantage of the lull to snap his sword back into its scabbard and stash it in his coat, as if he’d already won. Reluctantly, Griselda lowered her weapon. The male Executioner didn’t move, and Verchiel called to him, “Come on, Greneth. Senya needs your help.”

  Senya struggled to her knees and growled, but she let Greneth help her up.

  Oren moved to stand next to Jorick; their faces equally hard. “Why would Malick issue such a command?”

  Katelina wanted to remind them about Thomas, but her tongue wouldn’t work. Meanwhile, Verchiel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “He wants to speak to you about a few things.”

  Jorick met Oren’s eyes and a silent conversation passed between them. A decision reached, he broke eye contact. “Not Katelina. She stays here.”

  “You’re in no position to make demands!” Senya seethed, her eyes slits. “You and yours will suffer for this!”

  Verchiel pretended not to hear her and looked sorrowful. “I’m sorry, Jorick, but as you know, our great leader was adamant about her presence. He’s eager to meet her.”

  Jorick visibly tensed. Fear and anger danced through his eyes. “No-” he began, but Traven interrupted him.

  “My coven does not wish to quibble over a human.” He stepped away from Katelina, Jeda on his arm. “As you stated, you have no argument with us. We will withdraw so this may be concluded among the parties involved.”

  “Yes.” Torina said contemptuously. “Save yourself, Traven.”

  He ignored her and grabbed Jorge with his free hand. His expression dared the frightened vampire to say a single word. Jorge took the threat seriously and stayed silent as Traven dragged him out of the room, towards the cellar. The rest of Traven’s coven followed quickly, bearing the bodies of their fallen.

  “Cowards,” Micah spat after the retreating figures.

  Oren spoke quietly, “They owe us nothing. They made no agreement about this.”

  Senya staggered and Greneth caught her. “Subdue them and let’s go!” he shouted. “We’ve wasted enough time!”

  Verchiel smiled pleasantly, one moment standing a few feet from Katelina and the next beside her. The air he stirred ruffled her hair and she stiffened in surprise and fear at his sudden arrival. Terrified thoughts splashed through her head. He seemed oblivious to her horror and addressed his colleagues, “Oh, I don’t think I need to subdue anyone.” He laid a gloved hand on top of Katelina’s head. “You three can go, I can handle the rest of this.”

  “Get away from her!” Jorick took a warning step forward, his fist raised.

  “You don’t need to worry, Jorick. I wouldn’t hurt little Kately.” He mussed her hair and she both flinched and scowled at the same time. “It seems to me you’re more likely to cooperate if she does.”

  Senya snorted and addressed her underlings. “Let him make an idiot out of himself. We’ve done our part.”

  The other two Executioners murmured agreement. They led their broken commander through the room. Senya drug her feet and they stopped in front of Verchiel. “You know the consequences if you fail.”

  “Of course,” he replied cheerfully. “Now you’d best be getting back to your box, you look like you could use some rest.”

  Senya hissed at him, then snarled to Oren and the others, “Guards will arrive shortly to collect our dead. I suggest you do nothing to the bodies.” Then she allowed her subordinates to bear her out of the room.

  No one made a sound until they heard the back door slam shut, and then Verchiel spoke, his voice friendly. “Now that they’re taken care of, I believe we have to discuss your impending trip?”

  Jorick lunged, but Oren grabbed him and held him back. “You won’t gain anything. He’s too fast. Before you could reach him, she’d be dead. If you want anything left to rescue, then stand down!”

  Katelina whimpered as the reality of his words crashed home. Surely there was some way? Before she could think of one, Verchiel clamped his hands on her shoulders and pulled her towards the door.

  Jorick jerked free of Oren and took a menacing step forward. “I swear I’ll kill you if you harm her!”

  Verchiel looked offended. “I have no intention of hurting a hair on her shiny little head, but I am taking her to The Guild. I can only hope that you and Oren do the right thing and follow.” He frowned suddenly. “I can’t guarantee what’ll happen if she goes before Malick with no representation. I’m sure he’ll interrogate her but, since you’ve marked her, she shouldn’t have to be destroyed.” He lit up. “Maybe he’ll turn her. Wouldn’t that be entertaining?”

  The idea filled her with terror. She didn’t want to be a vampire, let alone one under Malick’s infamous tutelage. Jorick had been clear enough at the horrors that entailed. She struggled uselessly. “Let me go! I’m not going anywhere!”

  “Sorry, but you are. I think it’s lovely, though, how many of them are concerned about you.”

  “Who said we care? Kill her, turn her, makes no difference to me!” Micah snapped. His shriveled body slumped from exhaustion, and it was obvious how much effort it took him just to stay on his feet. Loren looked like he wanted to fight, but he was too weary to do more than stare morosely, one hand on his shattered head and the other holding Micah’s severed appendage.

  Verchiel met Micah’s eyes. “You say that, but your thoughts are quite different. Oh well, I’m sure you’ll all be reunited soon. I promise I’ll take good care of her. I’ll be sure to feed and water her and, if she’s good, maybe I’ll take her for a nice walky.” He laughed at his own joke, then wrapped his arms around her waist, and tugged her into the dining room. “I don’t suppose someone wants to fetch her suitcase?”

  He received blank, angry stares in reply. “Okay, I see no one’s going to volunteer.” He tilted his head down so that his warm breath blew across Katelina’s cheek. “What do you say? Think you can travel without it?”

  Luna stood suddenly, leaving Fabian on the floor. “I’ll get it.” Then, she disappeared towards the master bedroom.

  “Wasn’t that nice?” Verchiel asked. “And while she does that, Jorick, you might like to tell dear little Kately goodbye. Maybe something about how you’ll rescue her and roast me on a spit?”

  “I’m going to do a lot more than that!”

  Katelina fought tears. She pleaded silently to Jorick to do something, anything. Her heart pounded and she tried to tell herself that he wouldn’t let her be taken to The Guild. He had some trick up his sleeve. He had to. But, as he continued to stare, his mouth opening and closing in blind fury, she started to doubt.

  His jaw snapped closed and tightened until it looked painful. He struggled against his emotions, but mastered them and declared gruffly, “Cooperate with him, Katelina. I’ll come for you. I promise.”

  Her shoulders sagged at his words and tears spilled down her cheeks, though she tried to be brave. Oren was right. Jorick couldn’t gain anything by attacking right now. “I know you will.” A small flame of anger sputtered to life inside her as she saw the helplessness in Jorick’s eyes. She wanted to kill Verchiel for using her like this, for hurting Jorick and for leaving him and Oren no choice.

  Luna silently reappeared with the tatty suitcase in her hand, effectively interrupting the intense atmosphere. She stopped on the threshold, the luggage held at arm’s length.

  “If you’d grab that?” Verchiel asked Katelina pleasantly. She did as he asked, only because she planned to bludgeon him with it. Reading her mind, he commented cheerily, “I wouldn’t try that.”

  Luna stepped back into the living room. Her eyes seemed to appraise the situation in search of an advant
age, but there was none.

  Verchiel looked down at his prisoner again. “Now, do we have everything? Your coat? Your luggage?” Katelina’s only reply was to quietly grind her teeth, so he answered his own question. “Yes, I think we do. Good.” He grinned at the other vampires and stepped further into the dining room. Jorick moved around the couch, stalking slowly towards them.

  “All right. I guess this is goodbye. Be seeing you two soon!” And before they could answer Verchiel snatched her suitcase, spun on his heel and flung her over his shoulder. With the suitcase before them like a shield, they crashed through the dining room window and landed in the snow outside. Katelina screamed as shards of glass tinkled around her and disappeared in the night.

  Jorick ran to the window and leaned out it, framed in shattered glass, his face a mask of anger. “I will come for you!” he shouted.

  She stretched her arms out towards him, screaming his name, but Verchiel bounded away into the darkness and, too quickly, the window became a tiny yellow square in the distance and she couldn’t see Jorick anymore.

  **********

  Chapter Nine

  The night rushed by at a speed that made Katelina sick. She hung over Verchiel’s shoulder like a sack of rags and, though she kicked her legs, he seemed no more aware of her than he was of the biting wind. He moved through the snowy landscape at an alarming speed, winding past farmhouses, barns and white fields dotted with hay bales.

  He turned onto a lonely gravel road and gradually slowed to a stop. A canary yellow sports car waited for them. The vehicle reminded her of him; too bright and too conspicuous.

  With his free hand he produced a remote that unlocked the doors with a beep. He jerked open the passenger door, threw the suitcase in the back and then stuffed her inside, despite her protests. The door snapped closed and she grabbed the handle, intending to open it and jump back out, but he was suddenly in the driver’s seat and grabbed her hands. “You’re not going to be difficult, are you?”

  “You’re kidnapping me! What the hell? You expect me to just go along with you?”

  “Yes, actually. Now, no leaping out of the car or any other stupid things. I’m only escorting you to an appointment, and I’d appreciate it if we could both look at it that way. It will make it a much more pleasant trip.”

  “You have to be joking.”

  He slipped the keys into the ignition and the car purred to life. “I’m not. It’s a two day trip from here to the Citadel, and it would be easier if I didn’t have to worry about tying you up and leaving you in the trunk.” Her eyes grew wide and he grinned. “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Yes. You could just let me go. I’ve never done anything to you.”

  “I know.” He popped the car into gear. “Otherwise you’d already be in the trunk, or I’d have let Senya deliver you. Have you considered what a cross-country trip with her would be like?”

  She ignored his logic. “Look, we all know what this is over. It’s because Thomas was pissed off.”

  “Who?”

  “Thomas! He complained to The Guild because Jorick proved he was the spy!”

  Verchiel scratched his head with his free hand. “If you say so. Look, I don’t want to point fingers, but if you and Jorick had just come along, I wouldn’t have had to come looking for you. We did send you an official invitation.”

  Katelina stiffened. “What invitation?”

  “That official looking piece of paper taped to his door? The one with Malick’s seal on it. Surely you noticed it?”

  She started to deny it, then a memory jumped at her. There had been a piece of paper on the counter that said “Official Notice” But… “Jorick said it was the electric bill.”

  “Oh.” Verchiel cleared his throat. “Well then, I guess we won’t mention to him that I let it slip, hmm? I don’t want to be seen as interfering.” He gave her a wink. “If it’s any consolation he knew what it was, and so did Oren, so he must have told him. I imagine that’s why he was in such a hurry to make travel plans and get you out of the country. Relations with the South Americans' equivalent of The Guild are a little dicey at the moment, so I guess he thought you wouldn’t be extradited. Though who can guess the inner workings of Jorick’s muddled mind?”

  She remembered Jorick’s certainty that they were being followed, and his fury that The Guild would know their location. Now it all made sense. “Goddamn it! I was right! The bastards are never going to leave us alone!”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. It isn’t like there’s someone out to get you.” As he said it, his eyes danced away, then he changed the topic. “Either way, let’s turn that frown upside down and have a nice trip, huh?”

  She glowered at his ridiculous cheerfulness, but relaxed enough that he released her hand and concentrated on steering the car. How was she going to escape? He was stronger than her and faster. “Hell, he’s faster than Jorick, and just like Jorick he knows everything I’m thinking. This is impossible!”

  “Yes, it is.” Verchiel glanced at her again and then reached into the console between the seats. “Here.” He tossed a container of wet wipes into her lap. “You’ve got a little blood on your face.”

  She gripped the wipes tightly and glared. “If I have my way there’ll be a lot more!”

  He only laughed.

  Three hours passed. The in-dash clock read twelve-thirty; numbers counting off the minutes that took her farther from Jorick. She didn’t know how he was ever going to catch up to them, especially in the crappy silver car. But, he’d said he’d come, so come he would. Now, if she could only get free of the idiot.

  Verchiel made a noise in his throat to break the thick silence. “Are you hungry?”

  “I guess.”

  “All right.” He nodded to a smear of colored lights ahead of them; a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. “We’ll stop here and you can take care of all your human things.”

  She didn’t bother to nod, only watched as the building drew closer. They passed the banks of gas pumps and parked near the entrance. Despite the late hour, winter travelers scurried from their warm cars to the building, their breath white plumes on the icy air. Katelina stared at them, and an idea slowly formed in her mind, incomplete, but appealing all the same.

  “Just behave,” Verchiel warned as he opened his door and swung out of the car. His movements were as slow as a mortal’s, though somehow too precise to be human. That was when she realized he couldn’t do anything vampire-esque with all the people around. She was safe!

  Before he could reach her side of the car, she jerked the door open and flung herself out of it. The parking lot was slippery, and she nearly fell as she launched herself towards the safety of the building. A pair of women appeared in front of her, and she plowed over them without so much as an apology. She didn’t have time.

  She reached the doors before Verchiel could catch up, and flung them open. Like a macabre nightmare, the room inside was large and over bright, filled with metal aisles that displayed a profusion of colorful items; a circus crammed onto the shelves. Country music hung on the air, piped through loudspeakers, and the few customers stopped what they were doing to stare. She sought around wildly for a place to hide and spied another exit at the back of the store. If she could just get through the doors and lose Verchiel it would only be a matter of getting ahold of Jorick.

  A footstep sounded behind her and with a strangled cry she dove behind the shelves of potato chips and fell into a terrified crouch. A face loomed over her and it took her a second to realize it wasn’t the Executioner. It was a young woman with confused eyes and a furrowed brow. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes,” Katelina whispered, nodding enthusiastically. “I’ve been kidnapped. There’s a guy with red hair.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes!” She slipped backwards slowly, her eyes on the far doors and her escape. “Call the police!” She knew they wouldn’t be able to actually keep him, but maybe they’d delay him long enough tha
t she could find a way to contact Jorick and Oren. “Hurry!”

  “Ma’am?” The woman drew back, uncertainly. “Are you all right?”

  “No, I’m not!” Katelina cried in exasperation, ready to dodge into the next aisle. “Call the police!”

  Verchiel’s voice suddenly floated above the twangy country music. “Oh, Kately! Where are you?”

  Katelina froze with one hand stretched out to grab the nearest shelf. Her eyes darted back and forth. If she moved she’d betray her position. If she stayed still he’d catch her. The young woman was her only hope. She caught her attention and mouthed, “Call the police!”

  Instead of complying, the woman motioned to Verchiel. “Is this who you’re looking for?”

  Katelina groaned silently as the redhead sauntered into the aisle, his hands in his pockets and his posture one of casual relaxation. “As a matter of fact it is.” He flashed the woman a close lipped smile, then shook his head in mock sorrow. “I’m afraid my sister hasn’t taken her medication.”

  “I’m not your sister!” Katelina shouted. He drew closer and she jerked away and knocked into a wire rack of peanuts and travel food. The shelves fell to the floor and containers bounced and rolled away in a scattered confusion of sound and color. Everyone was looking and Katelina took advantage of it to shout, “That’s him! Call the goddamn police!”

  The young woman stood stock still, her eyes vacant. Verchiel walked past her as if she didn’t exist. The other people only stared, their eyebrows raised and mouths open.

  “Now, now, it’s okay,” Verchiel soothed and stopped in front of her. “Come along, we’ll get you to Doctor Robinson. He’ll take care of it.”

  Katelina swore loudly and jerked to her feet. She ran towards the exit as fast as she could, all logical thought gone. There was only her, the door and the vampire chasing her. She’d almost reached her imagined freedom when Verchiel caught up to her and grabbed her arm.