He pulled away from her and dusted off her invisible fingerprints. “Someone’s in a good mood, I see.” He ignored the shocked expressions of the other vampires and held up a single gloved hand. “Now, now, don’t make me do something we’d regret. Like knock you out again.”
She bristled at the threat and jabbed a finger in his direction. “You just wait! When Jorick gets through with you -”
“Yes, yes.” He mock yawned. “I’m sure I’ll be good and sorry. No doubt he’ll turn me into jelly or something equally distasteful. Either way, shall we?”
She grumbled, but the steady gaze of the other vampires reminded her of last night’s terrors. She could cooperate with him long enough to get out of there.
They started up the stairs, and the unisex vampire hurried forward. “Madam Claire wants to know if you’ll feed with us?”
“No, thank you.” Verchiel offered them a lazy smile. “We appreciate the hospitality, and I’ll put in a word for you. I’m sure your dispute can be handled quickly.”
The silent woman bowed her head and Verchiel returned the motion before he caught Katelina’s arm. He made to drag her up the stairs, but the androgynous vampire moved in front of them. “Let me show you the way out.”
They followed their guide up and out of the house. Katelina allowed Verchiel to tug her along, though she wasn’t happy about it. When they reached the car, she let loose. “What the hell did you think you were doing, locking me up in there?”
“And where else should you have slept?” he asked with amusement. “Perhaps I could have taken a page from your Jorick and stuffed you in the coffin with me?”
Katelina gaped and he took advantage of her momentary shock to force her inside. The door had scarcely closed before he appeared in the driver’s seat.
“I didn’t think he’d like that,” Verchiel continued as if there hadn’t been an interruption. “Men get funny about their women sleeping with someone else.” He started the car. “Besides, you were the one who couldn’t behave. Had you been cooperative last night, maybe you wouldn’t have had to be locked up.”
“I can’t believe you expect me to cooperate! It’s bad enough that you’ve kidnapped me -”
“Not kidnapped. I’m only escorting you.”
“Against my will! As if that’s not bad enough, then you drag me to the freaky vampire house of hell and leave me locked in the cattle pen! What part of that should I cooperate with?”
He backed the car out of the driveway and onto the road. “They weren’t that bad.”
“They were a freak show! There was the unidentifiable vampire, Madam-never-speaks and a room where they lock people up! Yeah, sure, that’s normal!”
He chuckled softly. “Actually, the room is pretty normal and that was a rather nice one. I’ve seen much worse.”
She glared at his indifference. “You’re disgusting.”
“It’s just like a farm.”
“Exactly! I’m not an animal!”
“I’d argue with you, but there’s no point. As for the androgynous… guy, I admit, you don’t see those very often, but how often do you see people who really aren’t one way or the other? And for your information, Madam Clair doesn’t speak because she’s a mute.”
“How can she be a mute?” Katelina asked sarcastically. “Aren’t all vampires perfect?”
The grin stretched across his face. “Yes, we are, but vampirism isn’t a quick fix for everything. If you’re missing something, you’re missing it. It’s not going to re-grow. You don’t suddenly get new eyes or new teeth or get a missing body part back. If the problem is just a matter of faulty wiring, then sometimes, if the master is old enough, it will work.”
She dismissed the topic. “So, what was the deal with their dispute?”
“Ah, nothing exciting. They’re fighting with a lone.” When he saw her confusion, he explained, “Jorick is a lone. They don’t belong to a coven or a den and they live by themselves. Anyway, apparently there’s a lone that’s moved in. He’s hunting on their ground and they’d like something done about it.”
“Then why didn’t you do it?” Her stomach rumbled and she looked for the travel can of chips. They were nowhere to be found.
“Not worth it,” his voice was almost regretful. “It’s very routine. They’ll send in a mediator from the Council and maybe an Executioner just to be safe. Chances are it will take ten minutes, including introductions. They don’t think it’s a rogue, so there’s no real danger.”
“How terrible,” she mocked. “Something easy.”
“It is. Had it been something interesting we might have taken a detour.” He grinned cheerfully, but she was too busy cursing them both. Him for kidnapping her, and herself for not eating those chips when she had a chance. Somehow, being angry with herself made her even angrier at him.
Dark miles disappeared behind them as they made their way down twisting highways and lonely interstates. Verchiel kept the speedometer between 80 and 100. He deftly maneuvered the shiny sports car from lane to lane. Whenever Katelina looked through the windshield she thought of a racing video game and looked away.
Verchiel veered off of the interstate and onto a frontage road, whistling to himself. When she turned her questioning eyes to him he said simply, “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry.”
She grunted in reply, though refused to admit how hungry and thirsty she was.
The gas station was a typical brick building with a snow capped roof and a salted parking lot. Christmas lights blinked from the glass windows and the glowing sign board reminded everyone to have “Happy Holidays”. Tiny snowflakes sputtered from the sky and landed on the windshield, the clouds not quite committed to a real snowfall.
They parked close to the building and in an almost macabre moment of déjà vu, Verchiel glanced at her and said, “Just behave this time or I’ll put you in the trunk.”
“That would look good.” She fastened her coat and adjusted the stocking hat over her unkempt hair. “I bet someone would call the cops.”
He grinned and turned the car off. “That would make things interesting, wouldn’t it? Now come along Kately, and be good.”
“Quit calling me that! It’s not my name.”
He did his best to look innocent as he climbed out of the car. “You don’t like it?”
“No.” She was too hungry and had to pee too bad to argue with him, so she got out and slammed the door. “My mother used to call me that when I was a kid. I’ve always hated it.”
He was beside her a little too fast, though no one was outside to notice. He gripped her arm firmly, a tight smile on his face that kept his fangs concealed, but still looked pleasant to the unwary. “That’s a shame. Katelina is so formal and mature. Kately is much more fitting.”
Though she was tempted to kick him, she let him walk her into the gas station. He stayed beside her past the rows of food and back to the restroom doors.
“Planning to go with me?”
He gave her a grin that said he might, but let go of her so that she could slip inside and slam the door. When she was finished, she washed her hands and tried to decide whether she should attempt an escape or not. There was no window and, really, nowhere to go, so it seemed pointless. He’d just break down the door and fetch her out.
Defeated, she headed out of the restroom. He intercepted her almost immediately and took her arm again. He steered her towards the drinks coolers where she chose a large bottle of plum tea, and then to the mini sandwich fridge where she selected a Chuckwagon. He even stayed glued to her side as she microwaved it.
He paid and waited while she ate her sandwich and two granola bars with one hand, her other arm still clutched tightly in his. He peered through the windows as though he was looking for something. She hoped for a glorious moment that Jorick was nearby, though Verchiel’s casual attitude made her doubt it.
She’d scarcely chewed the last bite of her food, when Verchiel suddenly tugged her out the door. Word
lessly, he led her across the wet sidewalk towards a camper that was parked around the corner of the building. The back end of it hung out and exhaust rolled from it in large clouds.
Verchiel paused long enough to sniff the air and murmur a satisfied, “Alone,” before they started their journey again. Though the forced pace was casual and nonchalant, Katelina had a bad feeling. Before they’d pulled into the gas station he’d said he was hungry. She hadn’t thought about it, but now his words made her stomach cold. There wouldn’t be any wild life here, so what could he feed on? Her mind whispered the one word answer, though she pretended not to hear it.
They made a wide circle of the camper and came at it from the side. The driver’s door opened and a man with a thick Santa style beard got out. He paused just outside to zip his heavy parka up, then turned and moved towards the front of the vehicle.
Katelina’s heart pounded and sick certainty filled her. She knew what his prey was going to be. She’d adjusted to vampires feeding on animals by convincing herself it was no different than eating a hamburger. She’d even come to terms with them tearing out each other’s throats because that was a battle. To watch him feed on a human was too much for her.
She tried to get loose. “Let me go! I can’t watch you kill him!”
“I won’t kill him, unless you annoy me. Now be quiet.”
She fell into an uneasy silence as they completed their walk. When they reached the front of the camper they found the bearded man poking at one of the tires. His fur trimmed hood and beer gut made his resemblance to the Christmas deity that much more convincing. It was bad enough that Verchiel was going to attack a human, but to ask her to willingly watch him eat Santa Claus, or even be present in the same parking lot, was just cruel and sick. It was like having rabbit for Easter dinner and telling the kids it was the Easter Bunny.
The man looked up, suddenly alert. He hid his caution under a guise of friendliness. “Hello there. Cold night.”
“That it is.” Verchiel eyed the man with a look not dissimilar to Popeye’s friend Wimpy when faced with a hamburger. Katelina’s stomach rolled.
“Having trouble?” he asked conversationally, his tight but friendly smile in place.
The Santa look-a-like threw back his hood and surveyed them cautiously. The fear on Katelina’s face no doubt made him wary. “Apparently not. I thought it was getting low, but it’s fine.”
“Glad to hear it! I wonder if you might know where the exit for Belladora is.” The man stared blankly and Verchiel used his free hand to pull a map from his pocket and flick it open expertly. “See.” He waved it around. “It should be around here somewhere.”
Katelina wanted to shout at the old man to run away, but she couldn’t find her voice. Even if she could, it was doubtful he’d listen to her.
With no one to tell him otherwise, he fell for Verchiel’s lie and quickly caught the moving map. He studied it, his brow puckered in confusion. “You’re sure you’ve got the right area?” When he looked up, Verchiel had disappeared and there was only a wide-eyed Katelina.
“Where’d he go?”
She didn't get a chance to tell him.
Verchiel was behind him. In less than a second, he grabbed the man’s head and pulled it back to expose his throat. Silently, he struck. His fangs buried themselves in the wrinkly neck. The man only struggled for a moment before he succumbed and let Verchiel feed on him.
Small snowflakes drifted around them and the gas station’s Christmas lights blinked cheerily. A few feet from the holiday reality, Old Saint Nick’s doppelganger was being attacked by a vampire, only no one could see them in the shadowy corner. No one except Katelina, who stood frozen to the spot, her mouth open in a perfect cartoon “o” and her blue eyes wide with horror. Soft suckling sounds reached her ears and she recoiled inwardly, unable to physically move.
The man’s face started to pale and Verchiel released him, reluctance in his eyes. Before he pulled away, he ran his tongue over the still oozing mark to clean up the last drops. The man stared straight ahead, his eyes glassy. Verchiel moved to stand in front of him. “You haven’t seen us,” he said quietly. “You were alone.”
“Alone,” the man repeated, his voice as hollow as his eyes.
Verchiel gave a crisp nod of satisfaction and took Katelina’s arm. “Shall we?”
She fought to keep her voice quiet as she whisper-shouted, “You sick bastard! How could you? He looked just like Santa! Do you have any idea how twisted that is?”
Verchiel stopped in his tracks and exploded into laughter. “He looked like dinner to me.” Without discussing it further, he picked up the pace. He was still chuckling when he stuffed her into the car.
The clock on the dash said ten p.m. when they crossed yet another state border. Verchiel’s eyes flicked to the white “Welcome to Iowa” sign. “We’re almost there.”
Katelina broke her two hour silence to ask sarcastically, “Iowa? You’re not serious?”
“Ah!” Verchiel cried in fake surprise. “It can talk! Are you done sulking over Santa Claus?”
“No.” She looked back out the window and tried to ignore him again.
When she said nothing else, he piped up cheerfully, “Yes, by the way, I am serious. What’s wrong with Iowa?”
She stared at him with disbelief. “There’s nothing in Iowa except corn.”
“And lots of vampires. Can you think of a better place?”
“Yes, actually.”
“All right, so it wasn’t the original choice. From what I hear, they started out on the East Coast, but then Americans were determined to expand.”
Really, she supposed Iowa was just as good as any other state. She wasn’t sure where she thought The Guild’s headquarters would be, except that she’d imagined it in a large city. Maybe in New York or Los Angeles. Somewhere bustling and busy.
Bustling and busy.
Those were two words that failed to describe Iowa, or at least the part of Iowa they drove through. For a couple of hours they passed empty fields and quiet towns, cows and lonely stretches of highway. The dark seemed somehow darker, and the deer more plentiful. Verchiel pointed a few out to her, but she pretended not to notice. She kept telling herself she was too uncomfortable to care, but it wasn’t discomfort or even anger that ran through her. It was fear. No matter what Verchiel said, she knew the truth. The Guild was a place that meant death and misery.
The car slowed and Katelina looked up to see a large grain elevator. Shiny silos climbed into the night, surrounded by several buildings of differing sizes. Verchiel drove towards the biggest, a corrugated building whose metal roof and garage doors gave it the appearance of a very large machine shed.
Katelina started to ask why they were stopping, when a sudden idea occurred to her; one that was vaguely disappointing. “You’re joking.”
“About what?” Verchiel stopped the car and climbed out. Before she could comprehend it, he stood next to one of the garage doors, pressing keys on a numerical lock pad. The door made a loud clunking noise and then began to slowly rise.
“It’s a corn silo,” she explained as he reappeared in his seat. “Is this The Guild? Tell me it isn’t.”
“Okay, it isn’t.” He grinned. “Yes, this is the Citadel. But, I think it’s soybeans, actually.” When she gaped wordlessly he asked, “Why? What did you expect?”
“Something more…” She searched for words. “Vampirish. You know, something stone and old and carved. Something grand. Something like Claudius’ mansion.”
“Don’t you think people would notice something like that in the middle of a field?”
“Well, maybe, but a grain silo?”
He made a gesture of helplessness with his hands. “I didn’t design it.”
The door wasn’t open all the way when he dropped the car into gear and drove inside. The headlights illuminated a large cement floored room that was packed with cars, many of them shiny and new. He expertly maneuvered between the rows and parked in
a spot that had an “Executioner Parking Only” sign nailed above it. Somehow the tidy black letters made Katelina want to laugh and cry at the same time.
The motor cut out and the world fell silent. Despite her efforts, she was at The Guild’s headquarters, or Citadel as he’d called it, waiting for someone to kill her and wrap her in a shower curtain. Or was she important enough for that? Would she just be incinerated instead?
The idea made her sick, and she stayed seated while Verchiel fished her suitcase from the backseat and slid out of the car. When she didn’t move, he came around and opened her door. “Coming?” He held out a gloved hand to her.
She stared at it, and then shook herself. If she had to march into the bowels of Hell, then better to at least be on her own feet. She forsook the help and climbed out, though it took all her will power.
The garage was dimly lit. She could feel eyes on her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Before she could speak, Verchiel lifted a finger to his lips and winked.
“All right Senya, it’s only me. You can come out and escort us if you feel it’s necessary.”
The female Executioner seemed to materialize from nothing. Her dark bobbed hair hung around a face that snarled with annoyance and barely concealed animosity. Katelina struggled not to scream at the sight of her. Senya’s face haunted too many of her nightmares. Sometimes she was at Oren’s manor house, and sometimes at the motel in New York. Of all the things in the world that terrified her, Senya was one of the worst.
“So you finally showed up?”
Katelina cringed at the sound of her voice. Verchiel was unaffected. “And you’ve only been here a few hours.” He took Katelina’s arm. “As you can see I’ve brought the prisoner.”
“One of them,” Senya scoffed. “Malick will be most displeased.”
Verchiel smiled back at her scorn. “We’ll see.”
**********
Chapter Eleven
Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II Page 14