Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II

by Naylor, Joleene

  She shivered. “What’s a phantom?”

  “It’s a vampire who can disguise their presence,” Jorick answered between clenched teeth. “They use mental manipulations to hide their scent, their presence, and in some cases they can even make themselves seem invisible.”

  “But he was fast. Really fast. Like him,” she pointed to Verchiel. “Doesn’t that make him a wind walker, or whatever.”

  “You can have more than one classification,” Verchiel answered cheerily. “I do.”

  Jorick growled at him. “He got away?”

  “Yeah, by the time I got there he was long gone. I could have caught him, of course, if I knew where he went. Unfortunately, I’m not a tracker. I don’t suppose you know him?”

  Katelina’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “I saw him at Oren’s, in the woods.”

  Verchiel nodded. “In that case, he’s probably been following you. I looked it up and he checked in the same night you did.” His eyes flicked to Jorick. “He was following one of us, and I don’t think it was me. Apparently, you’re not immune to phantoms.”

  Jorick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you want something or have you simply come to irritate us?”

  Verchiel grinned. “A couple of things, actually. First, I wanted to make sure little Kately was all right, and second, that there were no hard feelings.” He gave Jorick mock Bambi eyes. “You can’t really be angry. I did keep her away from the bloodhound, after all.”

  “That’s why I haven’t killed you, but if you expect me to be grateful, you’re going to be disappointed. If she hadn’t been with you, then you wouldn’t have needed to hide her from Senya!”

  Verchiel cocked his head to one side. “Ah, come on. We both know that’s not true. She’d have been here with Grumpyboots, who would have let Senya haul her off. And where would you both be now? You know what Malick wanted her for.”

  “Get out!” Jorick snarled, but Verchiel continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

  “He was going to use her to make you agree to come back. Lucky for her he changed his mind.”

  “I said get out!”

  Katelina stared, wide-eyed at the prospect. “What? But...”

  Oren laughed. “How sad. It probably would have worked.”

  Jorick glared and Oren shrugged in reply.

  “I imagine he has a new plan in the works. You know how much he enjoys his chess games.” Verchiel flashed a bright fanged grin. “Anyway, I wanted to stop by so you could thank me properly and we could make up and -”

  Jorick jerked the door open and pointed through it furiously. “I said get out!”

  Verchiel gave an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, all right. If you insist. I had hoped we could be friends.”

  And then Oren asked the question Katelina was wondering. “Why?”

  “Why not?” Verchiel caught Katelina’s attention and winked. “Maybe some of Kateesha’s affection got passed on, huh? She was pretty Jorick-obsessed.” He backed out the door, the same too cheerful smile on his face. “Well, I guess I’ll see you all later! Have a nice trip home and all of that.”

  “It will be better for the knowledge that we won’t see you again,” Jorick spat emphatically.

  “That hurts.” Verchiel batted his eyes and then suddenly his face went serious and his voice dropped low. “I don’t suppose you got my note?”

  “What note?”

  Verchiel winked. “Never mind. I guess you did. Makes one wonder what Malick sent Senya to do, doesn’t it?”

  Before Jorick could reply, the redhead was gone. He slammed the door and gave a wordless growl of frustration, then spun around and directed his fury at Oren. “I’m not surprised the idiot let Alistair get away, but how did he escape from you?”

  Oren’s eyes bulged. “Because he was faster than me!”

  “And you couldn’t go after him?”

  “And leave your human bleeding on the floor? I did you a favor in defending her and this is how you thank me? Next time I’ll leave him to it!”

  Katelina objected to being talked about as though she was a house plant, but she didn’t have time to voice it. The anger in Jorick’s eyes flickered and then died. “No, you’re right. You did defend her.” He took a deep breath. “I’d rather you made sure she was all right than chase after him.”

  Oren watched him warily. “That’s what I assumed.”

  With a generalized nod, Jorick helped Katelina to her feet. “Come, little one, we’ll get you cleaned up.”

  Jorick took her to the bathroom and cleaned her wound. As Oren said, it was a tidy puncture mark, much like the one Jesslynn had left long ago. Though it would probably heal with no fuss, she wasn’t sure the terror would fade as easily. When she closed her eyes she could see Alistair’s cold, icy glare.

  “We’ll be home soon,” Jorick told her gently. “Then you'll be safe.”

  “He was at Oren’s and he followed us here. Why won’t he follow us home?”

  “He might,” Jorick admitted. “But once we’re away from here, I can dispose of him.”

  She wasn’t sure if she was comforted or not. Alistair had beat Oren easily, but then, compared to Jorick, Oren was kind of a wimp. Or at least she thought of him that way. If Jorick had been there, he’d have slammed the other vampire through the wall and ripped his heart out.

  “Yes,” Jorick answered to her unspoken thoughts. “And I still will when I catch him.”

  She shivered at the thought of seeing him again - of being bitten again. “When he - attacked me there were… I saw things. He said he’d make me remember who he was.”

  “I’ve told you before that a vampire’s bite is a complex connection. We can make someone see things, memories, if we want. A vampire has to choose to share, though, for them to be clear.”

  “I don’t want him to share!” She wrapped her arms around herself. The blurry scene was still there, behind her eyelids, and so were his leftover feelings of outrage and sorrow. It was like when she’d thought Jorick was dead. She never wanted to feel it again. “I thought all of Kateesha’s followers joined either Anya or Kale?”

  Jorick paused, the washcloth halfway to the sink. “They did. If I remember, Kale said Alistair was with Anya.”

  Katelina bit back a frustrated scream. “Does that mean we’re fighting with her?”

  Jorick didn’t seem to have an answer.

  When her wound was clean, she changed her shirt and washed her hands. Though she wanted to shout, “I told you so”, it seemed pointless. It would have been better had she been wrong. How could anyone like Kateesha enough to feel those things for her?

  Jorick pulled Katelina into a tight hug and released her. She thought he was going to apologize for being absent. Instead, he took her hand and led her back into the bedroom.

  Oren was seated in his usual chair. Without looking at them he asked, “Did you find the information you wanted?”

  It took Jorick a moment to catch his meaning. “Oh. Yes.” His forehead puckered angrily. “The buffoon was correct. Senya left earlier this evening, alone, and no one knows what her mission is, not even Ark.”

  In the aftermath, Katelina had forgotten his errand. “How do you know?”

  “I asked him.”

  “Oh.” She sat on the bed and stared at her hands. The whole situation made her feel very small and she hated it. “So, does it have anything to do with us?”

  “I don’t know.” Jorick’s eyes moved to Oren and some silent communication passed between them. “We have no way of knowing where she’s headed. She may be going to nose around Oren’s den while we’re gone, or she may be on an unrelated errand. Who can tell?”

  Katelina touched her neck gingerly and checked her fingertips for blood. There was none, but the brush with Alistair served to remind her who she was with. These were vampires and they lived in perpetual darkness for a reason.

  The thought twisted a bitter expression on her face, and Jorick caught her gaze. “It’s all right, little one. We’re no
t getting involved, unless it already concerns us.”

  He’d misinterpreted her unhappiness and then added a condition anyway. There was always a condition. What had Malick said? That despite Jorick’s assurances that he wanted peace, he had to keep taking on new battles in order to feel alive. The thought sent a shiver down her spine and painted a crimson hued picture of a future she wasn’t sure she liked. She hoped Malick was wrong.

  **********

  Chapter Nineteen

  The next morning Katelina took a shower, packed, and then reluctantly let Jorick take her to the sixth floor restaurant. Oren accompanied them, probably to make sure that Jorick didn’t get distracted.

  Katelina ate quickly, and the vampires each had two glasses of blood. When they returned to their room, they found a notice stuck to the door that said they were free to go. It was marked with a symbol that looked like the Executioner’s necklaces. Jorick said it was Malick’s seal. She thought it ironic that the Executioners seemed to wear it as a badge of honor when it seemed more like a mark of ownership.

  Oren dashed into the room and was back in the hallway with the luggage before the door could swing shut. He met Jorick’s eyes and held them. Katelina didn’t need to be a telepath to know that he was saying, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” For once, she agreed with him.

  They took the elevator to the sixth floor. Instead of turning down the familiar corridor towards the restaurant and lounge, they went through a door that was cattycorner from the elevator. Inside was a pair of couches, a set of stairs and two doors. The stairs went upwards, and of the two doors one was marked “Humans Only Beyond This Point”. The second had a glowing red EXIT sign over it, which she found bizarre. Surely they didn’t have to obey the fire code? She sniggered as she imagined a fire marshal demanding to inspect them, let alone trying to write up the vampire guild for not being up to code.

  Jorick opened the exit and led them into a hallway. They followed it around a bend and to a smooth wooden door. When Jorick knocked, a familiar looking square in the center of it slid aside to reveal an eye. The owner grunted, then slammed the peephole shut and jerked the door open.

  They filed inside quickly, and Katelina looked around to discover that she was back in the guardroom she’d first entered The Guild through. Only, instead of coming out the shiny padlocked door, they’d gone through one of the others.

  “Leaving?” the guard asked with no enthusiasm.

  Jorick nodded crisply. “Yes. We checked a car.”

  “Name?”

  “Jorick Smit.”

  The guard sighed and turned to the computer terminal. He cursed under his breath as he jabbed keys and jerked the mouse around. “This stupid piece of junk.”

  Jorick tapped his foot impatiently, and Oren edged for the door.

  With a final string of curse words, the guard grabbed an overflowing folder from a shelf under the terminal. He flipped through random slips of paper, then paused and held up one that was bright orange. “Three? This says party of two.”

  Jorick’s impatience turned icy. “Yes, we picked one up.”

  The guard gave a long-suffering sigh. “Look, it’s my job. I have to keep track of everyone who comes and goes this way. If you don’t like it, then go through the upstairs office next time.”

  Katelina wanted to shout that there wouldn’t be a next time, but Jorick just remarked, “Yes. I believe we shall.”

  The guard made him sign the paper and declare the names of the party, and then he handed him what looked like a receipt. “Have a nice trip. Come again.” He didn’t sound like he really cared either way.

  The brown stone corridor beyond was exactly as Katelina remembered, only less sinister. They moved through it at a clipped pace. When they reached the ladder, Jorick wordlessly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Though she complained, he climbed quickly, and set her down once they’d reached the dark garage above.

  Oren threw the luggage up through the hole and then bounded up, only using the ladder to bounce off of. He’d scarcely cleared the opening when Jorick slammed the metal trap door with a clang that rang of finality.

  “Let’s go,” Oren declared and Jorick nodded his agreement.

  By the garage lights, Katelina could see that there were a lot of cars. If each car could hold two or more vampires… She stopped her mental calculations when her stomach churned. She didn’t want to think about it.

  They came to a halt between a black sports car and a red SUV. Oren searched through his pockets while Jorick sniffed the air. He sighed and then called loudly, “Do you need something, Ark?”

  Katelina stiffened at the name of the head Executioner, though Jorick didn’t seem concerned. For a second, the silence hung tense and thick, and then a thin brunette stepped from the shadows. There was something about his face and the shape of his nose that made Katelina think of the movie with elves in it. He took a step towards them, stopped and studied them from a distance.

  “Yes?” Jorick prompted, impatient and aggravated.

  “I have a message from Eileifr. He said if you truly value peace, then you must follow your plan and let nothing distract you.”

  Oren and Katelina both looked to Jorick for an explanation, but the raven-haired vampire only shrugged. “Thank you, Ark. Tell him I intend to.”

  “I’m not your messenger.” With those words, Ark turned on his heel and disappeared towards the trap door.

  Oren muttered in disgust and turned to unlocking the black sports car. Katelina watched with surprise. “Whose is this?”

  “Micah’s. We thought we needed the speed.” Both his tone and sideways glance at Jorick said that “we” was really only one of them.

  She couldn’t imagine Micah willingly loaning them his car, especially since he’d lost his hand in the fight.

  The memories made her flinch. Though Micah sounded okay on the phone, the last time she’d seen him his skin was ashen and his wrist a bleeding stump.

  Oren opened the door and Jorick stuffed Katelina through it and into the backseat. They handed the luggage in. When the doors shut and she was sure they were committed to leaving, she asked, “Who’s Eileifr?”

  “He’s a member of the High Council,” Jorick explained as Oren started the car and dropped it into gear. “He was the one you spoke with in the audience chamber.”

  “Oh, right. With the long hair.” Jorick nodded and she chewed her lip. “What did he mean by that? What plan? And why?”

  “Who can say.” Jorick cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Eileifr is what they call a Demon Eye. He can see something of the future. It’s his ability, if you will. But the future is always in flux, so many consider it all but useless.”

  “Is it?” Oren asked mildly.

  No one answered.

  Someone, perhaps Ark, had already opened the garage door, so they sped through it and out into the night. None of them spoke again until the grain elevator was out of sight, lost to distance and darkness.

  “Good riddance!” Oren declared suddenly. “In all my days, I’ve never been so glad to be away from a place.”

  Jorick looked amused. “Really? I thought you were in a hurry to attack them?”

  “That’s different.”

  The amusement in Jorick’s eyes died. “No, it isn’t. I had hoped you would see how fruitless an attack would be. How do you plan to get inside? There are cameras and the entrances are guarded.”

  “The cameras can be disabled if we have someone who knows how to do those things. And as for the rest . . .” Oren cleared his throat and glanced back at Katelina, as though he were revealing secrets in front of an enemy soldier. “If Traven is still with us, then it may not be as fruitless as you think. Do you remember the Mexican?”

  “Guatemalan,” she corrected, though no one acknowledged it.

  “The explosives expert? What good will he be? Even with a truckload of dynamite, how will you get to Malick? He is your goal, isn’t he?”

  “Of co
urse. I don’t think it’s going to be as hard to draw him out as you think. You’ve said yourself that he wants a fight.”

  “And when you draw him out, how will you kill him?”

  Oren didn’t reply. They fell into silence and Katelina stared out the window. She saw imaginary phantoms in every dark hollow; phantoms with cold eyes and brown hair who screamed as Kateesha died. She was glad to be away from the Citadel, but at the same time she was safe there. The Guild was after Alistair, or they were supposed to be. He couldn’t walk back in without getting arrested. Out here, there was nothing to stop him.

  “Except Jorick - if he can catch him.”

  Honestly, she wasn’t sure he could.

  It was two gas stations later and nearly five a.m. when they stopped at a nice motel. Oren paid with a credit card and the three headed to their rooms. The doors were next to each other. The men met one another’s gaze silently before they separated, though their disagreement was left standing.

  The curtains were heavy enough that Jorick didn’t need to stack the furniture. Katelina was too wound up to sleep, so she flopped on the bed and flipped through the TV channels. Jorick growled about it, and she finally got dressed and wandered to the lobby where they had a free “continental” breakfast. It was just a fancy term for “serve yourself”, but the waffle maker was intriguing enough to make it worth her time. She wasn’t that hungry, but she made two waffles for fun. The early morning sun sparkled through heavy glass windows, so she ate the first in the little breakfast area. Other guests appeared and, after a round of casual “good mornings,” they had nothing to say to one another, so she grabbed her last waffle and her coffee and headed back to the room. Jorick had to let her in and, though he didn’t say anything, she could almost feel his aggravation. As an appeasement she ate in silence. By the time she climbed into bed, he was already peacefully asleep.