Micah’s head snapped around. He gave them both a once over, concentrating on Rachel. “Yes.” His expression said he hadn’t decided whether to be impressed or not. “And you are?”
“Rachel.” She offered him her hand and he shook it warily.
His eyes settled on Katelina. “If it isn’t the human who seems to be fucking everywhere. What the hell have you been doing, Lunch? You look like crap!”
She scowled at him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was painting.”
“Really?” He gave her a fanged grin. “It was nice of you to cover yourself up so we wouldn’t have to look at ya, but you missed a few spots.” He poked her cheek. “Like here” Then her nose. “And here.” Then her shoulder. “And-”
Katelina batted his hand away. “Maybe I should paint your mouth?”
“Oooh! Scary threats.” He turned back to Rachel. “Jorick’s a real son of a bitch, making you put up with her.”
Rachel blinked uncertainly. “I find her company more than tolerable.”
“Then I feel sorry for you, babe. You’ve apparently been outta the loop for a while, right Loren?” He clapped the teen on the back.
“Yeah, sure.” Loren’s eyes were riveted to the screen. “Damn.”
Rachel watched him suspiciously. “What are you looking at?”
“The webcam of a chick with tits the size of basketballs,” Yaul answered. “Oh! Hello! Do that again!” he cried to the computer.
Katelina wrinkled her nose. “Men are so disgusting.”
“We’re not disgusting, you’re just an iceberg,” Micah said. “It’s a lucky thing Jorick can’t freeze to death with you tucked in his coffin.”
A slinky redheaded vampiress sashayed into the room, hips swaying under a tight green dress. Her long hair fell around her shoulders and her bright green eyes appraised the situation. “Now, now, Micah.” She draped herself over his arm. “She can’t help that she’s unadventurous.” She looked Rachel over and purred sarcastically, “You must be Kale’s lovely little woman.”
Rachel’s spine stiffened. “Yes, and you are?”
“Torina.” She held out her hand limply. “Charmed, I’m sure.”
Micah’s arm slid around Torina’s hips and his hand settled on her ass. Though she didn’t remove it, she made a soft tsking sound. “Micah, Micah, when will you learn to ask permission?”
He snickered. “I’ve been a very naughty boy. Why don’t you punish me?”
Katelina and Rachel were equally repulsed. Torina gave him a pretty pout. “Maybe later. You know I don’t like to exert myself before a battle.” She traced his jaw with her fingertip and then turned to the computer screen. With a laugh, she pointed to the display and said, “You’re watching a man, boys.”
“No we’re not!” Loren cried, horrified. “It’s a woman!”
She chucked him under the chin. “If you say so, honey. I’m sure with all your experience, you’d know.” She slinked out of the room, laughing to herself, their objections a chorus behind her.
Rachel scowled after her. “That’s Oren’s sister, isn’t it? I’ve heard about her.” She growled low. The only words Katelina could catch were, “touch Kale and die.”
She turned to Loren, who edged away from the computer. “Is Jorick off with Oren?”
“Yes.” Yaul casually moved away too. “Luna and the other one are with them.”
“Fabian.” For Rachel’s benefit, Katelina added, “Oren’s brother in law.”
“My, he has his whole family, doesn’t he?”
As if on cue, Jorick strolled into the room, an annoyed Oren on his heels. They were followed by Torina and the dark haired, dark eyed Fabian. His expression was as angry and brooding as usual. Behind him was Luna, a pale, impassive vampiress with long silvery blonde hair. Joseff and Kale brought up the rear.
Jorick slipped his arm around Katelina’s waist and Rachel moved to Kale’s side. He caught her hand and brushed his lips across it, a secret smile on his face. Torina snickered at the pair and left Rachel caught between pleasure and anger.
Alex snapped his laptop shut. “What’s up?”
Jorick answered him, “We agreed that Kale is the master of the war coven.”
Micah rolled his eyes and Torina muttered, “So, he’ll only play if he’s in charge?”
Jorick went on over the top of them. “-because, though Thomas has earned the title enemy from all of us, it is primarily Kale he’s wronged. We’ll attack as soon as the sun goes down, hopefully before they’ve had time to feed, and if we’re lucky some may still be asleep.”
Alex tapped his fingers on the lid of his laptop. “If it’s that early, how are we going to feed? That will make us as weak as they are.”
“Oren has brought provisions,” Jorick answered. “Are there any other questions?”
Yaul narrowed his eyes. “And what happens after this battle?”
Kale gestured for him to relax. “We’ll join Oren’s coven and help him attack the Citadel.”
“And I suppose Oren will be in charge of that?” Joseff demanded. “What proof do we have that he can manage a war coven?”
“He managed one well enough to kick your asses,” Micah quipped. “Or’d you guys forget that?”
Joseff’s eyes turned into cold slits. “Hardly, and I doubt I ever will.”
“You better not,” Fabian warned. “Or we’ll show you again!”
Luna touched Fabian’s arm, cautioning him to silence. “This accomplishes nothing. We are allied by the will of our Masters.”
Katelina hated to admit it, but she agreed with Joseff: Oren wasn’t strong enough to hold the loose confederation together. How he thought he could manage this group, or even Traven, was something she didn’t understand.
She looked to Jorick, expecting his usual “Oren is our friend” reprimand, but he seemed too busy to notice her thoughts. She wondered if he could read all the minds at once and, if so, was it a babble of meaningless sound, or could he follow each individual thread?
Alex nodded his agreement. “We’re working together, so we might as well get used to it.” he turned to Jorick and Kale. “I assume the human will drive us?”
Jorick nodded. “Yes. We’ll leave tonight before sunrise. Oren has taken extra precautions to sun-proof the van and Katelina will drive while we rest in the back.”
“How do we know she won’t stop somewhere and drop us off to burn in the sunlight?” Yaul asked suspiciously.
Saeed’s voice was a low rumble. “Her lover will be in the back of the van. Would she risk his life to let sunlight upon us? In close quarters, the fate of one will be the fate of all.”
Alex nodded, satisfied, but Yaul and Joseff didn’t look convinced.
Fabian cut in, “Speaking of close together, how are we all going to fit?”
Micah moved towards Torina and elbowed her gently in the side. “We’ll have to snuggle up.”
“No one is snuggling up with me!” Joseff snapped, though his eyes lingered on Rachel a second too long.
“We’ll deal with it when the time comes,” Kale said. “There are only thirteen of us. Surely we can fit in a carpet van!”
The unlucky number made Katelina shiver, and the old superstition popped in her head: Thirteen to dinner and one will die.
Jorick squeezed her and whispered, “Relax, little one. We aren’t going to dinner, and besides you make fourteen.”
She nodded absently, but the eerie feeling stayed.
They spent the evening unpacking the boxes from the van and bickering. It was nearly five in the morning when they all marched outside. The moon hung above them and a chill wind blew dusty snow crystals in miniature tornadoes. The icy cyclones swirled around the yard and glittered in the moonlight like fairy dust.
Oren opened the back of the van and the vampires climbed in one by one. His extra precaution turned out to be a sheet of corrugated metal installed behind the front seats that completely blocked the back from the front.
There were also three tarps for them to huddle under “just in case”. Between the front seats sat a bright blue cooler. Given the plan, Katelina could guess its contents.
Jorick took the keys and kissed her cheek. “I’ll drive until sunrise. We have at least an hour left.”
She heaved a grateful sigh and swung into the passenger seat. She’d barely fastened her seatbelt before the vampires in the back started in again, their voices muffled and tingy behind the sheet metal. She rolled her eyes and Jorick offered her a wink and started the van. The motor drowned out their argument.
They stopped at a gas station an hour later. Jorick pumped the gas and Katelina dodged inside to buy drinks and a pack of cigarettes. When she came outside, he gave her a reassuring kiss and then climbed into the back to join the others. Katelina had a momentary glimpse of the dark, lumpy tarp. Maybe it was just as well she didn’t know who was by the door. It might make Yaul’s idea of dumping them off too tempting.
**********
Chapter Eight
Anya’s coven lived disturbingly close to Katelina’s home town. In fact, the route Yaul had planned went right past it. With time to kill, Katelina decided to take a detour. It was nearly noon when she parked the van in front of her mother’s small, neon green house. Though it was full on daylight, Christmas lights blinked in the front room window.
Katelina stabbed out her cigarette and guzzled the last of a cold cup of coffee. She glanced towards the back of the van uncertainly. Surely they’d be all right for a few hours?
She made sure to lock the van up, and then marched purposefully towards the house. She was halfway there when the front door flew open and her mother charged out onto the porch. “Katelina! What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, it was just Christmas, you know.” She came to a stop before the harried looking woman. It wasn’t that her mother was in disarray; her artificially blonde hair was neatly brushed and her heavy Christmas sweater was tidy and clean, but something about her looked like she’d just gotten out of bed and forgotten her shoes.
“It was Christmas!” her mother shrilled and grabbed her in a suffocating hug. “You could have called! Lord, I had no idea you were coming!” Katelina shrugged free and her mother frowned at the ugly, dented van. “Whose is that? Where’s what’s-his-name?”
“He has a business meeting and then we’re going to Kentucky for a few days,” she replied with affected casualness. “I thought I’d come see you while he was busy.”
Her mother’s nose wrinkled. “I thought that little car was ugly enough, but that van is worse. He’s traveling on business, and that’s the best he can do?”
“We like the van,” she lied. “Besides, it’s borrowed. It belongs to a friend of his.”
“He borrowed it on purpose? What kind of friends does he have?” The wind kicked up and her mother shivered. “Let’s go inside!”
Katelina followed her indoors. The front room was as ugly as she remembered: the carpet was green, and the couch and chairs were upholstered in orange pheasants. The walls were lost under layers of kitsch: cats, fairies, angels, teddy bears and more. The Christmas tree in the corner was no more orderly. Decorated in giant lights and mismatched ornaments from bygone years, it gave a new meaning to the word “homey”.
Katelina peeled off her coat and hat, while her mom disappeared to get them something to drink. She returned with two cups of microwave apple cider and a plate of fudge.
Once they were settled, her mother started in. “What kind of business did you say Jorick was in, again?”
“Computers.” Katelina nibbled around a walnut. Why did people feel the need to ruin perfectly good fudge with nuts?
“And he has computer business here?”
“Obviously. What’s with the walnuts? You know I hate them.”
“Yes, but Brad likes them.” Her mother’s cheeks went an uncomfortable pink and she stood quickly. “Since you’re here, let me get your present.”
Brad. He’d been Sarah’s boyfriend until - until when? He said he believed Sarah was still alive. He had a hideous website where he’d revealed all but her and Sarah’s social security numbers, and begged people to send information on their whereabouts, and yet-
“So what’s this deal with you and Brad?”
“Deal?” Her mother turned away and busied herself with the brightly wrapped presents under the tree. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“He was here that night when I called - at five in the morning! And now you’re making him fudge? Mom, he’s way younger than you!”
She straightened up, a present in her hand and a sour expression on her face. “Since when was it a crime to make fudge for someone at Christmas?”
“I didn’t say it was. But it’s kind of creepy if you guys are hooking up.”
Her mother dropped the heavy package in her lap. “Open your present.”
“I’m just saying-”
“I said open your present!” She stormed back to the chair and threw herself into it.
Unsure what else to do, Katelina did as she was told. The wrapping peeled back to reveal - “A bread maker?”
“What? I suppose you don’t like it?”
Katelina tried to imagine the shiny bread maker on Jorick’s faded counter top. “I didn’t say that! It just came as a surprise.”
“I thought you might enjoy fresh bread. I’m sure you won’t like your other present, either!” She pointed to a large, lumpy package under the tree. “You’ll have to go over there to open it.”
Katelina set the bread maker on the couch and moved to the tree. She could see why she had to go to it; a piece of shiny red shone through a tear in the paper. It didn’t take long to unwrap what was a two foot tall, bright red, ceramic cat statue. The appliance had nothing on this.
“You hate it, don’t you?”
Words failed, but she managed to shake her head and make a strange, guttural noise that sounded like “no”.
“I thought it would be cute in a front room window - assuming you have a front room window.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s obvious you’re living in a van, Katelina! Is he broke? Is that why you still haven’t gotten a phone?”
“I’m not living in a van! I told you, we borrowed it for the trip! Jorick owns a house in Maine.”
“A house with no phone.”
“A lot of people don’t have landlines anymore!”
“But they have cell phones, which you don’t. We looked your Jorick up online, not that you bothered to give us his last name. We had to get that from the newspaper!”
Katelina gripped the wad of wrapping paper so hard her knuckles turned white. “And?”
“And nothing! Except for that arrest, he doesn’t exist. Is that his real name, or is it some kind of alias? I’d started to feel friendly towards him, but after this I’m not so sure!”
Katelina took the offensive. “Speaking of online, did you and Brad take that website down yet?”
A noise from the back of the house interrupted them. Katelina instinctively spun into a defensive pose, the heavy ceramic cat in her hands as a weapon. Her heart pounded and she cursed silently to herself. Why wasn’t Jorick there?
Because he’s sleeping.
Wait a minute.
If he was sleeping, then so were all the other vampires, which meant…
The tense silence was broken when Brad slunk through the living room doorway, his hair tousled and a cup of eggnog in his hand. “Hello, Patricia.” His eyes landed on Katelina and his face lit with fake innocence. “Oh! Katelina! Merry Christmas!”
Katelina relaxed, though she wasn’t sure she was relieved. “What are you doing here?”
Her mother looked shocked. “That was rude! Brad’s my guest.”
Katelina looked from one to the other and tried not to let her imagination wander. “Um, yeah. Merry Christmas.”
He nodded to the statue in her hands. “Do you like the c
at?”
“Yes,” she said before her mother could interject something. “It will look great in the living room, next to the fireplace. And speaking of things that would be great, did you take down that website?”
Brad shifted from one foot to the other. “Not entirely. I updated it and took down most of your information.”
“Like the hospital records? And the photos of Jorick and the car?”
“Yeah, like those. So where’s your boyfriend?”
Katelina stole more than one glance out the window, nervously watching the van. What if someone broke into it? What if they peered through the driver’s window and got curious about what was shielded behind the corrugated metal? What if they got in the cooler? The strain was too much, and her mother and Brad only wanted to question her, so she ended the visit. She felt bad that she hadn’t brought her mother a present, but it hadn’t occurred to her. There was too much going on to think about normal things like that.
She left in a flurry of hugs and a stern warning to “get herself together”. She bit her tongue to keep from replying, “Look who’s talking!” The woman was old enough to be Brad’s mother!
No. It’s not something I want to think about.
Though it beat thinking about her destination. Regardless, she was soon at the rest stop. Her mother had filled her up with Christmas sweets, so she skipped the vending machines and stayed in the van. As the minutes ticked by, she smoked from her second pack of cigarettes. She watched people come and go. Busy families were bustling home after the holiday and vacationers were heading back to their daily grind. Several of them looked her way but no one approached her. The cracked windshield distorted her view and she suddenly felt lonely. It was as though she was isolated from the rest of the world and could only peer at what used to be the everyday, now a twisted, rippling shadow.
The sun dropped slowly until the western sky was red fire. The rest stop’s lights clicked on, an artificial day to defend against the coming darkness. She finished her soda and checked her watch. It would be another twenty minutes or more before Jorick woke.
Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II Page 40