Katelina wanted to look away, but some twisted, evil part of her mind made her watch. Rachel flinched and then whimpered as the blisters swelled and burst, running blood. She staggered backwards from the pain as her skin burned, turning from red to black.
“No,” Katelina whispered in horror. “This is wrong!” Her words turned to a shriek, “This is wrong!”
Rachel’s legs buckled and she fell to all fours. “No,” she hissed between clenched teeth. “Wrong is living without him.”
She threw back her head and screamed. Katelina stayed frozen in place. She couldn’t move, couldn’t think. She could only stare helplessly as Rachel fell to the ground and rolled up in a ball. Her clothes caught fire and burned, the flames pale in the sun’s light. She writhed in the snow, shrieking in agony. The writhing turned to thrashing as her skin turned a deep, shiny black and started to crack. The pale flames danced along it, slowly dying as they ran out of anything to burn.
Joseff’s voice rang out from the house, a ragged scream of agony. “Rachel!”
Katelina tore her eyes away from the dying vampiress to see him at the backdoor. With one hand thrown up to shield his face, he tried to run outside. Someone held him back.
“Rachel! No!”
Joseff struggled but Jorick shouted over him, “There’s nothing you can do! It’s too late! You’ll only get yourself killed!”
Joseff howled, “No! No!” Jorick managed to wrestle him back inside. He turned towards Katelina, the sun full upon his face. Jorick met her eyes briefly then darted inside and slammed the door. In that look, Katelina realized that he’d known what Rachel was planning to do all along.
Rachel fell silent and lay still. Katelina wanted to leap to her feet and run to the house and hide. Then Rachel moved her hand. The skin cracked and crumbled as she reached for Katelina. Her black fingers stretched impossibly for some final comfort.
Bile rose in her throat, but Katelina crawled towards her, and held her hand out. The blackened fingers closed loosely around it. The skin flaked away to powder with the contact. Katelina gagged.
Rachel’s eyes rolled in her ruined face, violet orbs that slowly shriveled. She looked at Katelina and held her gaze before she dropped her eyelids and whispered for a final time, “Kale.”
The burned hand dropped to the ground and her body burst into real flames. Katelina leapt away. She couldn’t take any more.
She crawled one handed through the snow towards the house. Her wet clothes stuck to her skin. Her body shook uncontrollably and her injured hand made each lurching movement a fight. Tears blurred the world into a brilliant white smear. Her insides heaved and boiled and she had to stop and throw up.
The back door opened and Jorick shouted out to her, “Katelina!” She looked up through her tears and saw a blurry smear of black that had a hand extended. “Come on!”
The sight of him gave her a final burst of strength and she stood and ran to him. She dashed inside and flung herself into his arms. He kicked the door shut and quickly dragged her away from the windows and towards the safety of the basement.
They reached the stairs when her strength gave out and she sagged against him. He pulled the basement door shut and leaned against the cool wall. His arms tightened around her as if he was trying to press her inside of himself.
“Oh Jorick!” She sobbed against his chest. “Oh God! Oh God! Why?” She choked. “Why?”
He drew a deep, steadying breath and buried his face in her hair. “I don’t know,” he whispered softly. “I don’t know.”
**********
Chapter Ten
Jorick led Katelina to their box. He tucked her inside and wrapped his arms around her. Sleep came only because he gave it to her.
When she woke the next evening, still in her coat, hat and shoes, she felt terrible. Her eyelids were swollen and puffy, her wrist ached and her throat was raw. Memories hovered at the edge of her consciousness, waiting to swoop in like birds of prey and pick her apart.
Jorick woke soon after her. He lay so still that she wouldn’t have known he was awake if it hadn’t been for his slowly increasing heart rate and the brush of his cool breath against her cheek. The dark silence cradled them, just as Jorick’s arms held her, protecting them both from the things they’d have to face outside.
She closed her eyes, content to stay in his arms and pretend that nothing else existed. The minutes drifted past and the sounds of the other vampires seeped through the box. Soon, they could hear snatches of conversation. The indistinct words were followed by shouts of outrage and horror. Katelina squeezed her eyes shut against it. The news was spreading. Rachel was dead. She’d followed Kale and left nothing behind but a few scattered ashes.
“It’ll be all right,” Jorick murmured in her ear, his lips a caress. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to see that, but she was right, there was no one else.” He tightened his hold, as if he was trying to absorb her suffering.
“I know. I kept trying to make her stop. She wouldn’t listen to me. She just kept saying she couldn’t live without him. And she kept talking about him, just like everything was normal, only it wasn’t.”
Flashes of last night’s horror flitted behind her eyes and suddenly the dark, closed box was a trap instead of a sanctuary, holding her inside and drowning her in terrible visions of Rachel’s blackening face and of the harsh smell of burning flesh. “It was horrible!”
“I know,” he said softly. “I’ve seen it before. It isn’t a pretty way to die.”
He was right, but at the same time he was so far off the mark that it made her sick. “Isn’t pretty” didn’t come close to describing it.
A loud rap sounded on the lid of their box. Jorick gave an aggravated sigh as Oren called, “Jorick! Are you still in there?”
“We can’t hide forever,” he murmured and combed his fingers through her tangled hair. “We’ll have to face them eventually.”
She nodded against him. Oren banged again, and repeated his question, his voice booming.
Katelina flinched at the violence in his words, and Jorick snapped, “Yes! Where else do you think I’d be?”
No answer came. Jorick hugged Katelina tightly. “We’ll leave tonight or tomorrow, depending on what we do with Thomas. You may have to drive.”
She nodded again. She’d do anything to get away from that place.
When she’d wiped away her tears, Jorick threw the lid aside and slid out of the box. He helped her out and she looked at the assembled vampires. Cold dread spilled through her. Oren and Joseff stood at the front of the loosely assembled group, both scowling. The other faces were filled with mixed looks of outrage, surprise and curiosity.
Katelina looked away. Her eyes landed on a lumpy blue tarp against the far wall. Three rusty buckets stood near it, full of dark liquid. She didn’t remember seeing any of it before.
Oren cut into her thoughts. “What the hell happened? What does Joseff mean that the human murdered Rachel?”
Jorick snorted contemptuously. “It means he’s an idiot!”
“I saw it!” Joseff stepped towards them. “When I tried to save her you stopped me! I knew no good would come from having you here!”
“I would expect no less,” Fabian muttered. His hard eyes settled on Katelina and stabbed her with his dislike. She could only stare back, her mouth open. She’d expected questions and anger, but not accusations! How could Joseff say such a thing?
She looked from one face to the other, trying to gauge their reactions. Loren looked uncertainly from Joseff to Jorick, as did the twins. Luna and Saeed appeared emotionless as usual. Micah grinned broadly. It wasn’t the kind of smile that made Katelina feel better. “I thought you promised I was first?”
“See!” Joseff screamed. “She’s threatened others and we all know that she murdered Kateesha!”
Jorick snarled. “She did you a favor when she stayed with Rachel and this is how you repay her?”
“Since when was murder a favor? I swear I�
��ll kill that bitch!”
Jorick’s nostrils flared. Katelina cowered behind him, her eyes wide with shock. “If you try to touch her, I’ll cut out your heart, you filthy piece of-”
Torina made a small coughing noise and moved to stand next to her brother. “I hate to interrupt all your male posturing, but how did she murder Rachel?” She examined Joseff skeptically. “Last I looked, the human was pretty weak.”
Katelina bit back anger. She supposed it was Torina’s way of saying she was innocent, but there were better ways to phrase it.
Joseff’s head snapped towards the redhead. “Of course you’d take her side since she’s your coven’s pet!”
“She is not!” Fabian shouted. “She’s nothing to do with any of us except Jorick, and he isn’t in our coven!”
“I don’t care who she belongs to!” Joseff yelled. “All I want is her blood!”
“Why?” Jorick asked coldly. “Because you can’t admit that Rachel would rather go to her grave than be with you?” Joseff snarled and would have lashed out, but Saeed caught him around the middle and held him.
“I do not believe that the human would harm Rachel,” the dark vampire said solemnly. “There are ways to deal with grief. Blaming another is not one of them. We have much to discuss, and there is no time to spend fighting. Hurting someone else will not bring Rachel back. Do not tarnish her memory with harsh words.”
“She fucking killed her! I saw it!” Joseff trembled from raw anger and pain. “I heard Rachel screaming! I saw her on the ground! I saw-” he choked off and looked away.
Luna stepped forward and laid a hand on Joseff’s arm. “I did not know Rachel, but I trust Saeed’s judgment.”
Joseff jerked away as though she burned him and struggled loose of Saeed. “Of course you do! Kateesha’s little minions all stick together, don’t they?” His wild eyes swung towards Alex and Yaul. “You’re all fools! I won’t spend another night in this den unless she’s put to death like she deserves!”
“Then I suggest you find somewhere else to sleep,” Jorick replied.
Katelina couldn’t understand how this had happened. It was just another reminder that she didn’t belong with them.
Alex cut in, “Saeed’s right. We need to finish Thomas and dispose of him, and it appears we have plenty of ashes to clean up in the yard-”
The slap was so hard that it echoed through the basement and made Alex stumble. “You bastard!” Joseff yelled, his hand still extended.
Yaul grabbed his wrist and twisted. “Don’t you touch him. You’re not our Master, and you have no fucking right!”
“I have every right! This coven is mine!” Joseff snarled.
“No,” Yaul’s voice shook. “This coven was Rachel’s. I’d have followed her, but I won’t follow you, not like this.” He glanced at Saeed. “What do you say? Are you with us, or him?”
Saeed shook his head sorrowfully. “I must go where my heart tells me.” His dark eyes landed on Joseff. “Your path is not mine.”
“Cowards! You’re just afraid of them!” He gestured wildly towards Oren and Jorick. “You make me sick! What should I expect from Kateesha’s leftovers?”
The three growled, and even Luna stirred. Katelina hid behind Jorick, anticipating a fight. Oren derailed it, “Let’s deal with Thomas, and then we can go our separate ways.”
“He’s mine to kill!” Joseff took a flying leap over the haphazardly arranged boxes and landed next to the lumpy tarp. He flung it aside with a flourish and Katelina had to bite back a scream at what was underneath.
Thomas lay immobile on the cold floor. He was stripped naked and large, colorless gashes were carved into him where they’d drained the blood from his body. His skin was wrinkled and translucent, and clung to his bones like a rotting corpse. His shrunken lips pulled away from his shiny teeth. Inside the shriveled face, his eyes darted around in terror. It was like looking at a memory of Michael, only worse.
Joseff grabbed one of the rusty buckets. He poured the crimson contents over the floor. It splashed up his legs and splattered on Thomas’s face and body; wet, shiny droplets of too bright color against the pale white. The ruined vampire tried desperately to get to the slowly spreading pool, but he couldn’t move.. Even his tongue didn’t work right when he tried to lick spots of crimson from around his mouth.
Katelina clutched Jorick. “What have they done to him?”
“They drained his blood,” Jorick answered. “To weaken him so that he can’t escape.”
She choked on an unspoken emotion. Looking at Thomas made her sick in the very depths of her soul. “How can he still be alive?”
Jorick sounded like a school teacher lecturing, “The tissue absorbs blood and stores it, so he‘s not completely dry. It would take years for all of the stored blood to evaporate. That’s how vampires can survive without blood, though it’s horribly uncomfortable after a few days. I imagine it gets worse from there. They dry out slowly. It starts with the extremities and moves inward. The inside of the heart is the last. It holds the final reserve. When it dries out that’s when they die.”
She nodded her understanding as Joseff picked up another bucket and dumped it out. “That’s Thomas’s blood isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He turned his attention to Oren. “What’s to be done with him?”
Joseff snarled and kicked over the third bucket. Blood splattered in all directions. “The son of a bitch is going to die the most painful death there is!”
Oren looked on dispassionately, but Loren shrunk away and murmured, “He said he didn’t do it.”
Micah clapped him on the shoulder. “Fuck! Of course he said that. Wouldn’t you?”
Of all the people to agree, Torina was the last one Katelina expected. “They never proved it was Thomas. We should keep him for a few days. The hunger will loosen his tongue and we’ll have the truth from him.”
“Why?” Joseff demanded. “Are you hoping to take that away from me too? You claim the war with Claudius is over, but here you are trying to destroy the last of his followers!”
Though Oren looked calm, his words were agitated. “Don’t be ridiculous. Thomas might prove useful. Perhaps he could explain a few things, like what reward Kateesha gave him for betraying us.”
“Fucking kill him,” Micah argued. “Let’s get this shit over and done with.”
“Yes,” Fabian agreed. “Whether he did this or not is irrelevant. He deserves death either way.”
Katelina looked to Jorick. He kept his opinion to himself. She wasn’t against killing Thomas, but she wasn’t for it either. The only thing she knew was that the dried out husk scared her in a way that nothing else had.
Joseff knelt next to Thomas’s shriveled body and wrapped his hands around one of the wasted arms. “I don’t know words in any language to describe what you are.” Then, he started to pull. A strange snapping noise echoed through the basement and Thomas screamed; a dry, rattling wheeze of agony.
Katelina whimpered and hid her face as Thomas’s arm came loose, torn out at the socket. She caught a glimpse of paper thin, transparent skin hanging in tatters. She closed her eyes against it.
The scream died away and she dared to look again. Thomas’s eyes rolled in his shriveled face, wet and shiny with tears of pain. At the sight, her insides clenched. Last night Jorick had impressed upon her how very “human” vampires were, how they all had friends or family, yet he didn’t make a move to stop this. She didn’t understand how he could watch so calmly if he believed his own words.
As if reading her mind, Jorick made a disgruntled noise in his throat. “Can we skip the theatrics?”
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, along with the suggestion to “burn him”, but Joseff snarled, “He deserves to suffer!”
Something dark sparked in Oren’s eyes. “You think burning to death isn’t suffering?”
“It isn’t enough!” Joseff waved the bloodless, dismembered arm for emphasis. “Not nearly enough! I want him
to suffer for ages!” He grabbed the other arm and wrenched it loose with the same ripping and snapping noises. Thomas’s scream was less this time because he lacked the energy.
“Jorick,” Katelina pleaded and hid her face against him. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but her left wrist wouldn’t bend. She didn’t like Thomas; so many horrible things had happened because of him, but after last night she couldn’t deal with any more.
Though Loren fought to sound cool, his voice quivered, “I’ll take her upstairs, so she doesn’t have to watch.”
Jorick nodded and released her. She gave Loren a grateful look and let him guide her through the maze of boxes to the stairs.
“Running away?” Joseff shouted, an arm in each hand. He waved them emphatically. “The murdering bitch can’t stand to watch?”
Jorick’s dark eyes snapped fire. “It isn’t your mark on her neck. Where she goes and what she does is none of your concern.”
“Oooooh!” Joseff feigned fright. “Quote the laws at me, Executioner!” He threw the arms aside. They bounced with a dry thud. Then, he grabbed one of Thomas’s legs and started to tug.
Loren and Katelina didn’t stay to see him finish. The teen quickly led her up the stairs and out of the basement. Even with the door closed, they could hear Thomas’s dry shrieks. As if by mutual consent, they escaped outside into the winter evening.
Most of the snow had melted and left dry, bare patches of naked ground. What remained of Rachel had run with the snow and was nothing more than an area of black ice. The fire circle was a heap of ashes and charred remnants of both bone and wood. Apparently vampire bones didn’t burn in the sun unless there was flesh attached to them. The thought made Katelina nauseous.
Loren hurried past the reminders to a large oak tree some distance from the house. Only when they reached it did he let go of Katelina. He slouched back against the trunk and closed his eyes.
She leaned next to him and stared up at the starless sky. “I don’t understand them. I used to, but now…” When she’d thought of all vampires as monsters, their deaths seemed like something good. Now that she was beginning to think of them as something more, it seemed horribly wrong.
Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II Page 44