Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8)

by Joleene Naylor

  Katelina shrugged and stuffed her pajamas in the suitcase. “Jorick will enchant them.”

  “What?”

  “He’s a whisperer, so he can make people do what he wants. He can tell the border security we have passports and to let us through. Jamie’s one too.”

  “Who’s Jamie?”

  As if summoned, Jamie stepped through the open door. “Are you ready?”

  “Almost.” Katelina nodded toward the bathroom and the sound of Jorick’s shower.

  Jamie glanced to Sarah and away again. “You can put your luggage in the back of the SUV.”

  “I have my own car,” Sarah replied.

  “Your choice.” Jamie shrugged and exited with a look that said “Hurry up.”

  Katelina finished packing and Jorick was soon dried and dressed. They headed outside together where a pair of greater guards waited. Jamie introduced them as Roger and Cornelius, then suggested they get moving.

  Micah and Loren leaned against the building, Jorick stopped to hand the teen a piece of paper. “I spoke to Oren last night. This is the location of his new den.”

  The teen glanced at it. “Is this around here?”

  Katelina felt a stab of alarm and Jorick said, “About half an hour, I believe. He won’t be moved in for two weeks, perhaps a month. Humans process legal matters slowly.”

  Katelina didn’t like the sound of Oren being close to her mother. “Why is he settling here?”

  “Because Baltheir lives near here, and he’s the one who arranged the purchase. As to why Baltheir lives here, I don’t know.” He turned to Sarah. “Are we ready?”

  “I am,” she said carefully. “Kate, do you want to ride with me?”

  Katelina hesitated. Jorick had not-so-subtly been left out of the invitation. She knew she should stick with him, but how many times had he disappeared with his friends and told her to stay put?

  “Sure. We’ll let the men ride together.”

  They piled into their vehicles. The SUV pulled out first, and Sarah followed. Katelina could feel her friend’s tension pulsating in the closed car. Once they hit the highway it lessened.

  “I didn’t think you were going to get rid of him. It’s like he’s attached with an umbilical cord. Even at Easter dinner. You went off with that bald jackass and I could feel all of Jorick’s attention on the kitchen, as if he was mentally there. Do you ever get a minute to breathe?”

  Katelina burst into laughter. “Jorick is as far from being attached as a man can get. You have no idea how many times he’s wandered off and said ‘stay here, I’ll be back’, or how many things he doesn’t tell me. His nonchalant attitude used to really bug me, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

  Sarah gave her a sidelong glance. “If that’s your idea of nonchalant you have a problem. He might have told you to stay there, but I’d bet he kept an eye on you. That’s it! That’s the impression I get from him. You may be apart but he still knows every move you make, or at least he wants to. As if you need him to protect you from some dark evil. I don’t know if it’s devotion or something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “He’s not the one who…made you this, is he?”

  Katelina looked away. “No.”

  “I didn’t think so. Maybe that’s it. Maybe he’s worried your…what do they call them?”

  “Master?” Katelina suggested uncomfortably.

  “I wasn’t sure that was the real term, or just the one Troy used.” Sarah spat the name like a poison.

  Katelina made a noise of understanding and Sarah exploded, “Did you know he knew Patrick?”

  Patrick. There was his name again in so many days. Katelina couldn’t expect to come back to the start of it all and not hear it, but at the same time…“Patrick was Claudius’ human slave.”

  Sarah growled. “That’s how it all happened! Mullens dragged us into this mess! I knew he was bad news. I told you to stay away from him, didn’t I? I said—”

  Katelina shook off an overwhelming sense of deja-vu. How many times had Sarah lectured her about Patrick back then? The situation had changed, but the words were the same, and she burst out laughing.

  Sarah broke off. “What’s so funny?”

  “You haven’t changed.”

  Sarah faltered. “You don’t think so?”

  Katelina shook her head and Sarah looked back to the road. “I hope you’re right.”

  Near the Canadian border, they stopped at a gas station papered with tourist advertisements. Katelina studied one for Niagara Falls. Her childhood was colored with her mother’s dream of an “American Vacation.” Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Niagara Falls. The places sitcom stars had visited with their fake families. “Are we going near there?”

  Sarah squinted at the poster. “I don’t know. I wish I had my phone.” She moved to a rack of maps and unfolded one. After careful study she said, “I think we’re going past that. We could stop.”

  Katelina nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll tell Jorick.”

  She found him in the passenger seat of the SUV. When she explained, he shook his head. “Canadian Executioners are waiting for us in Toronto. I doubt sightseeing is on their itinerary.”

  “Isn’t Niagara Falls in the U.S.?”

  “Partially. The overlook you want is Canadian.”

  “Isn’t it before Toronto? The Executioners would never know.”

  The guard Cornelius made an affirmative noise. Jorick shot him a look that said to shut up. “That’s as may be, but we need to be indoors before sunrise. Let’s not push our luck.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How about Sarah and I stop and you guys play it safe? When will I be near it again?”

  “You have forever, Katelina. You can view it today, tomorrow, two hundred years from now. If it matters to you, we’ll come back.”

  His words held a truth she hadn’t yet accepted. “I may have forever, but that doesn’t mean it does. A freak earthquake could wipe it out tonight.”

  Jorick sighed. “Fine. We’ll stop. But only at one overlook.”

  “One? What else is there?”

  His voice was over patient. “Niagara is a city, sweetheart. There are three waterfalls and enough to keep someone busy for days.”

  “They only show one on TV and call it Niagara Falls. Several old sitcoms filmed vacation shows there.”

  “I forget most of your education came from TV.” Jorick unfolded a map and studied it. “We’ll stop at Horseshoe Falls. It’s the largest.”

  She checked her new watch. Two a.m. and a heart rate of sixty-one. Thanks, Mom. “Will it be open when we get there?”

  “It’s a waterfall. You can’t turn that off.”

  Jamie approached the SUV, the other guard, Roger, on his heels. The Executioner nodded to Katelina. “Is your friend a whisperer?”

  “No.”

  “Then one of us needs to ride with you across the Canadian border. I have a passport for Jorick, but The Guild didn’t send one for you or your friend.” He gave his fellow Executioner a pointed look.

  Jorick swung out of the vehicle. “I suppose I’ll sacrifice myself.”

  “That’s fine,” she said. “But you’re riding in the back.”

  When Sarah was presented with the extra passenger, she nodded unenthusiastic understanding and followed the SUV. She glanced to her rearview mirror over and over, as if she thought Jorick might attack her. Katelina felt her discomfort and tried to send reassuring mental messages.

  The bridge was long, and the border checkpoint was fairly deserted. What looked like a row of toll booths blocked their path. Katelina’s tension doubled. She wasn’t sure if it was hers or Sarah’s, only that it was suffocating.

  The SUV went through first, then it was their turn. Sarah pulled up and wound down the window. The officer gave them a series of questions in a monotone. Katelina was too frozen to answer, and Sarah’s replies were sketchy at best. Finally he held out his hand for identification. When no one moved, he withdrew it empty
, his expression unwavering, and ducked into the little shack.

  Sarah met Katelina’s eyes and mouthed, “Oh my God, now what?” But the officer returned and motioned as though he was handing something back to them.

  “Enjoy your stay.”

  They pulled away, and Sarah flicked her eyes to the rearview. “What in the hell? Was that what Katelina called enchanting?”

  Jorick shrugged. “You could say that. I believe there’s a toll up ahead.”

  “I have change,” Sarah said. Katelina wondered where her money came from. How did she have change? How did she pay for a storage unit or gas? Did the money come from all those people who disappeared?

  Katelina saw the waterfalls before they stopped the car. She climbed out on a mostly deserted street, her eyes on the thundering water in the distance. With her vampire sight, the flow was crystal clear, like a photo, even as it tumbled down into foggy banks of iridescent mist. Multicolored lights gave it a surreal look that was at once both fairytale and sci-fi.

  Jorick joined her at the railing. They stared in silence until she murmured, “It’s beautiful.”

  “Not the lights. Modern humans are never satisfied with nature as it is. They have to dress up a wonder, as if it wasn’t wondrous enough on its own. I liked it better before.”

  “When were you here?”

  “It was in the 1800s, before I left the Executioners. None of this was here then.” He waved his hands to indicate the brick and glass buildings, benches, ornamental trees, and broad viewing areas.

  She turned her attention back to the play of light on water, and thought of her mom and her dream vacation. A soft ache spread through her chest. She wished she could share it with her.

  Jorick’s hands tightened on the railing. “You’re missing him.”

  “Not missing. It’s just that she always—wait. Him? Him who?”

  “Micah.”

  Katelina choked. “Good lord. Don’t tell me you’re going to start being jealous of him?”

  “I’m not worried about romantic ties between you. I can read his mind. Past a handful of general male crudeness, he views you as a sister or protégée. A god- daughter, perhaps.”

  “Then what are you worried about? I certainly don’t think of him—”

  “Though your generation has turned all emotion into something romantic and sexual, there are many types of love, and very few involve mating. There is the love for friends, family, children, siblings, parents, mentors. If pressed, how many women would choose a friend or family member over their mate?”

  She peeled his tense fingers loose and squeezed his hand. “Jorick, I swear there is no weird master/fledgling connection that could make me choose someone over you. Stop worrying before I think you enjoy it.”

  He swept her up in a kiss that shot fire down her spine. He let go and stepped back toward the SUV. “We should go. Morning…”

  “I know.” She glanced farther down the street where Sarah stood. A person-shaped shadow moved from beneath an ornamental tree. Before Katelina could decide if it was human or vampire, friend or foe, Sarah spun around and jammed her knee in their stomach. Her victim gave a grunt of surprise. Sarah tackled him to the ground and straddled him, snarling in his face.

  I guess that answers the question.

  Chapter Eight

  Katelina rushed toward Sarah, but Jamie got there first. He held up his hands and said in a soothing voice, “It’s all right. Let him go.”

  Sarah started to relax, then shook out of it with a growl.

  Her victim gave a cry and struggled. Katelina could smell the alcohol on his breath and in his blood. His human blood. What in the hell?

  “Sarah?”

  “I saw his thoughts!” She pressed her face closer to the man. “You want to sneak up in the dark? You want to attack women?”

  “God no, I swear. I wasn’t going to do anything.” His eyes grew large and he tried to pull away. “Jesus, you have fangs! Are you some kind of vampire freak?”

  With a howl of rage, Sarah slammed her fist into his face. His nose snapped and blood splattered, dark against her skin. The smell made Katelina’s stomach tighten.

  It obviously did the same to Sarah. Even as Jamie shouted for her to stop, she tore into the man’s throat.

  Katelina turned away and squeezed her eyes closed. She could smell the booze laced blood. Though part of her was screaming to join, she forced herself to stand back. She heard Jamie curse and Sarah snarl. There was a light scuffle. When Katelina looked again Jamie had dragged Sarah away.

  The guards arrived from the van. Cornelius looked over the body and whistled. “She should know better than that.”

  Roger scoffed. “Why? We’re the ones who’ll have to clean this up. We always are.”

  “Good,” Jorick said coldly. “Then you know what to do. I suggest you get started.”

  Katelina tried not to look at the body, the mangled throat, the sideways nose, or the pool of slowly spreading blood. That it made her hungry disgusted her.

  Though covered in scarlet, Sarah was calm when Katelina reached her. Jamie held her eyes, and Katelina knew it was his influence.

  “I saw his thoughts,” Sarah murmured. “He was thinking crude things.”

  “That doesn’t mean he was going to attack you,” Jamie said evenly. “Did you sense a violent plan or evil intentions?”

  “He’s a man,” Sarah replied. “Of course his intentions were evil.”

  Katelina jolted at her words. She knew Sarah’s life had been hard, but she didn’t remember that stilted opinion.

  Jamie cocked an eyebrow and chanced a glance to Katelina. “Tell Jorick to do something. I can’t have her attacking every suspicious person she comes in contact with.”

  “He’ll say he isn’t responsible for her.”

  “He wanted the two of you to come, he is responsible.”

  Jamie stepped away and tested the removal of his influence. When Sarah didn’t lash out, he withdrew toward Jorick and the guards. “Never mind. I’ll tell him myself.”

  Sarah’s knees wobbled and she sagged, as if the weight of everything suddenly crashed down on her. Katelina caught her before she crumbled, then led her to a bench. “Are you okay?”

  Sarah wiped savagely at her face. She stared at her hand, damp with blood and tears, and cried harder.

  “It’s okay. We’ll get some…some diaper wipes, and you can change your clothes.” Katelina’s eyes moved to the bloody sweater. “This kind of thing happens all the time.”

  “I don’t want it to.” Sarah sobbed. “I don’t want to be like this! I don’t want to do those things! I don’t want to be here. I don’t—” she broke off. “I’m sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for.” Katelina tried not to think about the dead man and the family he might have. It was better to tell herself he was evil. Sarah wouldn’t lash out at an innocent person. “He was going to attack you. It was self-defense. Even I’ve killed vampires in self-defense.”

  Sarah cleaned her face with the hem of her sweater. “I can’t picture you doing that.”

  “We do what we have to.”

  Sarah murmured her agreement and they fell silent, as if the roaring waterfall could say it all for them.

  Jorick finally approached. “The guards have handled the cleanup. We need to go. If you’d like, I can drive and you can rest.”

  Sarah’s spine snapped straight. “No. I have some nappy wipes in the car and some clothes. Let me get this mess dealt with, then I’ll be perfectly fine.”

  Something in Jorick’s eyes said he didn’t believe her.

  The meeting place in Toronto was a low brick building with a bunch of signs advertising tax offices, a lawyer, and something called Senodex Industries. Sarah opted to stay in the car, but Katelina followed Jorick and Jamie to a glass door. Though it should have been locked at four a.m., it opened into a carpeted entry. They were met by a short stocky vampire dressed in a scarlet uniform. He eyed Jamie and Jo
rick’s medallions and saluted.

  Wait. Jorick’s medallion? When did he get that back? Obviously, Jamie had given him a new one. Or the same one. Again. Like a cursed penny he’d never be free of.

  A vampiress in a long black coat swished down the corridor and came to a stop. Her platinum hair curled past her shoulders, and dark brown eyes were narrowed appraisingly. A silver emblem hung around her neck, no doubt the symbol of the Canadian Executioners.

  “You’re late.”

  “We apologize,” Jamie said before Jorick could comment. “There was a delay.”

  “Obviously. Let’s cut to the chase. I’m Fleur. I’ve been sent to assist you. The truth is you don’t want to be here, and we don’t want you. I’d rather they let us handle our own affairs, and I’m sure you have more important things to do. I know it isn’t your fault, but don’t expect a warm reception from anyone. They’re all waiting for you to screw up and give the Assembly proof of your inadequacy.”

  “We’re well aware,” Jamie said.

  “In that case, we have lodging for you and tomorrow I’ll start your escort to Newfoundland. There are four of you, correct?”

  “Six,” Jorick said. At her surprised expression he added, “We’re taking this job very seriously.”

  “Obviously. Graham, you and Porter will defer to our guests. A night on the floor won’t hurt you.”

  Graham made an unhappy noise but saluted.

  Fleur turned to Jamie. “If you’ll bring the others inside, we’ll get settled.”

  The upper floor housed offices. A staircase in the back led to a basement. Past a couple of storerooms and what looked like a lab, was a small apartment with four bedrooms.

  “There’s a shared shower room.” Fleur tapped the fifth door. “And a mini fridge with some supplies.” She nodded to the appliance in the tiny entryway.

  “It’s like a flop house,” Cornelius said. “Why don’t we have these?”

  “We do,” Jamie answered. “If you went on the right assignments you’d know.” He gave the guard a stern look, then ducked into one of the rooms.

  “Better assignments than this,” Roger muttered at Jamie’s retreating figure. “I could be at the Citadel. Instead, I’m here.”