Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8)

by Joleene Naylor

  Sarah disappeared to the TV room. Jorick led Katelina down empty halls, and peered into deserted spaces. In the second floor sewing room was Annabelle, hands folded in her lap as if she’d been waiting.

  Jorick started to withdraw when she moved toward them. “Please, relax your vigilance. My mate has good intentions, but they are misplaced. If anything were to happen it would not be here in the echoing public rooms.”

  Katelina looked to Jorick for a translation. Was she telling them not to bother patrolling, or to stop for a little while and stay with her?

  Jorick cut both off, “We have our orders.”

  Annabelle hurried to catch the door before he could close it. “Of course. But what of your mate? She’s not commanded by The Guild, or even Andrei. Perhaps she would like a break from the endless rounds?”

  Alarm bells sounded in Katelina’s head. Why would Annabelle want her to stop patrolling?

  As if to answer, the vampiress added, “I could use some company.”

  Katelina expected Jorick to say, “Thank you, but no.” Instead he said, “The choice is hers.”

  He drew away and she thought about bolting after him, but Annabelle drew her deeper into the room. She motioned her to a chair, then primly took a seat on the old fashioned sofa. The graceful figure was a strange contrast to the half mask.

  “You wonder why I asked you here,” Annabelle said. “I won’t beat around the bush. Yesterday you caught me by surprise. I wanted to be sure you didn’t take any…inferences away from our encounter. What I mean to say is, it was not as…suspicious as it appeared.” She stopped. “My saying that makes it seem even more suspicious, doesn’t it?” Katelina nodded and Annabelle sighed. “Please, let me start again. Yesterday you and your mate found me reading an old letter. It is the anniversary of a very sad event, and though Andrei prefers to bury himself in parties, I prefer to mourn in my own way; quietly.”

  Katelina nodded dutifully, unsure why Annabelle bothered to explain herself. It wasn’t as if she’d asked.

  “No,” Annabelle said to her thoughts. “But tongues wag, and a careless word might inflame someone’s imagination. I tell you because I wish a favor. I know your mate will be discreet; he is an Executioner for The Guild, and trained, but I can see you are new to this life, and perhaps to the lifestyle. So I ask, please do not tell tales.”

  That made sense. “You don’t need to worry. I mentioned it to Sarah, but she wasn’t listening, and I don’t have anyone else to tell.”

  Annabelle cocked her head to one side. “I didn’t realize how alone you were in these halls.” She crossed to Katelina and laid a hand on her arm. “Perhaps you would like a friend?”

  Katelina wondered if it was an offer or a threat. Annabelle laughed softly. “My threats have always been more succinct, though it seems my overtures of goodwill are too subtle. Come, let us go for a walk and leave these dreary halls behind. They’re always so dark on moonless nights.”

  Jorick said to stay away from the guests, but wouldn’t the host’s wife be safe? Unless she planned to kill her for seeing too much.

  Katelina swallowed her fears, said a quick prayer for protection, and let the vampiress lead her outside. The wind blew sparkling crystals of snow at them. As Annabelle caught the flakes and shook them free, Katelina noticed her palms were scarred, though she wasn’t sure from what.

  They skirted the mansion and stopped at the first of the triangular shaped nooks. On the bench sat Marna and Trivila. Without a word, they stood and joined them. Katelina’s heart pounded as they resumed their quiet walk. A single suspicious vampiress was one thing, but three of them…

  “I hear you had a run in with the Kisa and Kayla,” Trivila said.

  Katelina wasn’t sure who she was talking to until all eyes turned to her. “Who?”

  “The pair of Wednesday Adams lookalikes,” Trivila explained. “They shouldn’t have taken the hiker. It was messy.”

  “Not as messy as Saturday’s feast is likely to be,” Marna replied.

  Katelina looked uncertain and Trivila said, “Saturday is the full moon, the moon of the Night Goddess.” Katelina jolted at the name. Night Goddess. She’d heard it before, though she wasn’t sure where.

  “She is a deity immortals once worshiped,” Annabelle explained.

  Trivila nodded. “I don’t believe in her any more than I believe in the Christian’s God or Islam’s Allah, but the celebration is fun.”

  “Like celebrating Christmas without believing in the birth,” Marna commented coldly.

  “Don’t get offended.” To Katelina she said, “Marna is our little priest. Or should it be a nun, since you’re a woman?”

  “Women can be priests now,” Marna insisted. “But I’m not, I’m just a believer.”

  “Believe what you want, though I think the ideology clashes with our lifestyle.”

  Katelina tried to reconcile the idea of Christianity and killing people, but stopped before she got dizzy. She supposed it was no different than someone who lied and cheated to make money. Neither was following the principles.

  Annabelle patted her arm. “Saturday’s feast will not be to your taste. Not all the guests approve, I’m sure. I know Marna will not participate, nor will Kolli or Hannah. It might be best if you stayed with them during it.”

  Before Katelina could press about what was going to happen, Andrei appeared from around the corner of the house. He eyed the group, glancing to Katelina more than once. Annabelle gave a barely perceptible nod. Katelina could almost feel her telling him not to worry, the loose tongue was silenced.

  But silenced from telling what?

  Andrei took Annabelle’s arm and led her around the back. A group of vampires surrounded the artificial slab of ice. A line of judges held score cards. Grimald, the vampire from the Höher Rat, pretended to skate without skates. Everyone laughed as he turned too quickly and fell on his behind.

  The score cards were raised, a mix of threes and fives, and several of the assemblage clapped. Annabelle smiled at her mate. “They are enjoying themselves.”

  “I thought they might. This sort of entertainment has fallen by the wayside in favor of more sophisticated diversions, but we should not forget the hilarity of watching one another make fools of themselves.”

  Grimald climbed to his feet and raised his arms to show everyone he was okay before he slipped and slid his way to the sidelines.

  “It is Bassile’s turn,” Andrei commented as a dark skinned vampire took his place at the head of the ice. It was the one Sorino was talking to a few days ago.

  He pushed off and did a series of complicated swirls and turns, followed by a jump and a landing. He skittered off balance and disappeared. Katelina blinked at the space where he’d been. Then he was back, doing a finishing move that ended in a bow.

  “No fair, Phantom,” Grimald called as he clapped. “You can’t hide your mistakes from us.”

  Phantom. Of course. Like all phantoms, Bassile would have the power to make himself invisible, not by physically disappearing, but by sending out a mental manipulation that made the viewer think they couldn’t see him. Only—

  “I saw him, and he fell on his face,” a bearded vampire declared. “Sorry, old chap, but phantoms don’t work on me.”

  Only it didn’t work on everyone. And vampires with especially powerful mind gifts could block it, or at least that was what she understood. She knew she couldn’t see past it — just like she couldn’t see anyone in the hall that morning! Maybe Sarah’s phantom was an honest to goodness phantom. Maybe she wasn’t crazy. Maybe…

  Her train of thought disappeared as she met a set of hypnotizing eyes. The world melted and there was nothing except darkness and screams and the warm taste of blood. She was suddenly dumped back into the bleak white landscape, under a heavily clouded sky, with no idea who’d made eye contact with her.

  I can’t wait to get out of here.

  They watched the games for a few more minutes, though the fun was take
n out of it for Katelina. She looked over the crowd, trying to guess who’d sucked her in. When no one noticed her, she decided it must have been an accident, though the answer didn’t settle well.

  Annabelle bid Andrei goodbye, then she and her ladies headed back for the house. Katelina followed, only half listening to their banter about who was handsome and who made an idiot of themselves. Something niggled at the back of her mind, as though she’d discovered a secret, but lost it in the blood scented world of those eyes.

  As they rounded the corner, they heard a pair of raised voices. Annabelle pulled to a stop near a giant fountain and peered around. Katelina did the same and saw two vampires. One looked no more than nineteen with dark tousled hair and an earring. The other was paler and older, but no less attractive. They glared at one another, hands wadded into angry fists and pretty faces contorted in rage.

  “I’m sick of this spiteful bullshit,” the youngest said. “I’m not having an affair with William. You’re just pissed off because Grayson doesn’t want you anymore. You should have gotten the hint two years ago and cleared out.”

  “Why? He doesn’t love you, Taylor,” the older one spat. “When he gets sick of you, I’ll still be there.”

  “Maybe you will, Urian.” Taylor snarled, flashing fangs. “Or maybe I’ll end you now.”

  “Good luck, child.” Urian tackled the young vampire to the patio. His head bounced off the stone, leaving a spot of blood. Despite the injury, Taylor punched his rival in the side of the head, and kicked his way free.

  “This is better than TV,” Trivila murmured, her chin only inches from Katelina’s shoulder.

  “Security should be here in a moment,” Annabelle said stiffly.

  Taylor swept to his feet and the vampires circled one another, calculating eyes seeking an advantage. Katelina felt the younger vampire’s impatience as he launched himself at his foe. They tussled briefly, then Urian flung him into the fountain. Katelina leapt back, arms raised to fend off chunks of broken stone and powdery snow. She knocked into Trivila and they went down in a heap of legs and arms, pulling Marna and Annabelle with them.

  Katelina struggled free and found her footing in time for Urian to crash into her. Her chin slammed into the patio with enough force to make her teeth clack. As a mortal she’d have been stunned. As an immortal she was able to shake it off and push away the heavy weight of the vampire.

  Urian was barely off of her before Taylor attacked him again. He pummeled his rival’s face with his fists. Flecks of blood splattered in all directions and Trivila and Marna scrambled to get away.

  “Enough!” a woman’s voice roared.

  Katelina had a split second view of Fleur standing in the doorway before the patio and the broken fountain were replaced with deep velvet blackness, so thick even her new eyes couldn’t cut through it. Sharp panic rose like bile, and she lunged in the direction the house had been. She tripped over an unseen shape and tumbled to the ground; only she didn’t land on the stone as she expected, but something warm and writhing.

  She pulled away with a cry and fell back against the cold ground. She could feel the bricks under her hands, feel the powdery cold of the snow, but she was still blind.

  Fleur’s voice came loud and authoritative. “You will stand down or face discipline.”

  The shield of night lifted, and Katelina blinked against the light. The snow sprinkled patio was back, flecked with blood and bits of broken fountain. Urian and Taylor lay a few feet apart, chests heaving. The older of the pair had a broken nose that ran crimson, while the younger had deep scratches across his face and a torn shirt. Marna and Trivila were tangled together, both furious.

  In front of Katelina lay Annabelle, her dress askew to reveal a pale shoulder, and her mask missing. Heavy scars marred her cheek and forehead and ran down to the side of her chin. The vampiress blinked, as if coming to terms with reality, then noted Katelina’s startled gaze. Her fingers brushed her face, and she turned quickly for the mask that lay discarded nearby, the strap broken.

  Fleur marched out onto the patio and stood over the offenders. With a nod to the ruined fountain she said, “You’ll have to pay for that.”

  “You mean Gwayson will,” Urian muttered as he stood, one hand pressed to his broken nose. “Tawor dun’t have any money.”

  “Yes I do!” The younger vampire climbed to his feet and looked down to his ragged shirt. “What the fuck? Do you have any idea how much this cost? This is silk!”

  “You did’n buw it so who cawes?” Urian waved his hand, as if to say it was all pointless, before he strode past Fleur and into the house.

  Jorick popped out the door, his face grim. Katelina hurried to her feet, wiping her palms on her jeans. He met her gaze and sighed, while Fleur gave him a quick rundown. She finished with, “I’m not even on duty, yet I had to break this up.”

  Jorick surveyed the fountain. “Just how did you do that?”

  “I’m an illusionist,” she snapped.

  An illusionist. Of course. That explained the blackness—it was an illusion created by the vampiress to stop them.

  Annabelle straightened her dress with one hand, while the other held the mask to her face. “In such an atmosphere as this, conflicts are unavoidable. My thanks to both of you for ensuring it ended quickly.”

  Fleur gave a stiff smile. “That’s why we’re here.” Her emphasis on the word said there’d been no “both”.

  Jorick took Katelina’s hand and shook his head with exaggerated tragedy. “You seem to have a knack for attracting trouble.”

  “You must blame me,” Annabelle said. “We stopped to watch the drama rather than inform security. It was childish.”

  Trivila touched her ruffled hair. “It was entertaining, though.”

  Annabelle turned to Jorick. “You will allow her to accompany us?”

  He squeezed Katelina’s hand and let go. “She can do as she pleases.”

  “You are very modern in your thinking.” Annabelle smiled and motioned to the ladies. “Come, we will freshen up.”

  Katelina felt it was more command than invitation. She cast a quick glance to Jorick, then followed the vampiresses into the house. They’d made a couple of turns when Annabelle stopped and lowered her mask to give them a full view of her face; half scarred and half perfect. Katelina turned away politely, but Annabelle said, “You can look. It does not hurt me after all these centuries. It is for Andrei that I wear the mask; not because he is ashamed, but because he worries I will be. Though I have tried to show him that others’ reactions do not affect me, it is easier to wear the mask than convince a man of anything.”

  “You could say it’s easier to move a mountain than convince a man,” Trivila said.

  Annabelle chuckled. “This is the truth.” She held the mask up again and resumed their walk. “I thought we might go for a swim. The pool is unused today and it seems a shame to waste it. You can borrow a bathing costume from me, and, if you like, you can invite your friend. I believe she is watching television.”

  Katelina wasn’t sure the vampiress’ clothes would fit, or that she even wanted to find out, but it seemed rude to say no. Plus, it would give Sarah something to do besides stare at the TV.

  Sarah was where Annabelle said she’d be. Though Katelina delivered the invite uncertainly, she was quick to accept.

  Their hostess waited in the sitting room of her apartments. On her face was a new mask, and in her hands were several bathing suits.

  “I thought you could choose for yourself. You may use the sleeping quarters to change.”

  Katelina selected a black one piece, while Sarah took a striped one with a little skirt to hide her thighs. They ducked into the room indicated, and Katelina surveyed a huge double coffin made of polished wood and brass detail. On the wall above it hung a gilt framed painting of a young girl. She wore a blue dress with a sleeveless surcoat and her long auburn hair fell down her back. The toe of a pointed shoe peeked out, as though she might step from the ca
nvas. Though her face held no emotion, clear sea-green eyes twinkled in the creamy youthful face.

  Katelina tore her attention away from the art and changed her clothes. “I think this is too small.” She tugged at the seat. “I need a large.”

  “Maybe you did before you starved yourself hanging around vampires.” Sarah opened the door. “Be happy. I’m stuck at this size forever.”

  “Happy? I’d planned to go on a diet, grow my nails out, and get my hair cut into something cute. Instead I’m stuck like this.”

  “Few of the modern masters take the time for preparations,” Annabelle commented.

  Katelina looked to see their diminutive hostess dressed in a white swimsuit and pale blue sarong.

  “Shall we?” she asked.

  They stepped out into the hall to see Marna in a dark blue bikini that matched her midnight eyes. Trivila appeared, her ash blonde hair piled on her head and her red bathing suit straight from the fifties, flirty ruffle and all.

  They filed through the house and down to the basement. The pool room was deserted. Bright lights played across the water’s surface and threw zigzag shadows on the ceiling and the overhanging leaves of the jungle plants. Annabelle slipped in first and got comfortable in the shallows. Marna jumped into the deeper end with a splash that sent Trivila skittering back, hands to her hair. “I don’t want to get soaked.”

  “Then you shouldn’t be in the pool.” Marna dove back under, like a dolphin.

  Trivila shook her head and climbed in next to Annabelle. Katelina followed uncertainly. Sarah shadowed her so closely that when Katelina stopped, she crashed into her.

  “There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Annabelle said with a laugh at the pair. “No one will harm you.”

  Katelina wanted to say she was fine, but there was no point when talking to a mind reader. It was like being naked all of the time—and Sarah wondered why she wanted to learn to do it.

  They took places on the other side of Annabelle. Eventually Sarah sucked up enough courage, and joined Marna.