Katelina knew who they were talking about: Traven.
Kai nodded, whether in agreement or greeting she wasn’t sure, and Annabelle smiled. “Good morning.”
“Hi,” Katelina said uncertainly.
Sarah flinched and squeezed Katelina’s arm. Her eyes shot from vampire to vampire, then she muttered an excuse and pulled Katelina to the parlor with the piano.
“There was a voice in my head,” she whispered. “It said the papers were finalized and I would receive the money and the property tonight.”
Money? Property? “It was probably Andrei. Apparently he’s a whisperer.”
“Not exactly,” Jorick said. “Andrei is the next evolution, an imparter, some call them.”
“What’s that?”
“A whisperer speaks to you in the voice of your thoughts, because what they actually do is make you think what they want. An imparter can do that, but they can also talk to you in their own voice, as though they were speaking to you in person. You know it’s them. Like with Samael or Malick.”
The clock in the corner chimed and Katelina jumped.
Jorick chuckled. “It’s lunch time. Come, we’ll speak to Jamie.”
Instead of Jamie, they ran into an irritable looking Fleur.
“You’re back early,” Jorick commented. “You can take my shift, after all.”
“We already made arrangements,” the vampiress responded. “I prefer to stick to them.”
Jorick didn’t bother to hide his amusement. “I imagine you do. Did you discover anything?”
“Not especially. Whoever killed them cut them up and took their hearts after they were dead. The autopsy lists a jagged knife as the weapon used to—” she mimed a slicing motion across her throat. “—and they may be right.”
“May?” Katelina asked.
Fleur shrugged. “I’m not an expert, and certainly not after the bodies have sat for a bit.”
“But knives,” Katelina pressed. “That isn’t a vampire murder?”
Fleur shrugged again. “Could be. Could not be. There’s nothing that says vampire but…”
“There’s nothing that rules them out,” Jorick finished. “Are there other vampires in the area?”
“Yes, on the other side of the Island, but these boys were taken from the mainland and brought here. Also, the missing hearts match the M.O. of a killer the humans are hunting.”
Missing hearts? Did she mean the Heartless Killer?
“Does the rest of the scene match that killer?” Jorick asked.
Fleur deposited her empty glass. “I don’t know. Why don’t you look it up?”
“I could,” Jorick agreed with a grin. “But it’s not my assignment and besides, I have a shift to start. Looks like it’s up to you.”
Fleur only rolled her eyes.
Chapter Fifteen
Jamie hadn’t compiled the list, but he promised he’d do both phantoms and wind walkers, then meet them in the TV room in an hour or two. “That leaves us time to talk to the twins,” Sarah said.
Though it felt like a bad idea, Katelina didn’t have a concrete reason to say no, so she followed Sarah through the house. The twins were on the main patio, sipping from glasses decorated with umbrellas. A tiki bar was set up at one end, and three vampiresses dressed in grass skirts and bikini tops hula danced to Hawaiian music. Against the snow it was an odd contrast.
Sarah plunged through the tables and stopped at the pale twins, who were again dressed in all white. “Hello.”
Tol and Ren looked up, bright blue eyes interested. “Hello to you.”
Katelina’s scalp prickled and she felt the thumbs of a mind reader flipping through her brain. She didn’t bother to look around; the twins’ odd smiles seemed to say they took the credit.
“Will you join us,” one of the twins asked and pulled out a chair.
“Yes, join us.” The other followed suit and motioned to Katelina.
Sarah smiled and took the seat. “Thank you.” At a warning glance from her friend, Katelina did the same.
“We should introduce ourselves. I am Tol.”
“And I am Ren.”
“We know Katelina,” Tol added. “And you are her friend.”
“Sarah,” she clarified with a nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” they said in unison.
“Are you having fun?” Sarah asked.
“Of course,” Ren answered. “This is designed for fun, yes?”
Tol called for drinks. A waiter brought her and Sarah each a glass. For once, Katelina’s discomfort overrode her hunger, and she left the glass of pineapple scented blood untouched. Sarah downed hers in a gulp, then laughed. The three chatted. As each word passed, Katelina’s tension grew. The thumbing mind reader was still there, pressing, and poking, with enough force that she could feel it, but not enough to drag her into the memories. Angrily, she pictured a stone wall dropping down and crushing the twins. A soft laugh sounded in her head, but the influence withdrew.
“-our friend Kali.”
Katelina shook herself and tried to find the part of the conversation she’d missed.
“Perhaps another time,” Sarah said graciously. “We’re supposed to meet a friend of our own soon.”
“Such a pity,” Tol said. “You would like her.”
“You would both like her,” Ren added.
Katelina had a vague memory of a dark haired vampiress in a designer dress. If that was Kali, she doubted she would.
Sarah stood, and the twins did the same. They bid them goodbye, then Ren met Katelina’s eyes and added, “We will see you again.”
His words left her unsettled. Were they a confession? Was he admitting to stalking them?
When they were back in the house, Sarah snapped, “You were pretty rude.”
The scolding left Katelina gaping, and Sarah went on. “You didn’t say a word — not one word, and you could have at least tasted your drink.”
“I was rude?” Katelina echoed. “They were in my head.”
Sarah brushed it away. “All the old vampires do that. It’s like a constant orgy of mind reading.”
“So that excuses it? Have you forgotten we were talking to the twins because they’re stalking you?”
“No, you said they might be, but I don’t think so. There’s no motive, and besides they don’t feel right.”
“Feel right?”
Sarah waved it off. “I don’t know how to describe it. I just don’t think they’re it, okay?”
Katelina made a non-committal noise, but as far as she was concerned they were the number one suspects.
The TV lounge was deserted. They took the prime seats and Sarah grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. Katelina’s discomfort drifted away as they watched pieces of several shows, never settling on anything. A clip of a sitcom, a piece of a badly animated cartoon, a few minutes of a horror movie, a news segment about the missing girl from St. Anthony, who they now believed was kidnapped by her estranged father.
“That’s where the airport is,” Katelina commented as the channel changed again.
Sarah murmured acknowledgement and stopped on a cooking channel. “I always hate this show. That guy couldn’t boil an egg. He’s only there because he looks good.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Katelina teased.
But Sarah wasn’t joking. “It’s tiring. People should get things based on merit, not on looks.”
Katelina wasn’t sure what to say. “I agree it sucks. Being not-so-gorgeous I’ve watched all the pretty girls get everything: the boyfriends, the jobs. You know that. But even I judge people by their appearance, like you do, like everyone does. For instance, when I first met Jorick. If he’d looked like Bubbah from the trailer park, do you think I’d have gone inside the house with him?”
Jamie’s amused voice cut in. “Of course. He lured you inside. You never had a choice.”
Katelina turned toward the Executioner. “What?”
She c
ould feel his surprise. “I thought you’d figured that out by now. He used his whisperer abilities to make you follow him to the basement. He knew if you saw a real vampire you’d believe him. Though what he planned to do after that is anyone’s guess. I’m not sure even he knew.” He broke off. “Never mind. This is a conversation you should have with him. Here’s your list.”
Katelina wanted to backtrack, but Sarah grabbed the paper enthusiastically. As she looked it over she deflated. “It’s just a list of names. How are we supposed to know who they belong to?”
Katelina skimmed the neat cursive. She stopped from mentioning Tol and Ren, and instead pointed to Petta. “Look, it’s that Rangavic guy’s girlfriend. The one from earlier who slept in all week. She’s a wind walker.”
“But what motive would she have?” Jamie asked. “I’m not deriding your mystery, only voicing the question you should ask yourselves. Sarah is a new vampire with no coven, and no ties to anyone significant.”
“You’re saying I’m not important enough to stalk?”
“I’m saying you might not be the intended target. Your room is between Jorick and Fleur’s. Both have made enemies.”
“I did hear them outside our door,” Katelina said slowly.
Jamie nodded. “It’s more likely that, being higher strung, Sarah wakes to catch them, but Jorick is the true objective, especially considering most of the wind walkers and phantoms are old vampires he’s probably run into before.”
Katelina tried to still her panic. “Have you told him your theory?”
“Not yet. I only thought of it as I was compiling the list. But don’t worry. He could best any of them.”
Sarah turned back to the paper. “You might be right. Which of these people consider Jorick an enemy?”
“You could ask him,” Jamie suggested.
The idea was reasonable, and a few minutes later they found Jorick leaning against the wall outside the ballroom, a book in his hand.
“You’re reading on duty?” Jamie demanded.
He didn’t look up from the pages. “Why not? Nearly everyone is inside. Hello, little one. What do you need?”
“We wanted to ask you about Rangovolk’s girlfriend.” Katelina couldn’t remember his name, but that was close enough.
“Rangvald,” Jorick corrected. “What about her?”
Katelina explained and Jorick looked thoughtful. “That’s an interesting theory. Jamie’s right, I’ve made enemies, but I don’t think Petta is one of them. Their den is outside of The Guild’s jurisdiction, and I don’t recall bad dealings with them when we worked for Munich.”
“Maybe before you joined the vampire police?” Sarah suggested.
Jorick shook his head. “There was no before. Malick worked for the Kugsankal, and we left there to come to the New World and start The Guild. I was born into their service.”
Katelina’d never realized what it was like for him. No wonder he had a lot of enemies.
She asked Sarah for the list and handed it to Jorick. “What about these?”
He skimmed the names. “I don’t know who some of these are.”
Jamie pointed to the list. “The bottom twelve are staff; entertainers or caterers. Hannah and Devon are members of Andrei’s coven. Xenon is really Qian, he’s changed his name. So has Acwellen, who has recently started going by the name of Brandle.”
“In that case, Edvard, Möngkedai, Acwellen, and William are candidates.”
“What did you do to piss them off?” Katelina asked.
“My job.” He handed the list back. “Edvard’s lover slaughtered a coven illegally, so I killed her. Möngkedai turned several children who had to be destroyed. Acwellen and William assisted in an illegal war. Though they were spared, some of their compatriots were killed as punishment.”
Katelina cringed. Any of those would be grounds for serious revenge.
Footsteps sounded. Cornelius arrived with a salute and, after Jamie prompted, said, “There’s a shipment for Saturday’s feast. Do you want to check it?”
Shipment for the feast. Did he mean the victim they planned to sacrifice?
“Jorick’s on duty,” Jamie said. “He can handle it. In the meantime, guard the performance.”
Cornelius saluted again and Jorick stashed his book in his back pocket. “Very clever.”
“I try.” Jamie smiled.
Jorick glanced at Katelina. “I’ll see you at dinner, unless something comes up in the meantime.”
Though he didn’t say it, his dismissal made it clear that the shipment was something she wouldn’t like.
It was near sunrise when Katelina and Jorick went to their room. She brushed her teeth and ran through the day’s events in her mind. The conversation in the TV room leapt to the fore, and she thought about what Jamie had said.
“You never had a choice.”
She pulled on her pajamas and exited to find Jorick half-naked. “There’s something I want to ask you.” He stopped from unfastening his jeans, his eyes wary. “When we first met, did you use your whisperer abilities to make me go into the house?”
“Why?”
“That’s what Jamie said.”
Jorick grimaced. “Did he?”
“Yes. Is it true?” His silence compounded her suspicion and she repeated the question. “I have a right to know.”
“Fine. Yes. I influenced you to come inside and listen to me.”
Her eyes bulged. “Are you serious? You made me—”
“I didn’t make you, I just…suggested.” He sighed at her fury. “I’m sorry, all right? But, if I hadn’t, you’d have never come in. You were reckless, but not that reckless. And it’s all worked out for the best.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was just like Micah said, “…that gives him the right to mess with people’s heads and try to run the fucking show?”
“So it’s okay because it was for my own good?”
“Yes. Just like after Claudius…” He broke off and looked away.
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
He made an exasperated sound. “You were…scarred. Upset. For Christ’s sake, he attacked you. Some women never get over that!”
“So you…what? Made me get over it?”
“No. To do that I’d have had to seal your memories. I just tried to help.”
Her tone was icy. “How?”
“I gave you suggestions while you slept. Nothing sinister. Nothing horrible. I told you that you were safe and loved, that it was in the past, that I would never let it happen again.” She gaped and he added, “It’s no different than human therapy.”
“You mean brainwashing!”
“It’s not brainwashing. I didn’t convince you of untruths, or plant delusions. I just tried to help. I didn’t know what else to do.”
She felt the spark of his desperation and shied away from it. “When did you start helping me?”
“That night and every night after until you didn’t need it anymore.”
“When was that?”
“Before we joined Oren.”
“Have you ‘helped’ me get over anything else?” Was her seemingly emotional resilience really her, or him?
“I hope I’ve helped in other ways, but no, not like that.” She continued to glare and he exploded, “What did you want me to do? Leave you broken? Watch you fall to pieces in my hands? I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t watch you suffer. I love you, Katelina, and if it’s in my power to save you, I will, even if it’s from yourself.”
The wave of his emotions was overpowering and she pushed it away. She didn’t need his feelings crowding her own. “Which of us did you really do it for? Me, or you?”
He hesitated. “Love is selfish. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
His truth went against the age old sentiment, and it was more than she wanted to think about. “Never again. You looked at me then as a human, as some weak thing, but not now. Now I’m your equal,
and whether you want to deal with the aftermath or not, you promise that you will never do it again.”
His face hardened. “I can’t do that. I won’t promise to let you hurt needlessly, not if I can do something to stop it.”
“Who are you to determine if it’s needless? It’s through hardships that people grow stronger; relationships grow stronger. What makes you think you can determine if it’s necessary or not? You’re not God.”
“I don’t think I’m God. Yes, tempering may make the glass stronger, but it can only handle so much before it shatters. There’s a point where pain isn’t helpful, only detrimental. How can you ask me to ignore that? Would you?”
She wanted to say she would, but she couldn’t. Not honestly. He was right. Love was selfish. How many times had she longed to take his sorrow? What would she do if she could? She knew the answer: she’d do the same thing he had. But that didn’t make either of them right.
“Fine. But from now on, you have to tell me. No secrets. Now, is there anything else from the past you need to tell me?”
He rolled his eyes. “No.”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek, but her tone held a warning. “There better not be.”
The next evening Sarah and Katelina casually strolled into the larger dining room where the guests had their breakfast. Petta was in attendance, as was the vampire Jorick pointed out as Möngkedai the night before. The other three were conspicuously absent.
Sarah scrutinized the present suspects. “Our stalker was out there last night, but they both look well rested.”
“Jorick said older vampires could make do with less sleep,” Katelina reminded her.
“I think they’d still look tired. I can’t believe Jorick doesn’t care someone’s after him.”
“I’m surprised you do. I didn’t think you liked him.” Katelina wanted to grab the words back, but it was too late.
“I don’t dislike him,” Sarah said slowly. “I just—”
“What are you doing here? Isn’t the help supposed to be segregated?”
Katelina’s shoulders stiffened at Anya’s snotty tone.
“It’s none of your business where we are,” Sarah snapped back.
“It is my business. I don’t want to feed with the trash.”
Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8) Page 22