Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8)

by Joleene Naylor

  “Don’t tell me you believe that crap, too?” Sarah asked.

  He seized the handle. “I didn’t say I believed it.” He hefted the weight and examined it. “But Andrei is nothing if not clever. He’s made fortune after fortune. If he’s willing to give away money to be rid of the thing, there’s a good reason. Perhaps not the one Sorino gave you, but something.”

  Bishop and Graham leaned close, but neither volunteered to touch the blade.

  “You think Sorino knows more than he’s saying?” Katelina asked.

  Jorick tested the weight of the weapon. “Most likely there’s someone looking for it, the real owner, for instance. Claudius wasn’t scrupulous, nor was he as suave and connected as he thought. He may have stolen it or unknowingly purchased it as a stolen item. I’d guess that neither Andrei nor Sorino want to cross whoever the real owner is.”

  “If Sorino’s worried then it must be someone old, and someone who isn’t invited to the party,” Katelina guessed.

  “If that’s true, then Andrei could have thrown it in the lake,” Sarah objected.

  Graham and Bishop looked suitably horrified by the idea and Jorick said, “Maybe. Except he’s superstitious. That he celebrates the Night Goddess Feast proves that. I doubt he’d want to risk it, in case the curse is real. Claudius was killed, after all. Andrei would have to transfer it to someone and Sorino is right, anyone who’d pay the kind of money its worth would know what it is, and they probably all know who’s looking for it. I imagine he’d hoped to make a profit initially, but when he realized he couldn’t, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to be free of it.”

  Jorick handed it back. “I’d be careful trying to sell it. You’d have better luck giving it to some dupe and letting them deal with it, because chances are the real owner isn’t looking to purchase, or have a reasonable conversation.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Bishop said quickly.

  “Or me,” Graham added.

  Katelina ignored them. “You’re saying the real owner is likely to—what? Kill her for having it?” Jorick nodded and she gasped. “And you want her to pass that off on some innocent person?”

  He shrugged. “You were fine with it when you thought it was just a curse.”

  “That’s different. A curse is an intangible ‘maybe’ kind of thing. But an angry owner…”

  “Is a curse of sorts,” he replied. “Do what you want. I’ve given you my advice.”

  Katelina poured a third glass, wishing it had something stronger in it. “No wonder Annabelle thought you’d be alarmed if she asked what Andrei gave you. There isn’t a way to say ‘Did my husband pawn a cursed/stolen object off on you?’ without alarming someone. I wonder if that’s what they were fighting about?”

  She told Sarah about the snippet of conversation she’d overheard. “Annabelle said, ‘How could you? You know what that is!’ But I never heard him answer. I bet she was lecturing him.”

  On one hand it was nice to know, but it was vaguely disappointing. She’d hoped it was something to do with William or the murderer.

  Fleur rushed through the door and made a beeline for them. “Jorick, we just got a call. Your Executioner was in a car wreck.”

  Jorick stopped from his own thirds. “Is he all right?”

  “Well enough to have someone call, but past that I don’t know. Cornelius said the person sounded mechanical, like a whisperer was doing a bad job controlling them.”

  “Ark’s better than that. He must be severely injured.” Jorick abandoned his glass. “Have you told Jamie?”

  “He asked that we pick your guy up. The wreck was about an hour from here.”

  Jorick looked like he might argue, then relented. “All right.” He brushed a kiss across Katelina’s forehead. “I’ll be back, little one. And don’t worry about Ark. He can feed on whoever he’s got there, and more blood and rest will fix him.”

  “I wasn’t worried about him,” she replied.

  Jorick chuckled. “Your concern for humanity doesn’t extend to him? You’re a confusing person, little one.” He gave her a wink, then followed Fleur out the door.

  Ark might be only an hour away, but by five a.m. they still weren’t back. Katelina started to imagine terrible things. Maybe Ark was missing limbs. Or maybe Jorick and Fleur were in an accident too. It was well known that Ark was supposed to arrive by lunch time. Maybe someone caused the wreck on purpose. It wasn’t far, so whoever butchered the children could have snuck out and done something.

  She paced circles and chewed her lip. Maybe the culprit stuck around to get Fleur and Jorick too. Jorick insisted he could handle himself, but could he really? Brandle was old. Though he seemed friendly, he was powerful and he’d admitted older vampires were crazy. Maybe that was what he and William were up to. Maybe they weren’t stalking Jorick, but killing children.

  Then who set the lion free?

  Her imagination ran away on a wild bloody rampage. In her mind’s eye she saw Jorick, his chest a gory frozen hole like the boy’s, his heart gone and his face ashen and shriveled.

  Kolli stuck his head in the door. “Hey—Are you all right? You look…ill.”

  “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  He smiled. “That can be dangerous. I thought you’d like to know the Executioners are back.”

  Her terrified imagining disappeared. She resisted the temptation to throw her arms around Kolli’s neck and settled for a murmured, “Thank you,” as she dashed past him.

  Jorick was in a small entryway off one of the side doors. He wiped mud from his boots and shook rain drops from his dripping hair. She launched herself into his arms, ignoring the cold clingy wetness of his clothing.

  He returned her hug. “Hello, little one. Are you all right?”

  She pulled back to look into his face. “I was worried about you.”

  He scowled darkly. “I’m not the one you should worry about.”

  Fleur banged through the door, also soaked, her expression annoyed. She jerked her sodden coat off and flung it toward a hook.

  Katelina started to ask what was wrong, but Fleur snapped at Jorick, “You’d better get that Executioner under control.”

  Ah. Ark was being an ass. What a surprise.

  “Talk to Jamie,” Jorick replied flippantly. “He’s in charge.”

  Fleur growled and stormed off without wiping her shoes.

  Katelina watched her go. “Wow, he must have really pissed her off. I guess he wasn’t as injured as you thought.”

  “He’s injured,” Jorick said. “Unfortunately not badly enough.”

  So much for being glad they sent the focused hard working guy.

  The door opened and Porter half carried Ark through the door. His black coat and clothes were shredded. Bloody bandages were wrapped around his arms and one leg. What looked like someone’s shirt enveloped his head, with only a shock of bloody hair sticking out.

  Katelina covered her mouth and Jorick pulled her away before she could speak. They were farther down the corridor when she whispered, “His head?”

  “It’s…cut up. He’ll heal, but for right now he needs that to hold it together.”

  “Oh my God.” She imagined skin and muscle sliced from the bone. “What happened?”

  Jorick gave an impatient grunt. “He hit a moose.”

  “Seriously?” After all her sinister theories, it was just a giant bit of wildlife. “You’d think a vampire could avoid it.”

  “Wouldn’t you?” Jorick asked. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.”

  With a nod, she followed him upstairs.

  Sarah met her in the hallway outside their room. “Kate. I have a plan.”

  With a shake of his head, Jorick pushed past them into the bedroom.

  Katelina ignored him. “To catch the stalker?”

  Sarah nodded. “I think you’re right about the lion. That was no accident, and I’ve been thinking about that chandelier. You were supposed to go through there with Jorick on y
our way to bed. What if that was the first attempt? Except you ruined their plans because you were with the twins.”

  Katelina hadn’t thought of that.

  “It’s only a matter of time before they kick in the door and kill you both in your sleep. Jorick doesn’t want to do anything about it, so we need to, before you end up a casualty of his pig headedness.”

  Though Katelina couldn’t agree more, she didn’t know what to do.

  “We’ll catch them at it. I think they’re using that secret staircase. One of us will hide in there and the other one will wait here.”

  Katelina looked up and down the hallway. “Where?”

  “Remember when we practiced your mind reading? There was all of that discarded furniture. Mixed up in it was a big cabinet, kind of like a wardrobe. Tomorrow we’ll put it against the wall next to my door. There was also a chest. We’ll put it near the stairs in the secret passage.”

  “Don’t you think they’ll notice us moving furniture around?”

  “I doubt it. No one will be up here at night, and when they come to bed, who’s going to pay attention to furniture?”

  “When are we doing this?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  After Sarah disappeared into her room, Katelina headed into hers.

  “About time she thought of that,” Jorick commented. “It’s the obvious idea.”

  “Obvious except there’s no naturally occurring places to hide. I think William will probably see the cupboard and smell whoever’s in it. As plans go it’s one of the worst.”

  Jorick laughed. “I can’t disagree. But you never know. Stranger things have worked.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Katelina looked for Ark at breakfast. The haughty vampire was nowhere in sight, and she relaxed.

  “—After breakfast we’ll move that stuff.”

  Katelina nodded to Sarah’s half heard words, though she still thought it was crazy. She expected Jorick to agree—he’d said he didn’t want her to do anything dangerous—but he only said, “Whatever you want.”

  Sarah laid her glass on the sideboard. “Ready?”

  Without a valid excuse, Katelina followed. As they wove their way down the corridor, she felt the heavy oppression of an old vampire.

  “Hello, Sarah.”

  Kali stepped in front of them and took Sarah’s hands in hers. Tol and Ren stood on either side, wearing their strange smiles.

  Ren moved toward Katelina, a hand held out. She backed away. The room swam and tilted, and she clutched the wall to keep from falling into darkness. She heard Sarah’s laughter and the sound of Kali’s reply, though the words were lost to a roar. She sought something, anything, to hold onto and found herself looking into a set of vivid blue eyes. Ren’s eyes.

  “What would happen if I took you?”

  Katelina battled terror and shook her head to clear the mist. Ren smiled down at her, his hand on her elbow. She pulled away, but there was nowhere else to go.

  Kali continued, talking to Sarah, “We’ll play cards together later. Come find us when you’re finished.”

  “That sounds great,” Sarah enthused. “Thanks so much.”

  “Yes, it sounds great,” Ren purred.

  “Wonderful,” Tol agreed.

  Ren held her eyes. “We will see you later. Be careful until then.”

  “Yes, Careful,” his brother agreed.

  They took their leave, and Katelina sagged. “Thank God.”

  Sarah frowned. “You’re not still creeped out? Seriously? After you spend some time with them, you’ll see they’re fine.”

  But Katelina couldn’t face them, or a room full of ancients. She grasped for any excuse. “I…I thought we might practice mind reading while we were up there with all the furniture.”

  Sarah hesitated. “Sure. We can do that first. Kali said whenever we were done.”

  They made their way up the stairs and Katelina asked, “Don’t they bother you at all? I mean their crushing ancient-vampire presence?”

  “The one everyone has?” Sarah asked. “No, they don’t bother me like that, in fact when I’m with them and Kali, the others bother me less. I think it’s because the three of them are protective, like they wouldn’t let anyone hurt me.”

  Or because you’re crazy.

  They passed a few stragglers on the second floor, but the fourth was deserted. Even the cleaning lady was elsewhere.

  In the storage area, Sarah pointed out the cupboard, big enough for both of them to hide in. Katelina’s initial response was to balk. Then she remembered she was stronger now.

  “I suppose we should start with the mind reading and get it out of the way,” Sarah suggested as she pointed out the smaller chest.

  Katelina unstacked the chairs and they each took one. She thought about what Jorick said. “…a dream stealer doesn’t just open their brain and hope to stumble on something useful. They focus their query and bypass all of the junk.” Right. So she needed to focus. But on what?

  Jorick said sometimes a feeling was enough, so she met Sarah’s brown eyes and concentrated on something happy. She strained with every fiber until she heard a giggle and the words, “You need to relax.”

  She jerked back and Sarah frowned. “Anything?”

  “No. I just heard someone laughing.” She’d heard that giggle before. First when they were practicing and…and…Ugh, When was it?

  “Probably someone on the third floor,” Sarah suggested. “Do you want to try again or…?”

  Or play cards with Kali and her terrifying twins. “Yeah, let’s give it another go.”

  Sarah settled down, though the pull of her lips looked aggravated.

  Katelina tried a second time, and a third. By the fourth she was as annoyed as Sarah and had given up. It was only a matter of killing time so she didn’t have to socialize with the terrifying vampires.

  With nothing to lose, she went for a fifth and let herself drop into the hazel green of Sarah’s eyes. The world flickered in and out and suddenly she was behind the wheel of Sarah’s car, a phone pressed to her ear. The voice on the other end was Brad’s. “Maybe later tonight we can see if you have trouble letting me go?”

  Katelina felt the wash of Sarah’s happiness. “Oh, you! All right, let me just change and call Katelina real quick, and I’ll be right there.”

  “Okay. I’ll be missing you until then.”

  The car melted away to Katelina’s hallway. The door to her apartment stood open. Inside was a mess. Righteous fury and a dose of terror rose and she stormed inside. Katelina recognized Lennon and Joseff, the vampire who’d been killed so spectacularly at The Guild for his role in Thomas’ maiming.

  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sarah shouted. “I’m calling the cops!”

  Joseff started toward her menacingly. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  The apartment disintegrated into a familiar basement, one she’d been in herself. Claudius stood over her, gloating amusement in his eyes. “She is interesting. I could see why they might fight over her.”

  She shuddered and looked past him to a bald vampire. A mixture of hate and terror cut through her as she recognized Troy. He stepped toward her laughing.

  “And what do you find so amusing, Troy?” Claudius snapped.

  “It’s not her,” he answered, his smile wide and fanged.

  The scene wavered but she heard Claudius say, “Very well, Troy. Do as you please. If she knows anything, I would appreciate the information while she’s still able to speak.”

  Troy leered over her, and a scream rose in her throat. Not this. Anything but this.

  Katelina looked away. When she looked back, she was somewhere else. Through her blurry eyes, the room was a smear of gray and charcoal black; a watercolor of hell. There was so much pain she couldn’t process it anymore. She couldn’t think, couldn’t feel. She just wanted it to end, wanted everything to end.

  “Drink this.” The gruff voice came from far away and she ba
rely understood the words, even as something salty was shoved into her mouth. Liquid oozed over her tongue and she swallowed automatically. Another mouthful. Another. The room started to clear and the smeary shadows receded. The walls were cinder blocks. A basement? She swallowed again. Again. The dark shadows at the end of the room grew lighter. She could see figures sitting, shoulders stooped, heads down. One stood, leaning on the bars of their cage. Unlike the rest he didn’t seem defeated, but cocky. As the scene grew sharper she saw his smirky fanged grin.

  Fangs.

  Pain exploded and the room disappeared. It came back in a flash, but time had passed. She was now on the other side of the bars, huddled in a corner. She was scared. Hungry. So hungry.

  She looked down at her hand. It was thin, wasted, withered. Her eyes flicked over the others. They were all thin. Hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. How could they look this bad after only a few days without food? She had no calendar, no window, no way to know night from day, but it was only a couple of days since Troy had been there last, wasn’t it?

  Kurt stood over her. His shaggy blonde hair looked unkempt and his grin made her blood run cold. “You’re still pretty, though.” He reached for her and she flinched away. His smile stayed, but his eyes hardened. He grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her to hold still while he stroked her cheek. She shuddered and her stomach clenched. She could smell the blood in his veins, but it was cold blood; dead blood.

  He cupped her face and leaned close, until she could feel his frigid breath. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Have a taste. You know how much I like it.” He snapped his fangs.

  She struggled as he pressed her against the rough wall. She kicked and managed to land one to his stomach. He stumbled back in surprise, then surged forward with a snarl. He pinned her and readied to bite.

  Something slammed upstairs and they all went stiff. Kurt slowly released her and moved back, his eyes on the ceiling. Heavy footsteps clomped across the floor above them, then came the scrape and bang as the cellar door opened.

  Sarah could smell the blood before she saw it. Troy ducked into the low basement hauling a pair of girls. Their hands were bound. Mascara and tears smeared their cheeks.