Katrina, The Beginning

by Elizabeth Loraine

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I felt awful. I had many questions, but I knew one thing for certain: this attack had Luena’s name all over it.

  “We forgot all about Eric,” gasped Kate, hand over her mouth.

  “Well, nobody is going anywhere alone,” Damien was adamant. “Katrina and I can do this, if you want to go back. The brothers are going to be beside themselves.”

  “Quinn is still away on Watcher business, and he isn’t due back for a few days. I’ll have to have Father send someone for him.” I said softly.

  Kate advised, “I think we’d better stay together. This might be another trap. It’s not far, so it shouldn’t take that long.”

  “Kate’s right, I think we should stay together. That’s our strength,” Rosa added.

  “Okay, let’s go,” I said.

  We streaked through the forest and along the creek until we could see the old mill in the distance.

  “Let’s stop and take a look around; see anything, Kate?”

  “Nothing evil. How about you?”

  “There’s our Watcher and Eric, but nothing else.” I said after using my sensing.

  “Good,” said Letta. “But stay alert.”

  We slowed as we approached the Watcher. Familiar with vampire modes of travel, he was hidden and in a defensive position when we arrived. We identified ourselves and, relieved, he told us no one had come all night and we were the only ones to show up today. Damien assumed his post, told him to get back to the castle and relayed the sad news we had lost two Watchers, Gregor and Cedrik. The Watcher was shocked but didn’t ask any questions; then he silently slipped away. We walked into the mill and up the stairs, where we knew Eric to be from the vision. The door was right at the top.

  “Eric, it’s all right. We’re here to help you,” I called through the door.

  The door was solid iron, with two locking bolts and a padlock. Someone clearly wanted to be sure no one got in or out.

  “I’m strong, but I don’t think I can break down this door,” said Damien.

  “I have an idea,” I said. “Letta, how about a little heat on the lock?”

  She smiled, then stared at the lock until we saw it engulfed in fire. It burned until it turned red.

  “Now, how about a little cold?”

  “No problem.”

  Again she stared at the lock, then opened her mouth and blew. We could feel how cold her breath was, and as soon as it hit the hot metal the lock shattered.

  “Amazing, simply amazing,” Damien’s face showed shock at the extent of Letta’s gift.

  “She’s been practicing,” Kate crowed, filled with pride.

  Once the lock was off, all we had to do was slide the bolts out and open the door. Eric was standing in front of the bed.

  “It’s you!,” he said when he saw me.

  “Yes, let’s get you out of here,” I motioned to him.

  He was weak, but didn’t hesitate to follow us out of the mill and into the morning light. Sunlight usually bothers made vampires, but Eric seemed fine, probably because he was so glad to be free.

  “Thank you,” he said, seeming not to know what to do next.

  “Here, drink this,” said Damien, handing him a flask.

  He took a whiff and then gulped it down, draining every drop in just a few seconds.

  “You’ll come back with us now. We’ll help you get your strength back and anything else you need,” Kate said.

  “There are two of you,” he said, looking a bit frightened.

  “I assure you, there’s only one of each of us,” I said. “But yes, we’re sisters.”

  “Twins,” Kate said.

  “Identical,” Damien nodded.

  “Mirror,” I added.

  Rosa and Letta rolled their eyes.

  Then Rosa broke in, “If this comedy act is over, let’s go home.”

  “What happened to the men who imprisoned me?” Eric asked as we walked.

  “All but one is dead,” Damien ground out, his voice full of the hatred we all felt. “The leader escaped. Someone must have warned him. He may be gone for now, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.”

  “We’ll find him,” I said sternly, looking straight ahead.

  “How do you feel, Eric?” Rosa asked. “I think we have food in the pack.”

  “I feel better than I have for a very long time.”

  “If you can run at vampire speed, we’ll get back in just a few minutes,” Damien said.

  “Yes, I think I’m strong enough.”

  We ran until were close to the front gate. It was a very solemn castle we returned to. El and Thomas had stopped at the mission, we learned, in order to give El a chance to heal the girl we saw in our vision and give Thomas some time with Father Jonas in order to pray for his brothers and make funeral arrangements. I felt a lump in my throat. Father came into the courtyard a few minutes later; Kate and I ran into his arms and started to cry once again.

  “I’m so glad you are all safe. We’ve been so worried,” he said.

  “If only we would have sighted this earlier,” I said.

  “Don’t blame yourselves. Whoever is making these fledglings is at fault.”

  “It had to have been Luena. I can’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing,” Damien said.

  “Who is the young man with you?” Father asked, turning to Eric.

  “Oh, of course, Father, this is Eric. He’s the one the Volator had locked in the old mill,” I said.

  “We’re all sorry you had to go through such an ordeal,” Father said. “Let us get you to your quarters, so you can wash up and rest. I know everything is very confusing to you now, but there will be plenty of time to explain things once you get your strength back. Ah, here’s Andrew. Andrew would you please show Eric to a room by Damien’s in the north wing, and make sure he gets everything he needs? Thank you. We’ll talk soon, Eric.”

  “I just want to thank you for saving me, and I don’t mean just today,” Eric said, looking at me.

  “You’re more than welcome, Eric. Saving you actually means we’re all safe,” I said.

  He went with Father’s page, Andrew, leaving us to finish our earlier conversation.

  “What of the leader of the Volator?” Father asked.

  Damien answered for us. “After we took care of the fledglings, which didn’t take long, thanks to the girls, I went to the village to finish our task. I found the Watcher had been knocked unconscious and both the leader and the journal were gone. Somehow, he’d been warned. But who warned him or where he went I don’t know.”

  “Damn,” Father said, clenching his fists.

  We recounted what had happened when we went to the encampment.

  We told of our horror at finding Cedric and Gregor, and how lucky we felt to have been able to save Thomas.

  “I’m proud of all of you. Once again you have managed to avert a situation that could have been disastrous; but it’s a sad day for us all. We lost two good, loyal and honorable men. They were members of our family, and we’ll miss them terribly,” Father said, sadness filling his eyes.

  “We have to find Luena,” said Damien. “I can’t continue to live with the fact that a member of my family is putting us all in danger like this. And these fledglings! They weren’t more than a few weeks old - starved, wild, and untrained, with not a weapon among them. They were victims as well.”

  “I agree, finding the creator of these poor beasts has to be our top priority, Father,” I said.

  “We’ve had people out looking since the last incident and have found nothing,” said Father.

  “That reminds me, Quinn is still out. He doesn’t know what’s happened. Can we send someone to find him and bring him back?”

  “Of course, I’ll send someone right now. Why don’t you get cleaned up and rest? I’ll see you at dinner, if you feel up to it, but if not, we’ll understand.”

  “I’ll go look in on Eric. He probably has a million questions, and I have a few
for him as well,” Damien said to Father as he took my hand.

  He drew me into a quick hug, released me and faced the girls, “You all did well today. I’m proud of each of you.”

  I watched them nod, but nothing was going to make us feel good about today. We were dirty, tired, and sad. The first two could be fixed; that last one was going to take some time.

  We walked to our rooms in silence. What was there to say? Sarah knew better than to try and while making soothing sounds, hugged each of us in turn, and handed us towels. We stood there, tears running down our faces, except Letta, who was sobbing quietly into her towel, until we all came together for a group hug. Although we needed to eat and drink something, no one even looked over to the table; we just headed for our rooms to be alone with our thoughts. I sank into my bath, put my hands over my face, and sobbed uncontrollably until there were no tears left and my stomach ached. What was I going to say to Quinn? I’d just be there for him and all the other brothers. That was all any of us could do now.

  I swore at that moment, with a fervency that surprised even me, I would find Luena and make her pay. I had just vowed to kill my boyfriend’s sister; but no one, not even Damien, was going to stop me, even if I had to do it alone or die trying.

  “Sarah,” I called, rising from the bath, my anger now sustaining me.

  “Yes, Katrina? Are you all right?”

  “No, but I need my strength. Please bring me some Crimson and something to eat.”

  As she turned to go I said, “Sarah, I’m sorry about my hair.”

  She smiled at me. “It’s all right sweetheart, I can fix it.”

  I drank and ate my fill. Revenge was a very powerful thing, I decided, and I savored the feeling of anguish and hate, and committed it to memory. I knew I would draw on it when I was up against Luena. She would learn she’d picked the wrong family to cross, and I would make sure she regretted it – just before I killed her.

  Sarah washed my hair without fussing at me. The routine calmed me and I could feel my strength returning. As Sarah was getting me something to wear, I asked her to make sure the girls ate and drank too, as we had work to do. When I came out, the others were around the table eating, drinking, and looking like death.

  “So,” I said with a sigh, “I know how sad we all are, but right now, I’m a hell of a lot angrier than sad, and I’m not going to stop being angry until Luena pays for what she’s done. We are going to direct that anger and it’s what’s going to keep all of us going now.”

  Although I could see their faces brighten and their posture improve; the girls were still silent.

  Then, thank God for Rosa and her attitude. “Where do we start?” she asked, pushing away from the table and crossing her arms.

  “We start by getting our strength back as soon as we can, enhancing our sight, and finding that bitch Luena. Once we do, we’ll watch her - telling no one, trusting no one - as we prepare for whatever it takes, until we can take her down, and whoever or whatever is with her. Are we agreed?”

  They each agreed, and then we heard the door.

  “El!” I cried, we all rose and rushed over to her. She was weak and pale, and just as we reached her, she collapsed into our arms.

  “She’s barely breathing; she’ll be in a dormant state in minutes if we don’t do something.” We had Crimson, so we tried to drip some into her mouth by tipping her head back and letting it run down her throat.

  “It’s too cold,” I said desperately. “Bring the Watcher on duty in here, whoever he is.”

  Rosa rushed to the hall.

  “There’s no Watcher out here!” she said.

  “Yell for help, Rosa,” Kate said.

  “We need help up here!” she shouted.

  I heard boots running down the hall, and then through the door strode Quinn. Oh no, I thought, why…

  “She needs fresh blood Quinn. I’m so sorry,” I said as I looked sadly up to him.

  He said nothing, but pulled his dagger, slashed a vein in his wrist, and put it to her lips, all the while looking into my eyes. All I saw there was sadness and questioning.

  We all wondered why this had happened. As the warm blood dripped into El’s mouth, signs of life started to appear. She became less pale and she started to moan, until at last she grabbed his arm and drank greedily.

  Quinn’s eyes closed as he felt the lust and euphoria the feeding brought him. This would be the last pleasure he would feel for many days I feared. We pulled El free as soon as color appeared once again in her cheeks, and then gave her Crimson to finish her need. Now, it was Quinn who was weak. Kate and I guided him over to a chair, so he could rest until he regained his strength.

  “He needs some juice, if you could, please,” I said to Sarah, who was anxiously waiting in the hall, trying to stay out of the way.

  “I’m here, Quinn. I won’t leave you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He smiled and went right to sleep. I woke him when Sarah returned with the grape juice.

  “Drink this; it’ll help you get your strength back.”

  He gulped the cup of juice down and then went right back so sleep. I was thankful for him; the reality of tomorrow would come all too soon. I cradled him in my arms all night, whispering to him that it would be all right, but knowing it wouldn’t be.

  Quinn finally woke early the next morning; he thrashed, and jumped, ready to fight.

  I held him down, “It’s me, Quinn, shh, shh, shhhh. I’m here.”

  He stared at me as if he’d never seen me before, and then calm came over his face.

  “I have to go home.” His voice reflected the despair I knew he was feeling, and he slowly rose from the bed.

  “Yes,” I sighed, wanting desperately to be able to take away his pain and knowing I couldn’t. Then I went to him and took him into my arms. He returned the embrace and we held each other for several minutes; until he kissed the top of my head and pulled away.

  “My family needs me now.”

  “I know, but I’m here. Always.”

  He hugged me one more time and then turned and walked out. I followed; closing the door behind him, then leaned against it and once again started to sob. Rosa, Kate, and Letta came from by the fire where they had been sleeping and wrapped me in their arms, and we all had another cry.

  “How’s El?” I said, wiping tears off my cheeks.

  “Sleeping,” Rosa said.

  “She’ll be fine, we’ll all be fine,” Letta said.

  “As sure as I stand here in from of you, this is the last time Luena is ever going to cause us pain, I swear,” Kate said.