Goddess of Night (Amaranthine Book 9)

by Joleene Naylor

  She moved toward the boxes when she caught a scent that made her stomach tighten: blood. She inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes, concentrating. It wasn’t fresh blood, but old blood, older than the dining room. Spilled weeks ago, and left. Though it was sour, there was no smell of rotten flesh to go with it, which meant there probably wasn’t a body.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Brandle moved around the heap of junk. “I think we found it.”

  Katelina followed to see yet another padlocked door. The closer she got, the stronger the scent of blood, and the smell of something else; old bodily functions. As if humans had been stored inside, left with no facilities, kept like animals for food.

  “It’s not an unusual practice,” Brandle offered as he tugged on a heavy padlock. “Care to try it?”

  Katelina gripped the padlock tightly and yanked. The lock stayed intact, but the hasp ripped free.

  Brandle nodded his appreciation, and pushed the door open. He stepped inside, made a small noise in his throat, then turned to stop her from following.

  It was too late.

  Inside, the smell was overwhelming. Dry human excrement was scattered in one corner and a rusty bucket was tipped on its side, probably the source of water for the prisoners. Blood was smeared on the walls and floor. Though she couldn’t really hear the ghosts, she imagined them in her mind, men and women sniveling in the corner, crying, waiting to die. Wondering what they’d done to deserve this.

  She turned back for the exit. The doorframe was gouged in long scratches, a prisoner’s attempt to flee. Blood was splattered up the door and smeared. At the edge of the mess was a perfect handprint. Not adult sized, but small.

  A child’s handprint.

  She picked out another. And another. She realized then who Lilith’s prisoners were. Not adults, captured for food, but children.

  Children kidnapped and locked in the dark, waiting to die.

  Chapter Two

  Katelina ran from the room. She didn’t stop until she was outside, breathing in deep lungfuls of clean air. She didn’t need it, but it made her feel better, as if oxygen could wash away the horror of the holding cell.

  She leaned back against the log building. That Lilith preferred to feed on children, they knew. That’s why the ancient vampiress kidnapped children near the party and left their bodies in the woods; but that she had a dark holding cell for them…it was more than Katelina could deal with.

  It was several minutes before Jorick appeared, his expression grim. She hoped he picked the information from her brain, so she didn’t have to explain.

  “Brandle told me.” Jorick pulled her to him. “It’s better if you don’t think about it.”

  Don’t think about it, as if that would erase it from history. On the other hand, what was there to do? Whatever children had been down there were already dead. There was no way to bring them back. The only thing they could do was make Lilith pay.

  And they were sure as hell going to do that. But…

  “I wonder where the bodies are.”

  Jorick cleared his throat carefully. “It’s hard to tell. We aren’t here for recovery.”

  “I know, but it would be nice to drop the authorities a tip, so the children’s families have closure. Imagine never knowing.”

  “I think not knowing might be better in this case.” He broke off, as if he sensed the argument she was formulating. “If we can reasonably do so, we will ‘tip the authorities’, all right? In the meantime, we need to find out where Lilith went. The upstairs bedrooms were used; the windows have been covered. Sorino’s already looking there. Des is going through the office, and Brandle has agreed to take the basement. I thought we might join the search upstairs. If I had personal papers in a temporary den, that’s where I’d keep them.”

  Grateful she didn’t need to go near the holding cell again, she let Jorick lead her inside. They passed the office. Through the door, they could see Des digging through a roll top desk, discarding heaps of paper.

  He looked up and asked sarcastically, “Is she joining the search, or did fighting that guy take it out of her?”

  Jorick shot him a warning look. “Don’t.”

  “Or I’ll rip your head off,” she added.

  Des scoffed, but turned back to his task.

  In the main room, Kai stood before the empty fireplace, hunched into his coat. He gave them a polite nod as they headed up the stairs. They were nearly at the top when Sorino appeared with a stack of old books. Kai jerked to attention and hurried past them to his master.

  “Take these to the van and come back.” Sorino jammed the books into the boy’s arms. “There are more.”

  Jorick caught Kai’s elbow and took the top tome. “What are they?”

  “Nothing you’d find useful.” Sorino jerked the book back. “Ancient texts that have been organized into volumes. They hold no meaning for our current investigation.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Put them downstairs and we’ll look through them—together—when we’ve finished searching. Nothing leaves this house without being examined first.” Jorick met Sorino’s’ eyes and held them. “Nothing.”

  Sorino raised an eyebrow. “You’re hardly in a position to give orders, Jorick. But for the moment, I’ll allow you to play dictator. Kai, put the books downstairs and return. There are more.”

  Jorick let Kai go. They headed on to the second floor where a u-shaped hallway was lined in doors. Inside the large bedroom at the end, windows were covered and personal items were scattered around; dresses hung in a wardrobe, jewelry glittered in a heap, and several furs were draped across the end of the bed, no doubt gathered up by Sorino.

  Jorick pointed to the mess. “He thinks he’s shopping. I knew it was a bad idea to let him come.”

  Katelina fingered one of the stoles, teasing the fur between her fingers. “Then why did you?”

  “Because he has a plane, and he’s expendable.”

  “Yes,” Sorino drawled from the doorway. “A proper general has enlisted men to use as cannon fodder.”

  Katelina bit back a gasp, but the vampire chuckled. “Come now, I’m hardly offended. It isn’t as if I’ve accompanied you out of some great sense of duty.” He looked to Jorick. “I’ve searched this room already.”

  “I can see that.” Jorick tugged open a dresser drawer and rifled through it. “Though you searched it for things to sell, not information.”

  “Because there was no information. As for selling, think of it as giving to the world of collectors. The earrings of Lilith would be something rich indeed.”

  “Provided you could prove where they came from.” Jorick checked the next drawer.

  Katelina abandoned the furs for the night stand. A small drawer produced a book in a foreign language, an ink pen, and a notepad with only two pieces of paper left.

  She lifted the last to see if there was an imprint from what had been written on the sheet above. Faint indents looked like something, but she couldn’t decipher it. “If only there was a pencil.”

  “For what?” Jorick asked.

  “You color the pencil over it and the impression from what she wrote on the top pages shows up. They do it in all the junior detective shows.”

  Sorino coughed lightly as he hefted a stack of books from the tabletop. “Yes, no doubt she wrote the address of her next den.”

  Katelina glared at him and stuffed the notepad in her pocket. He was probably right, but there was always a chance.

  Three hours later they gathered in the main room around a pile of books, notebooks, and tablets. It didn’t take long to rule everything out. Even the phone number on Katelina’s notepad turned out to be a local marina.

  Des looked dejected. “It’s probably left over, like the stuff in the office. It’s all receipts, contracts, and check-in information from when the lodge was still running.”

  Katelina dropped into a log chair. “We have nothing.”

  Sorino’s ringing phone cut off any replies. With a
gesture for silence, the vampire flipped it open. “Yes?” He paused, then made several soft noises of agreement. “I see. Anything else? All right. Keep me updated.”

  As he snapped the phone closed, Des demanded, “Who was that?”

  “A contact.”

  “Did they tell you where Sarah and Lilith are?”

  “No, but they told me where they’re not. The dens of those who joined Lilith are under surveillance. No one has returned to them.”

  “What does that mean?” Des asked.

  “It means we can rule out several locations. Everyone except William joined Lilith at Andrei’s. They’d packed for a party, not an extended trip. If they were close to their dens, they’d drop in for a few items.”

  “Did you learn anything else?” Jorick asked.

  Sorino picked invisible lint from his sleeve. “Officially, The Guild still knows nothing. I find that questionable.”

  Brandle dropped the last book to the stack. “I’m sure there’s something in these—if nothing else, some psychological point we should draw from what she chose to compile over the centuries—but it escapes me. Perhaps leaving it until tomorrow will help.”

  Jorick stood and stretched. “Yes. The sun will rise soon. I suggest we get comfortable for the day.”

  Katelina glanced at her watch. It was nearly five in the morning, but still… “You want to stay here?”

  “Why not?” Sorino asked. “There are three light proofed rooms. A fourth could be done easily enough.”

  “I don’t mind sharing with Des,” Brandle said.

  Jorick nodded. “Katelina and I will take the room at the end of the hall. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He held out his hand, but she only stared. “That was Lilith’s room.”

  “Probably,” he agreed. “And considering this was some kind of hotel, many others. You can’t refuse to sleep in a room because of its former occupant.”

  “I can.” A second glance at her watch said there wasn’t a lot of time. “But I guess I won’t.” She stood with a nod to Brandle and Kai. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” Sorino purred. “And sweet dreams.”

  Katelina changed the sheets before climbing into bed. She had a hard time falling asleep. When she did, she dropped into a dream that was more memory than fiction. It was Sarah’s thirteenth birthday, one of the few that her mother threw a party for. The handful of guests gathered in the backyard. The paper tablecloth flapped on the old picnic table. Sarah eyed the house, as if her dad would wake from his nap and charge outside any moment. Katelina could see the same fear in her mother’s rigid posture and nervous smile, the way she cautioned everyone to “keep it down”.

  Cake was cut, then came presents. Katelina waited for Sarah to wade through earrings and lotion sets to get to hers. At last the pink paper was peeled free. Sarah opened the small box on a set of best friend necklaces. Two halves forming a heart that read BEST FRIENDS when put together.

  With a cry of delight, Sarah quickly ripped away the cardboard. Tiny twist ties were more nuisance than deterrent. She soon chose her half and thrust the other at Katelina.

  She fastened it around her neck, then looked down to admire it against her polka dot tank top. “Thank you so much, Kate. I love it. I’ll wear it forever.”

  Katelina fastened her own. She wasn’t sure about forever. “What? Like when you’re eighty?”

  “Sure. I’ll be in the nursing home and everyone will say ‘You’re still wearing that?’, and I’ll tell them ‘You’re never too old for your best friend.’” She pulled Katelina into a hug. “Thank you.”

  Katelina hugged her back. When she pulled away, the scene changed; Sarah changed. She wasn’t thirteen anymore, but a woman.

  “Where are you?” Sarah demanded. “You left me to rot in that cage and now you’re letting Lilith keep me a prisoner? You know what she does to us.”

  Suddenly, Katelina was in the dark. She couldn’t see the confines of the basement holding cell but she could feel them. Someone snuffled miserably, invisible in the blackness. The air was thick with terror. She hunched in on herself. She was cold, hungry, thirsty. The door burst open. One of Lilith’s pale twins stepped inside. She screamed and tried to escape. There was nowhere to go. He grabbed her and slammed her to the floor. A knife glinted in his hand. She knew what came next; he’d cut out her heart and present it to the dark, eternal Lilith.

  She woke, a scream stuck in her throat, and tried to come to grips with the bedroom, the framed photos of wildflowers, the embroidered curtains. She was safe.

  Unlike Sarah.

  Jorick stirred next to her, gasping awake. “Katelina?”

  She waved his concern away. “Just a bad dream.”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead and wrapped her in a hug. After a moment, he said, “If you feel up to it, we’d best get moving.”

  “And go where? Thanks to Sorino we know where not to go, but that doesn’t help much.”

  “I suppose we’ll have to go to Iowa.”

  “Iowa? You mean…?”

  “Yes, The Guild. I agree with Sorino. It’s improbable that they haven’t located Lilith’s aircraft. Perhaps I can spur things along in person.”

  “You think they’re keeping it a secret from you?”

  “Not keeping it; ignoring it. The last thing Eileifr or the High Council wants is to deal with Lilith. Better to pretend they don’t see and let the Kugsankal handle it.”

  The Kugsankal, or True Council; a trio of vampires almost as old as Lilith and Samael, who’d set themselves up as the rulers of all vampiredom. Ishkur, their leader and Lilith’s former lover, left to look for her almost two months ago. With no word, Katelina assumed he’d been unsuccessful.

  “What about the address on that driver’s license? You said we should check it out.”

  “And we should. But, if my memory serves, it’s clear across Canada. It would be faster to have The Guild run it, and send some Canadian Executioners to look things over. They’d get there faster.”

  Katelina sagged. “You don’t think Sarah or Estrilda are there, do you?”

  “No, or I wouldn’t suggest sending someone else. If Executioners find the child before we do…”

  She knew what they’d do; she’d seen it.

  Hang on Sarah. We’ll save you this time.

  When Katelina and Jorick were dressed, they joined Brandle downstairs. After a quick hunt outside, they met the others. Katelina ran her toe through the scorched grass and ashes; the remains of the vampire she’d killed. Though no one had burned the body, the sun took care of it for them, breaking down even the bone.

  Jorick detailed the plan to go to Iowa. Though Des was as unhappy as Katelina, Sorino shrugged. “It’s as good a destination as any other.”

  Kai loaded Sorino’s treasures into the back of the van, then they took the same seats as yesterday. Katelina was glad to see the building shrink to nothing behind them. After what took place there, the best thing that could happen to it was a match.

  It would take at least three hours of back tracking to get to the plane, so Sorino called his pilots with instructions to head to The Guild’s rural airport in Iowa. “Go ahead and get rooms at the citadel. We may be staying a while.”

  Katelina could feel Des’ impatience so strongly that it might be her own. She hated to say it, but she agreed with Sorino. Why was Des so enamored with Sarah? They’d only known one another for two weeks. What happened in that span to draw them together?

  Maybe you’d know if you hadn’t spent most of the party fighting with her.

  Katelina looked around sharply, but decided the thought—and the guilt—was her own. Truthfully, she didn’t know how to deal with Sarah anymore. Before Jorick and the vampires, Sarah was the one in control, the one who had it all together. Katelina had floated along and let her make decisions. She didn’t need that anymore, and it left little room for Sarah in her life. Not that she couldn’t make room. They could put in the time to come up
with a new dynamic—but they both had to want it.

  Thinking about it wouldn’t help, so Katelina tried practicing her mind reading. Thanks to the blood from Samael, she’d gained some small abilities, though she couldn’t use them the way she wanted. She’d been in Sarah’s head a few times, practiced with Kai, and once found some of Jorick’s memories. However, it was never what she wanted to know.

  Being in the car with older, stronger vampires, meant that her practice fell to nothing. By the time they reached Lake Huron, she’d given up.

  The toll bridge stretched on and on over the water. Katelina imagined it cracking across the middle. Though not as terrifying as an imagined plane crash, it was enough to tighten her stomach. She told herself she was being silly; the bridge had withstood millions of cars. She should be more concerned about what would happen when they got to customs.

  The lake ended, but the bridge went on over the top of roads and buildings, slowly descending to meet the earth. At last, the customs complex, as she thought of it, came into view.

  Des steered them into the correct lane. “Get your passports ready.”

  Sorino chuckled. “There are two whisperers in the vehicle. We hardly need to mess with that.”

  “Right,” Des said. “Why play by the rules when you can make people do what you want? That’s your problem. You and Jorick, and all your kind. You think you’re above everyone. The rules don’t apply to you; the consequences don’t stick—”

  Brandle cleared his throat loudly. “Now may not be the time for such discussions. I believe cooperation might be in order.”

  “Whatever.” Des gripped the steering wheel tightly.

  Though Katelina hated to admit it, she’d noticed the class divide. Those with the mind powers were on top, while the others were lower, lesser. It was the reason she was desperate to learn mind reading.

  They pulled to a stop at the customs’ window. Jorick leaned up, effectively shoving his head in front of Des. He met the eyes of the border agent and held them. Though Katelina couldn’t hear his thoughts, she could feel the press of his will. The agent nodded, then triggered the stop bar to rise.