Goddess of Night (Amaranthine Book 9)

by Joleene Naylor

  “I don’t fear you, or the rest of your friends.”

  “And I’m not afraid of you. As for my ‘friends’, I assume you mean Ark and the rest. Yes, I called them, not because they told me to, but because there was no reason not to call them. You’re planning to get in the middle of a battle between ancients. You can use all the help you can get, unless you plan to widow Katelina before she’s a wife?”

  Jorick snarled. “The last help I need is The Guild butting into it.”

  “Why? What do you think Eileifr’s going to do? Drag Katelina off to the citadel?” His chuckle held no mirth. “That’s it, isn’t it? You think those are my orders; that I’m supposed to haul her to some controlled environment and use her to lure them. As if I would.”

  Katelina caught her breath. Was that…Would they really? And would it work?

  “You said yourself you’re every bit an Executioner. You’ll follow your orders. Don’t deny them. I may not be able to see into your mind, but I can read Ark’s and Jamie’s. I know why he wanted her to stay involved.”

  Verchiel crossed his arms. “It might have been suggested. It wasn’t an order, only a consideration. I don’t think it will make any difference. Lilith hasn’t shown an interest in Kately, and Samael as much as told her to stay out of it. As for Jamie, he agrees with me. He wasn’t trying to lure Katelina anywhere. You should know him and Ark well enough by now. If that was the plan, they’d take her and leave you to catch up.”

  Jorick’s eyes glittered dangerously. “They know I’d kill them.”

  “I think you’d try, but I doubt they’re holding back out of fear. You’re strong, Jorick, but the world doesn’t revolve around you.”

  “I never said it did.”

  “No, you don’t say it, you expect it. Jorick, the mighty Hand of Death, the terror of the immortal world, ready to swoop in, dealing destruction at a moment’s notice, like the anti-hero from an action movie. But you’re no more the main character than I am. You’re only a small piece of the world. You and Katelina would be a lot happier if you’d get over yourself and your inflated sense of self-importance.”

  Jorick growled, and Verchiel shrugged. “But you won’t. I only hope she can keep putting up with it, for your sake.”

  The redhead started down the hallway, then tossed back, “I meant what I said. I’m done taking it.”

  He disappeared from view. Jorick hesitated a moment, then stormed down the hallway. Katelina couldn’t see where they went, but a door slammed—probably Verchiel’s—and the other set of footsteps continued.

  Katelina sagged back, trying to process what she’d heard. “I hate to say it, but Verchiel’s right. Lilith isn’t like Malick. She’s not interested in causing trouble for fun, or using me to torture Jorick. We’re like ants to her. I don’t think we’re much more to Samael. If we get crushed along the way, oh well, but neither of them are going to go out of their way to bother with us.”

  “He’s also right about Jorick’s inflated sense of importance.” Torina went back to her seat. “But then he feeds into it. Hovering around you only proves to Jorick you’re that much more desirable. He can say he hasn’t taken his chance all he wants, but I doubt it was honor that held him back. Either he wasn’t interested, or he knew better.”

  Katelina didn’t want to discuss the dynamic between herself and Verchiel. “I should go talk to Jorick. Calm him down.”

  “If you think it’s best,” Torina said. “I find it’s good to let them stew now and then, allow them to come to their own conclusions.”

  “Men’s conclusions are usually the wrong ones.”

  Torina gave a genuine laugh. “At last we agree on something.”

  Katelina wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. She gave a half wave and hurried out into the corridor. The footsteps had gone in the opposite direction of their room—but that led to a stairway. Did Jorick go outside for some air, or maybe a snack?

  A sign pointed to the right that said “Roof Top Pool”. If she were looking for somewhere to clear her head, that would be more likely than outside on a busy street.

  She followed the signs and let herself onto a rooftop patio. Tall buildings blocked two sides, and a fence-like barricade the third, giving it a feeling of privacy, even in the open air. A lighted pool glowed, ringed in chairs and large plants. There was no sulking vampire, no dark angry shadow.

  Damn. Maybe he went outside looking for food.

  “Jorick?”

  Something stirred behind a huge palm. Verchiel stepped out. His face was neutral, but his eyes were hard. “He’s in Brandle’s room with Oren. They’re having a meeting.”

  Shit. She’d followed the wrong vampire.

  “Oh. Thanks.”

  He leaned on the back of a chair and looked over the pool. “You’re welcome.” When she didn’t move he added, “You’d better run along before he decides to blame that on me as well.”

  “I wish the two of you would stop it.”

  “Two?” He glanced at her, then back to the water.

  “Oh come off it. You’re not that innocent. You’re always antagonizing him. I don’t know why. Sometimes I think you’re hoping he’ll kill you.”

  It was a joke, but neither of them laughed. Finally, Verchiel said, “I can’t hate him. I want to, but I can’t. Blame it on Kateesha. I think some of her affection for him rubbed off.”

  Katelina wasn’t sure what to say. “Why do you want to hate him? Because he’s always giving you a hard time? You do some of that yourself.”

  “No. I’ve wanted to hate him for most of my life—or the life I can remember. Ever since Kateesha started on about him. He was her god, her hero, her strong, beautiful, perfect angel. She’d have sold me a thousand times over for him. She did, in the end. Not so much sold me, as abandoned me.”

  Ah, yes. Like Oren mentioned to Etsuko, “…she turned Verchiel, but was only with him for a few years before she left to join Jorick and their master...You can see how Verchiel would hold a grudge.”

  The redhead went on. “The best part is, he wasn’t the one to summon her. Malick commanded her to join them in the New World. She could have ignored it—would have, except he mentioned Jorick. She saw his name and lit up. I knew that was it. Stupidly, I thought she’d take me, that I could at least be a third wheel. Instead, I got handed an insincere apology and the chance to watch her walk away.” He cleared his throat. “I know you hate her. I know you killed her. But…”

  Katelina caught her breath. But what? She was the one who’d killed his master. How did he feel about it?

  He looked at her sharply. She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her thoughts or guessed them. “I don’t blame you. Not really.” He leaned his chin on the back of the chair. “It’s like everything in life, it depends which lens you looked through. In your view she was a jealous woman who tried to take what was yours at any cost, even your life. In her view, you were a pesky human in the way of what belonged to her. If I’d come with her, I might have seen things her way. But I didn’t, and I don’t. From where I stand, no one was right.

  “But it doesn’t change things. You asked me about my connection to Kateesha before. If you want to know, yes, I loved her. She was my entire universe. My mother, my lover, my teacher, the only thing I knew, the only thing I had. Then she left and I had nothing. Just a weak, sporadic talent to mind read, and the ability to move faster than everyone else. Without memories of what came before, I didn’t understand any world except hers. When she left, that world disappeared with her. I tried to replace her, but…” He gave a mirthless chuckle. “Two girls in…was it Romania maybe? I don’t remember. I couldn’t speak the language but it was all right, because I knew French and so did one of them. You can’t guess what happened.”

  He fixed Katelina with a probing stare until she gave an uncomfortable shrug. “No idea.”

  “It was great. After three months I found out that their nightly visitors were clients who paid to ‘look at the demon’—th
e demon being me. Apparently I could grant wishes just by looking at them. The girls made a tidy profit, not that I saw any of it. That’s when I learned what the world was. I spent decades studying vampires and humans alike, trying to learn how to fit in, what to say, what to do, how to be, how to avoid it ever happening again.” He straightened. “In case you can’t guess how the little tale ends, I still haven’t figured it out. Not that it matters. I gave up a long time ago.”

  Katelina rubbed her arms uncomfortably. She’d seen him serious a handful of times, but this… What in the hell was she supposed to say?

  He gave a wry smile. “This is where you’re trying to decide how to escape.” She readied to deny it, but he pointed to the side of his head. “Don’t try to fool a mind reader, or someone who’s spent so much time watching people they might as well be.”

  “You’re saying you can’t…”

  “Oh, I can, but I’ve told you before it comes and goes. Mind reading isn’t the only way to know someone’s thoughts. You can read them in the way they stand, where they point their feet, where their eyes stray to. The way they keep looking to the door.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s all right. You don’t need to stay and hear some kind of confession. You’re not a saving angel, and I’ve said all I’m going to.”

  “I don’t—”

  He smiled. “Of course you do. You were looking for Jorick, not me. You want to know if The Guild ordered Jamie to use you as a lure, and whether I knew about it. Yes, I did, but it wasn’t an order. Eileifr only suggested it as a possibility, to keep the casualties low, and the damage to a minimum. If Lilith would attack where you were—”

  “Then I could go somewhere less populated, or better yet, unpopulated,” she finished for him.

  “Exactly. Which, if it would work, I imagine you’d be all for. Unfortunately, as I already told Jorick, I don’t think it will. That’s why I didn’t bring it up.”

  “That’s well and good, but you said you didn’t have an assignment.”

  He shrugged. “If I’d said, ‘Eileifr wants me to hang out with you guys and call when Lilith shows up,’ what would you have said? I’m not here because I was told to be; I’d have been here whether he gave me the order or not.”

  “When did he give that order?”

  “Before I went to Texas.”

  She frowned. “But we picked you up there.”

  “I know. I ignored him, and followed Ark and Jamie. Their irritation was genuine. I knew if I didn’t go first, there was no way you’d ever get to see the damage. Ark said he wasn’t going to let Jorick within a hundred miles of that crime scene. If he had his way, Jorick would disappear in a puff of smoke and never come creeping back to endanger his authority.”

  “Jorick doesn’t want his job.”

  “Of course he does. Part of him always will. He loves being in command, in control, right in the thick of things. He says he wants peace and quiet, but he had it. Look what he did. He joined Oren’s war—a war that he had no stake in—and practically ran it until the end. He even snuck in the back and finished it for him. Or rather you did.”

  She cringed. He meant Kateesha… “I—”

  He held up a hand. “My point is, Jorick may settle down for a while, but he’ll never be domestic, never be satisfied wallpapering, putting up tiles, and puttering around the garden. He’ll be back in it again. If you’re with him, you’ll have to follow.”

  “What do you mean ‘if’? Where else would I be?”

  “I dunno. Tahiti? Taiwan? Off with Micah?” Her eyes bulged and he grinned. “Okay, how about Samael? Or maybe you’ll take after your mom and try for a young one?”

  “You’re going to get hurt if you keep it up.”

  “My point is, Jorick may say he wants left alone, but he doesn’t. He probably won’t rejoin the Executioners, not for a few hundred years, at least, but he’ll join something. Do something. You should know what you’re getting into before you commit for life.”

  The words popped out before she could stop them, “He already asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

  She felt Verchiel’s surprise, but it faded quickly. “Did he? In that case, congratulations. Where’s the ring?”

  “There isn’t one. I think it was spontaneous.” Her cheeks flushed as she thought of the exact moment.

  “Make sure you get one. If you let him out of that, who knows what else he’ll skip.” Verchiel made a show of stretching and yawning. “It’s getting late. I think I’ll hit the hay. You better get back to Jorick before he panics.”

  Katelina bit her lip. “I don’t think he’s really jealous. I mean…I think he just enjoys blustering.”

  Verchiel leaned close enough to whisper, “Of course he’s jealous, but who wouldn’t be.” Before Katelina could reply, he was gone, the door swinging slowly closed behind him.

  “Idiot.”

  Jorick was back in their room, readying for bed. “How nice of you to join me,” he teased as he shut the door.

  “I couldn’t leave you on your own.” She popped the suitcase open and fished out a pair of pajamas.

  “Zander wants to speak to you.”

  She stiffened. “Yeah. I heard him talking to Brandle.”

  “You mean shouting?” Jorick asked with a chuckle.

  She peeled off her jeans and pulled her pajama pants on. “I don’t want involved. What if they’re right? What if Lilith is the Goddess of Night? Is Zander going to join her?” She stopped to look at Jorick. “My God, I’ve seen him fight. Imagine him doing that to us?”

  “I don’t believe he’d join her. More likely he’d pack up and go home.”

  “You mean back to Baltheir’s? That’s a bad idea. With him and Brandle we have half a chance against Ishkur. Without them…”

  Jorick cocked an eyebrow. “I appreciate the confidence.”

  She changed out of her shirt. “Ishkur’s thousands of years old. You’re like five-hundred and something.”

  “That’s as may be, but I’m also amazing.”

  She shook her head and moved to slip her arms around him. “Yes, you’re amazing, but amazing people need help sometimes.” She gave him a quick kiss. “What plans did you make with Brandle?”

  “We discussed returning to Zachariah’s den tomorrow, but I imagine Ark and Jamie will have cleaned up any clues.” He sighed. “Do you really want to do this, Katelina? Despite what Jamie said, you don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t have to, but I need to. Like Malick was yours to deal with, Sarah is mine. You could have let someone else handle Malick—let someone else defeat him—but you had to do it yourself, for you. It’s the same with Sarah. I don’t know that I want to defeat her, exactly, but I need to do something to stop her. Whether that means fixing her or killing her…” Katelina trailed off.

  Jorick pulled her to him and stroked her hair. “I understand, little one. I know that you love her, but part of love is knowing when to let go.”

  “Like when to let someone die?” she muttered.

  “Yes, like that. Sarah…the life she has…it’s not a good one. Her mind, her heart, what I suppose you’d call her soul, they’re nothing but darkness. I know you blame Lilith, but I saw the darkness when you were first reunited with her. It was only the familiarity of home that held her together. When she left…”

  “You mean we shouldn’t have taken her with us.”

  “The bonds were already weakening. No matter where she was, she’d have fallen apart. You saw her at Niagara. She’s scarred inside, Katelina. Mutilated beyond recognition. She’s endured terrible things. Maybe, given a few hundred years, she could get over them, move on. More likely, she’ll turn into Malick, or Claudius, or Lilith.”

  “But if Samael could wipe her mind, lock away her memories…”

  “If he can, and if he will, who’s to say that will fix the problem, and not just postpone it? Will the memories be sealed permanently, or will they come back someday? Even if they don’t, what happ
ens when she lands in the middle of another bad situation? To be so strong, so twisted, the darkness had to be there before she was taken, before she was turned. The hate she feels…It’s something that was already inside of her. Taking her memories can’t rewrite that.”

  “You want me to kill her, no questions asked?”

  Jorick sighed. “I want you to do what you feel is best, but I will say this; you’ve already asked the questions. You gave her a chance. She tried to murder your mother. Do you want to wait until she murders you?”

  Katelina closed her eyes against his truth. “If she fights me, I’ll defend myself. I won’t go quietly.”

  She saw the fear in his eyes; fear he’d lose another wife. But she wasn’t Velnya. She wouldn’t let them drag her to a tree and not fight back. She’d turn them wrong side out.

  He cupped her cheek. “I’m glad to hear it. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

  “You couldn’t be so lucky.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head in one large hand. When he broke away, she could feel his reluctance. “The sun will be up soon. We’d better get some rest.”

  She nodded her agreement and climbed into bed. He slid next to her and pulled her close. She curled around him, her head on his chest, and closed her eyes. His heartbeat was a steady comforting drum in her ear.

  The curtains ruffled in a predawn breeze, bringing with it scents of the city. “You decided on some fresh air?”

  “What?” Jorick asked sleepily.