Amaranthine Special Edition Vol I

by Naylor, Joleene

  Then, slowly, he sat up and turned to face her. He stared at her, a lack of comprehension on his face. They gazed at one another, their eyes locked, his confused and hers wide with fear.

  The silence stretched. His dark eyes pulled her in until she was drowning; she couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Time ceased to exist as the silky depths captured her attention, warm and whispering about things that her primitive subconscious seemed to understand. She started to feel lightheaded but, before she could actually humiliate herself, he broke the spell by murmuring, “Hello.”

  She fought to regain control of her faculties and banished the strange feeling to the back of her mind where it belonged.

  “Hello?” she repeated sarcastically, glaring at him. “You scare me half to death and all you can say is hello? I thought you were dead!” As she stood she scooped up her ruined sweater and pressed it to her chest like a shield.

  As if just realizing she wasn’t properly attired, he looked away politely, the hint of a smile on his lips. “No, I'm not dead.” He glanced back to her he added, “I just feel like I should be.”

  “Yes. You–” but she stopped herself from telling him how truly dead he’d looked; he’d only argue. Besides, there were more important questions, and she started with the most obvious. “Why are you sleeping in the bathtub?”

  “Oh, probably sleep walking.” He shrugged casually. “It happens quite often.”

  She stared at him incredulously. “You sleep walked into the bathroom, climbed into the bathtub and laid down?” In order for them to be having this conversation one of them had to be crazy and it wasn't her.

  “I don't know, I was asleep.” He hoisted himself to his feet and tugged his shirt smooth. He rolled his neck, stretched his back and arms and then moved to stand close to her, a look of amusement on his face.

  Her reply disappeared as she stared into his face and her skin flushed at his nearness. She couldn't help but notice he was just as attractive alive as he'd been dead, maybe more so.

  “It doesn't matter, does it?” His eyes, so dark they almost seemed black, stared into hers, suffocating her with their gaze.

  “Uh... No... I guess not,” she stuttered. Once again the world tilted dangerously, threatening to spin away from her.

  “You're probably hungry.” He tore his gaze from hers and checked himself in the mirror.

  It took all of her conscious effort to not follow his eyes into the shiny silver surface. She forced herself to look into the empty bathtub instead and tried to gather her scattered thoughts. “Yeah, I'm starving,” she murmured and realized it was true.

  Jorick nodded. “Take your shower, and when you’re done we'll see about finding some food.” He glanced at her once more. Her face burned as she imagined that he could see through not only the sweater she clutched against her chest but all of her clothing. The fact that it didn’t give her the creeps made her feel even worse.

  “Okay,” she half whispered, looking at the floor and not daring to meet his eyes.

  He slid smoothly past her; his body too close for an instant, and then left, leaving her flushed and shaken.

  She exhaled and leaned back against the cool wall, her body feverish. A few moments ago she’d been terrified because she’d thought him dead and now she was nervous because he was alive!

  Katelina took a fast shower, blushing furiously the whole time. She wondered if Jorick was sitting in the motel room, imagining her naked, or if he was indifferently flipping channels on the television and wishing she’d hurry up.

  Dressed and washed, she walked into the room to find Jorick sprawled across the rumpled bed, the television remote in his hand and his eyes trained on the glowing screen. At least she had the answer to her question, though somehow it disappointed her a little.

  “All done?” he asked casually and clicked the television off.

  “Yeah, I'm as clean as I'm going to get.” She tried to smooth her wet, tangled hair. She couldn’t help but wonder what he’d done to make his hair look so nice since neither of them had a hairbrush, but it seemed too personal of a question to ask.

  He swung himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. “Before we go, let me look at your shoulder.”

  She moved to stand in front of him, her mouth dry again. She berated herself. This had to stop – she wasn't a schoolgirl! She was an adult woman in full control of her faculties, facing a man who quite possibly was not in control of his – no matter what he looked like.

  His hand caught her neck and pulled her towards him so that she bent into him. His fingers were cool, but not uncomfortable as he brushed her ruined sweater back from her shoulder and gazed at it. “Hmmmmm... It seems to be healing as well as expected. I think a bandage wouldn't hurt.”

  She nodded and waited for him to release his hold on her neck, telling herself that he hadn't just been trying to get a free look at her cleavage.

  As if reading her mind, he let go. His eyes dropped away from hers quickly and his head followed so that he stared at the floor. She'd sworn that for just a second she'd seen guilt in his eyes.

  Katelina straightened up. She no longer had an excuse to be close to him. A faint feeling of regret shimmered through her but she mentally brushed it away.

  “We should go get some food,” Jorick said suddenly. He stood without looking up, and Katelina had to shuffle backwards quickly.

  Wordlessly, he headed to the door and unlocked the requisite row of chains and bolts. He opened it wide then plunged through into the gathering darkness.

  Quietly, she followed him out the door and wondered how they were going to get home when neither of them had a car, but she decided to wait until she’d eaten to worry about it.

  Night had fallen since she’d woken up, and the garish outdoor lights gave the world a surreal quality. Her wet hair was ruffled by a cool breeze that was heavy with the smell of dead leaves, dying grass and car exhaust. In the grip of darkness, the world was once more opened to the possibilities of monsters, despite the closeness of civilization, and she could no longer discern fact from fiction in her mind. Had she been attacked by vampires and saved by the man walking only a few feet in front of her? Were any of her memories real, or were they all fantasy?

  Staring at Jorick’s broad shouldered back, she wondered if she wanted to find out what was real and what wasn’t. After all, what if she didn’t like what she discovered?

  **********

  Chapter Six

  Katelina followed Jorick across the motel parking lot to the sidewalk. Under the odd colored streetlights, Katelina’s skin glowed pasty white and the sidewalk seethed in a thick boiling black; a surreal scene after so much confusion.

  The pair didn't speak as they headed towards the gas station. Only the eerie sound of the rustling cornfield broke the silence.

  The convenience store was a typical concrete building, decorated with a grinning turtle. Taped to the large glass windows was an assortment of signs advertising hay rides, houses for lease and a two for one sale on cigarettes. It was the arrangement beyond that caught her attention, though. There was a rack of maps and sunglasses, a stand of motor oil and anti–freeze, and an array of junk food in appealing multi-colored packaging.

  The door chimed as they walked in, and the clerk behind the counter, a boy who might have been eighteen, gave them an alarmed and nervous look.

  Jorick went to the drink coolers and Katelina headed straight for the Twinkies. The employee watched them suspiciously, and she wanted to glare at him. Though, to the boys’ credit she supposed they made an interesting pair. She looked wet and wrinkled while Jorick looked brilliant - so brilliant that she found herself glancing towards him more than once.

  She picked out a handful of junk food and dumped it on the counter in an unceremonious heap. However, the clerk was more interested in watching Jorick than ringing up her purchases.

  She cleared her throat and he muttered, “Will that be all?”

  A snappy reply rose to h
er lips, but her attention was drawn to the cigarette display behind him. Two for one was a good deal, and right now she could use something good. Just two packs and then she’d go back to not smoking. Or maybe not. Maybe she’d stick to it again. After all, now was as good a time as any to start back up. Mutilated fun buddies were one thing, but she needed nicotine to deal with vampires.

  “Give me two packs of Marlboro Ultra-Light 100's.”

  “There's a, uh, special...” the clerk stuttered without looking at her.

  “I know. That’s why I asked for two.” She pulled the crumpled bill out of her pocket and stared at the kid expectantly. When he didn’t move she snapped, “He’s not going to rob the place or date you, so get over it.”

  The kid gaped, but she’d finally gotten his attention. He blinked, no doubt working on a suitable reply, but she repeated her request and he reluctantly grabbed the cigarettes and tossed them on the counter with her collection.

  Jorick reached her side, a bottle of fruit juice in his hand. He eyed the heap on the counter, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly. “A smoker?”

  “I quit,” she offered by way of explanation.

  “Then maybe you should stay that way?”

  She ignored him and directed the kid to ring up the juice and a lighter as well. With her paltry change in her pocket and the bag of goodies balanced on her hip, she followed Jorick outside.

  She fished the juice out and offered it to him, but he shook his head and nodded towards a payphone near the corner of the building. “Let me make a call first.” He took a couple of steps then added, “Wait here.”

  She started to ask why, but let it go. She didn’t really want to stand there and watch him on the phone anyway.

  She plopped down on the curb and eyed the bag of food. It was weird that he’d just gotten juice, but then maybe he was out of money. He’d paid for the room, after all.

  Her eyes strayed from the bag to Jorick. He leaned casually against the phone’s rusty metal shroud, his face enveloped in darkness. Multiple shadows stretched out behind him, long and black. It reminded her of the multiple complications she was facing; shadowy wraiths of half memories and weird stories.

  The idea was unsettling so she reached into her bag of treasures and soon had a smoking cigarette between her lips. A feeling of calm and peace spread through her as she inhaled and then exhaled slowly. Now she felt she could deal with anything that life threw at her, including monsters from her worst nightmares.

  She took another puff and imagined Sarah’s lecture. The guilt was instant, but she didn’t put the cigarette out. Sure, Sarah would be disappointed, but maybe she’d understand. After all, it was vampires! God, could she even tell Sarah about all of this? Would she believe her or just think she’d cracked?

  “She’ll send me to the damn therapist for sure,” Katelina muttered to herself. How would that look in her work file? That she was seeing a shrink – “Work!”

  Jorick seemed to materialize in front of her, a questioning look on his face. “What?”

  “I missed work. And I didn’t even call in!” She looked at the payphone. “Maybe I could leave a message…”

  Jorick shrugged. “We’ll have a ride in a couple of hours.”

  She felt a small measure of relief at his words. “Good. I guess I can wait until I get home, though I don’t know what I’m going to tell them.”

  “If you need to tell them anything then I suggest you do it now.”

  “It’ll be easier from home–” she cut herself off. “Why?”

  He spoke with exaggerated emphasis. “I told you last night, going home after dark isn’t a good idea.”

  “I have to go home. I need to change and get things sorted out – I have a job! I have a life!”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you things would change once you found out the truth. I gave you a chance to turn and run from it, and you chose not to. You can't just go back to being what you were before; not now. You're involved. Claudius will want your blood as much as mine.” He dropped to the curb next to her and leaned his elbows on his knees.

  “But.... I'll tell him it's a mistake! If I explain it...” she trailed off, sure it wasn't true. The kind of people that could make you tear out your brother’s throat didn’t understand the word ‘mistake’. “Shit!”

  “I'm sorry,” Jorick said simply. He met her eyes and shrugged. “I did give you a chance, though.” He plucked the cigarette from her fingers and took a long drag off of it, exhaling a thin stream of smoke that writhed towards the sky like a white, ethereal ladder to heaven.

  He handed it back and she puffed on it numbly. Her mind worked overtime, trying to think of a way out of this. The best thing to do was assume Jorick was telling the truth and that he wasn't just deranged and insane. After all, she’d seen the thing in the basement and she had a weird bite mark on her shoulder. Both of those things were real, so there had to be truth in his story. In that case his advice was probably sound, whether she wanted to follow it or not.

  She sighed heavily and wished that the smoke truly was a ladder to some celestial utopia. But, even if it was, she wouldn’t know how to climb it. No, she told herself, she needed to think about practical things. If ‘they’ knew where she lived, she’d have to get a new apartment. Okay, she could do that. She hated to, but she could. As for the job, if she didn't show up she'd find herself unemployed, and that would be a big problem.

  As she sat there, trying to reason out a new life, all around her the world continued to exist. Humanity continued to carry on as if nothing was amiss. A car pulled in and parked. Six teenagers piled out and headed into the gas station. Katelina felt a deep isolation between herself and the happy kids, as though an invisible rift of nightmares separated her from their carefree world.

  “All right, fine,” she agreed reluctantly. “But, I need to go to work tomorrow.”

  “I wouldn’t,” he commented casually as he took the cigarette again.

  She glared as he took another puff. “You know, for someone who thinks I should ‘stay quit’…”

  “Yeah, well,” he handed it back. “As I was saying, I wouldn’t go if I were you. I’m sure they know where you work, and they’re not above recruiting humans when they need something done in the daytime.”

  “But what have I done?” Her eyes were drawn to one of the teenagers who came slamming out the door, no longer laughing. That was her, she thought suddenly: The one alone and no longer smiling.

  “Nothing, but try telling that to Claudius. They've been trying to find me and Michael for quite some time, and when they did you were there. Michael knows who you are, and I guarantee he’s been rescued so Claudius can punish him. If you don't think Michael will tell him you were there, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  Katelina turned her attention to Jorick. His eyes were on the unhappy teen, his expression filled with a passive curiosity, like a kid watching ants scurry around on the pavement.

  “But...” she started and stopped. She had nothing to say.

  He took a deep breath and forsook his amusement, his voice calm and over patient. “There is no ‘but’, no magic way out. It’s cut and dried: Claudius has been interested in you for quite some time, first as a weapon to use against Michael and then Patrick. Even with Patrick dead you were still a suspect and, now that Michael can confirm your involvement, your capture can be guaranteed. They’ll be sure that you know.”

  “Know what?” She was tired of these stupid half hints!

  “Where ‘it’ is, of course.” Jorick’s posture radiated annoyance, like he expected her to already know.

  “Where what is?” she cried. A man pumping gas glanced towards them and she dropped her voice, though her eyes blazed and her hands balled into fists at her sides. “I’m getting tired of the runaround, so I suggest you just spit it out!”

  Jorick’s dark eyes snapped with annoyance, but he refused to yell. Instead his voice was weary. “His lover of course.”

&n
bsp; Katelina almost dropped the remainder of her cigarette. “They kidnapped someone?” she cried and then lowered her voice quickly. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. They took Arowenia from her chambers and have her hidden away. Claudius will kill anyone he has to in order to get her back.”

  Katelina didn’t know what to say or how to feel. Patrick and Michael had kidnapped someone, someone this Claudius cared for deeply. The ‘girl’ part of her could even appreciate the situation and see the romance in it. Arowenia was kidnapped and her desperate lover Claudius would do anything to return her to his side. Still, the selfish part of her wanted them both to disappear.

  She stared at her feet and wondered how Patrick could have agreed to such a thing. He hated commitment as much as she did, but at his core he was a romantic. Surely he’d have seen how wrong it was, or at least know that Claudius would hunt them down. Her whole vision of Claudius had changed; instead of the grinning mobster who killed men for fun, she imagined a broken, mourning man, desperate to save the only woman that mattered to him.

  “Why would they do that, knowing he loved her that much?”

  “Love?” Jorick asked in surprise and then chuckled. The levity faded from his features quickly. “No. She belongs to him and has for a long, long time. She's one of his possessions, and he doesn't like it when people steal his things.”

  “Oh.” Katelina didn’t understand that either, but then nothing in the situation seemed to make any sense.

  She decided then that food came first and fished a Twinkie out of the bag. Once she’d eaten she'd worry about the things that hid under her bed waiting to frighten her.

  “So, we have a ride coming?” she asked around a mouth full of golden cake.

  Jorick cringed and looked away from her. “Yes.” He climbed to his feet smoothly, his eyes on the ground. “I'll walk you back to the motel; he's going to meet us there.”