Amaranthine Special Edition Vol I

by Naylor, Joleene

  His answer was a monosyllable, even as bright, too-happy commercials came on the screen. “Yes.”

  “So, they work for Claudius?”

  His reply was as informative as the one before had been. “No.”

  She ground her teeth together and resisted the temptation to make a fist and bash him. After all, it would ruin the coat of polish. “Then why are they looking for her? Who do they work for?”

  He sighed and turned his head to look at her. Finally she had his complete attention. “They work for themselves. The Guild is a group of vampires - mostly old, ancient vampires - who've made The Laws. When someone breaks The Laws, they're punished by The Guild's death squad.”

  “Laws? You have laws?” she raised her brows incredulously. “And a government? Why not?” She waved her hand, dismissing the question before he could answer it. “So these ‘guild’ people – ”

  “Executioners,” he interrupted. “And guards.”

  “Executioners?” she repeated disbelievingly. “That’s what they’re called?”

  “Yes, the ones with the medallions. The others were just guards. They sometimes augment the Executioners when they think they need a large force. Though the numbers they sent were extreme and unnecessary.” He scowled darkly. “Probably Senya or Bren‘s doing.”

  “But what were they doing there? Why were they looking for Arowenia?”

  “Because The Laws were broken when she was kidnapped. You may not harm nor take the possessions of others. Though Arowenia is a vampire herself, and thus should have certain rights, she was made in the old days, when the Master could claim ownership over his Fledglings.” He was very cavalier about the whole thing. “The old Laws are still upheld in those cases.”

  “So Vamp–” she stumbled on the word, amending herself. “So they own you if they,” she hesitated, “make you one?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “New Fledglings can’t be owned anymore.”

  She ignored the intricacies of vampire ownership. “So the Executioners and the guards, they just, what? Go around policing people? I mean who’s in charge?”

  “The Guild,” Jorick murmured with minimal impatience. “It’s more than just the guards and Executioners. Think of it as a government. There’s a High and Low council, among other committees. It’s The Guild that tells the Executioners and the guards where to go and what to do. Claudius obviously complained to them, so they dispatched a squad.”

  “You can just complain to them?”

  “Of course. You can complain to your police, can’t you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s different. The Police are there to ‘protect the people’, not butcher them!”

  “I won’t argue the point,” he said quietly. “I have no love for them, though I realize that there has to be someone in charge; to keep everyone in line. In that respect The Guild is necessary.”

  “Necessary? You have to be joking! They murdered Alexander! And what about Jesslynn and all the servants? Sure, she was a bitch and she scared me to death, but why did she need kept in line?”

  Jorick sighed and then his voice grew remote and detached, as though he were reciting something he’d learned by rote. “Jesslynn broke The Laws when she created those children. You must never make a vampire that cannot care for itself; that isn’t fully grown. It's against The Laws to trap a spirit into eternal childhood. If you do, you are punished, and the children are killed, freeing the spirit.

  “The humans were killed because no vampire may have a human servant unless they are marked property; it's against The Laws for fear that the vampire will become careless with the number of humans they have and let some slip through their fingers. If the humans left without the Master’s knowledge, whether in anger or no, they could spread word to the general population. Because his servants weren’t marked and had seen what Jesslynn, Oren, and the others were, this meant they knew about us and they had to die.”

  Her hand went unconsciously to the still tender spot above her collar bone, fingering it gingerly. “Why does marking them make any difference?”

  Jorick snorted. “Truthfully? I doubt it does any more. But when cities were smaller and population less dense it made it easier to track them.” He mused silently for a moment and then amended, “Though I suppose The Guild could track missing humans through the medical system or the legal system. Whichever documents your scars and such.”

  Katelina wasn’t sure who did that, if anyone did. But she’d heard a lot of “big brother” conspiracies, so it was hard to tell. With nothing to add, silence fell on the small room and it was several moments before she could bring herself to break it. “Why did they spare us?”

  “Because Malick ordered them to.” He turned back towards the television as Yogi reappeared, though he no longer smiled at the cartoon bear.

  “Who is Malick?”

  “He’s the leader of The Guild.”

  The words hung in the air between them and left Katelina confused. She cocked her head at him curiously and tried to keep her voice light and not let her half formed suspicions sneak into the tones. “Why would he give them orders to spare you?”

  “Because Malick is my Master.” His voice was flat and held no feeling as he stared through the television at some unseen memory. “My Maker.”

  She bit her lip and found herself using the non-word she always did when others failed her. “Oh.”

  He continued to stare straight ahead. The muscle in his jaw twitched and his voice was grim. “I served The Guild for many, many years. I was Malick's right hand, his avenging angel of death. Then one day I sickened of it.”

  The tone in his voice made something tighten in her chest. Her hand reached towards him, but she stopped and dropped it back to her lap, unsure. “I'm sorry,” she said softly, though she didn’t know what she was sorry for.

  “Do not be sorry, little one,” his voice lightened as he turned his face towards her. His eyes studied her and then he rolled over on his side and reached for her. He caught her around the waist with one arm and pulled her towards him. She slid down in the bed until she was stretched out and pressed tightly against him. “It's the way it is,” he continued reasonably. “What's happened has happened, and there's nothing that can undo it.”

  She lay in the warm circle of his arms. Her heart pounded in her chest, even as she wanted to comfort him. She fought to keep the conversation going; to keep it safe. “They said that next time there'd be no such order?”

  His voice caught, “Yes. Malick won't spare me twice.” He buried his face in her hair, his breath warm against her neck. He inhaled deeply, as though hiding from ghosts that had come creeping upon him unbidden. “We should leave soon,” he murmured. “We might make it before dawn.”

  She nodded, unable to make her mouth work. Her arms were folded between them, palms pressed against his strong chest. His breath tickled her neck, and she could feel the warmth of his hand through her shirt. She took a deep breath and forced words through her suddenly dry throat, “All right. Let’s go.”

  “In a minute or two.” He pulled her closer to him, the length of his muscular body solid against her.

  “All right,” she repeated. She swallowed hard and tried to calm her pulsating mind. A vision of his pale hands moving across her naked skin flickered behind her eyelids and repeated itself until her breath sounded strange in her own ears.

  He loosened his hold on her and pulled back. His dark eyes studied her face; pools of deep silk that caressed her with their gaze. She felt herself drowning in their depths, like she had so many times before, and she caught her breath. Nervous tremors ran just beneath her skin and she unconsciously bit her lower lip.

  He leaned towards her and his lips captured hers. Soft and warm, they silenced the small voice in her mind that tried to remind her he wasn't human.

  She responded to him. Her body rose to meet his, unwilling to break the contact. She wanted to lose herself in him and forget everything else. Their kiss deepened.
His mouth tasted tangy and coppery, like sucking on a penny. She slipped one arm around him and wadded his shirt tightly in her hand. This moment had happened in her secret dreams already, but finding it in reality was something she hadn’t expected. Something she’d told herself she shouldn’t look for, let alone want. But here she was on the motel bed, betraying her conscience and enjoying it.

  He pulled away reluctantly, and she let him go, her breathing ragged. A smile danced across his lips. His eyes, dark and suggestive roamed her face and moved lower before they snapped back up to look at the clock. He cleared his throat and said quietly, “We'd better go.” And though he didn't say it, somehow she knew he meant they'd better go before anything else happened – before they did something she might regret later, something that the other half of her mind was already whispering about.

  She managed to nod her agreement, but secretly, she wondered what she was really agreeing with.

  **********

  Chapter Fifteen

  The highway sped beneath them, illuminated by the bright headlights. The scenery flew past, lost in the darkness. Katelina's lips still burned from Jorick’s kiss, though it had been hours ago. She closed her eyes and savored the memory in a way she never thought she would.

  Opening her eyes, she glanced sideways at him as he drove. There was no denying it, he was male beauty perfected; dark male beauty. Dark and dangerous, she reminded herself. He wasn't human: he was a vampire, a creature of legend, a myth from the darkness come to life.

  The radio played a trendy pop song that grated on her nerves. She impatiently pressed the radio’s seek button. Snatches of country, chat, and cheerful pop blipped by, mingled with static.

  “You could pick one and stay on it,” Jorick suggested.

  She didn’t look at him as she stopped the radio’s station on a familiar sounding song. “I would if it weren't for commercials and crappy songs.”

  “I don't turn the radio on so I don't have the problem.”

  “Yes,” she said dismissively. It wasn’t the song she’d thought it was and she pressed the button again. “But you like silence and I can't stand it.”

  “I know,” he rolled his eyes. “God forbid if any of you spent a moment with your own thoughts. Better to drown them out with someone else’s.”

  She gave him a sideways glare and bit back a retort. He didn’t need to act like he was so much wiser than she was. At the moment she’d pay to have her thoughts permanently silenced. They were full of bad memories and confusion – all of which were his fault. As far as she was concerned he could deal with the radio and if she wanted to put it on scan all night he could deal with that as well. She was tempted to tell him so, but instead asked “Aren't we almost there?”

  “Forty more miles,” he said without hesitation. “An hour and a half, two hours till sunrise,” he added cheerfully. “We should make it just in time.”

  “Ah.” She gave the radio a dirty look, as if it would make it play something she liked. “Good, I need to pee.” Jorick grimaced and she snapped, “What? I can’t help it. We’re not all perfect like you!” She jabbed an aggravated finger into the seek button and ignored the noise he made in his throat.

  Their destination was a small, dark town that looked as if everyone had gone to bed long ago and never woke up. Many of the small yards were choked with weeds. The houses themselves looked as though they’d been forgotten and left to rot in the weather, the years passing over them in an unending sea of destruction. An old tourist trap now alone and neglected.

  Jorick seemed to know where he was going. He steered the small red car through silent streets and around dilapidated corners until they reached a low, green, ranch-style motel whose blinking neon sign proclaimed it was The Rookwood Inn and had a vacancy. Katelina couldn’t help but think that, judging by the look of the place, it probably had a lot of vacancies.

  He parked the small car in front of the door marked “Office” and, made a sign for her to stay put before he climbed out into the night. He shut the door loudly and again motioned her to stay. She imitated a puppy, but the gesture was wasted on him so she flipped him off as he disappeared inside. The brass bell above the door jangled harshly and the echoes that cut through the thick silence made her shiver.

  She craned her neck and peered through the car window. She tried to see inside the office but all the windows had yellowing Venetian blinds covering them. With a sigh of defeat, she flipped the static filled radio station to the only one that came in clearly - country music.

  While a squeaky-voiced woman on the radio sobbed to twangy guitars, Katelina leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She felt exceedingly bad humored, though she couldn’t say why. She was too busy, as Jorick had so politely put it, drowning her thoughts in someone else’s to worry about it.

  Jorick returned with two sets of keys in his hand. He didn’t comment on her sour expression as he put the car into gear and drove wordlessly towards their room.

  They parked next to the usual swath of sidewalk that ran along the room’s individual doors. Yellow lights on the side of the building sliced the night into pools and illuminated the frosty October air. The smell of leaves and weeds was carried on the wind, along with the sharp scent of early frost. Katelina shivered as she climbed out of the car. Despite the chill, she was thankful to stretch her cramped legs and she paused to kick at an abandoned cigarette butt.

  Jorick joined her. “Here,” he said as he handed her one of the motel keys. “Go on in. I have something to attend to but then I'll be along.”

  She opened her mouth to ask him what pressing errand waited for him in another room, but thought better of it. She didn't see anyone in the gloomy shadows, but how did she know that some creature of the night wasn’t camouflaged in the darkness? If vampires were real, then what other monsters from the nightmares of humanity were lurking and listening to them?

  He walked down the sidewalk and she watched him until he turned sharply, and disappeared around the far side of the building. Her curiosity piqued, she thought about following him, but resisted the urge. The memories of the vampire manor were still too fresh in her mind.

  The key didn't want to fit into the scarred lock, but finally it surrendered with a groaning click, and she opened the door on yet another motel room. She was growing tired of them already. Despite the respite in the hall of horrors, it felt like she’d been sleeping in motels for years. What she wouldn’t give for her comfortable bed at home with its feather pillow and unraveling bedspread!

  She was met by the smell of stale cigarette smoke. She wished she had some of her own. Nicotine would be just the thing to make the world sane again.

  The room was as shabby as she’d expected from the exterior. The bed sagged in the corner like a crippled dog, covered in a green bedspread that reminded her instantly of moldy cheese. There was a dresser along one wall, and of course the requisite stand holding the television. A laminated sticker glued to the front of it declared that it had cable channels.

  The bathroom was no better. It was small and grubby looking, with off – white walls and a chipped sink and tub; the once white porcelain had faded to a dull color from years of use.

  She wandered back into the room and threw her sack of clothing on the bed. The clock said 5:45 and she thought to herself that the sun would come up soon.

  She changed into the pink flowered nightgown, and studied her reflection in a grubby full length mirror. No woman looked good in a flannel nightgown, and she was no exception. The shapeless garment made her look like a dowdy grandmother, though the soft material was a comforting change that made her think of childhood winters.

  Her stomach grumbled as she flopped on the bed. She thought about turning down the bedspread, but she wasn’t sure if it was safe to touch any of the bedding. The ashtray on the bed stand was empty, which meant someone cleaned occasionally. Still, that didn’t mean they changed the sheets.

  Jorick came in just then, looking grim, his dark eyes cloude
d with troubles.

  She waited until he’d closed and locked the door before speaking. “Well?”

  “Well what?” He glanced at the clock, then began to survey the room, his hands on his hips.

  She watched his face and waited for some hint of his thoughts, but his expression didn’t change. She wondered if appearing emotionless was an attribute peculiar to him or if it was a “vampire ability”. When she decided his features were going to reveal nothing she asked more specifically, “What's in the other room?”

  “Nothing.” He uprooted himself from the spot he’d been standing and dropped the extra key on the desk with a small metallic clink. Then, he walked around the room. His eyes snapped to each piece of furniture calculatingly. “Benjamin just wanted me to look in on something for him.” He stuck his head into the small bathroom in further examination.

  She tried to figure out what he was up to, but refused to be detoured. “Who's Benjamin?”

  “The landlord,” Jorick answered casually as he walked towards the window and pulled back the drapes to reveal an aged blind.

  “You know him?” How many people were in on this?

  His face was thoughtful as he dropped the drapes and placed his hands on his hips. “Not personally. Oren knows him.”

  “Checking on Arowenia, were you?” She couldn’t believe he thought she was that stupid. It wasn’t hard to figure out. When he didn't reply she added, “This is where they’re keeping her? In a rundown motel?”

  “I didn't say that.”

  “Yes, but you didn't say she wasn't.” She watched his actions, annoyed that he wouldn’t just admit it to her. When the silence began to stretch she asked sarcastically, “Missing your coffin?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am.” He crossed his arms over his chest and his nose wrinkled. “When the sun rises the room should be well lit.”

  “Another night in the bathtub, then?” She felt a touch of disappointment that made her blush.

  “It looks like it.” He shook his head in annoyance. “Had I known I’d have requested a different room, I only accepted this one because I thought you’d prefer one in the front close to the office in case I was gone tomorrow.” He looked genuinely annoyed. “Really, he should have mentioned how much light there’d be, all things considered.” He looked thoughtful. “Though I suppose he probably doesn’t know. I doubt he’s in the rooms in the daytime.”