“It’s hardly morning,” she remarked sarcastically, though she tried to mask the bitterness she felt.
He gave a soft laugh. “It's morning for us, little one.”
She grimaced at the nightmarish thought: To wake every day to a cold black sky; a literal dawn of darkness, devoid of sunlight. It sounded cheerless and bleak.
She tried to move again and her shoulder scraped the wall of the box. Pain shot down her arm and she drew a sharp hiss of air through her teeth. His concern was almost tangible so she quickly assured him. “I’m all right.”
He murmured in acknowledgement and nuzzled his face against her neck. His cold lips slid over her skin and made her sigh. “Maybe we should stay in here all night,” he whispered suggestively in her ear.
Her cheeks turned an unseen pink as imagined images played through her consciousness. “There isn't enough room for that.”
“Hmmmmm… You might be right.” He nibbled on her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Despite her desire for him, she wasn’t sure how she’d feel if they were actually intimate; whether it would throw back to the terror she’d suffered at the hands of Claudius or not. And though she’d never admit it, even to herself, she was afraid of finding out.
A loud rap sounded on the lid above them and Oren’s voice reverberated through the box, “Jorick, the sun is down. It is time to rise.”
Jorick stayed silent, his lips still against her neck, but Oren pounded on the lid again. Jorick sighed heavily in resignation and called back grudgingly, “All right.” He gave her neck a final kiss before he reached up and slid the lid to the side so that it clattered to the floor.
Katelina blinked in the bright light, her eyes used to the pitch black of the box. As she blinked Oren slowly came into focus. He was standing impatiently next to the box and looking down at them. His wounds from the previous night’s battle were fully healed and his long golden hair was tamed back into a ponytail.
Jorick slid neatly from beneath her. He stood smoothly and stretched his sinewy body. Like Oren, his hurts were also healed; his face again flawless.
Katelina moved slowly and her stiff muscles complained. Jorick stood next to the box, his head cocked to one side as he watched her, a half grin on his face. She followed his gaze and jerked the neckline of her dress up to cover her exposed cleavage.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he teased and held a hand out to help her up.
She scowled, but accepted his offer. “I doubt Oren wants to see that.”
“One never knows.” He smirked as Katelina looked horrified and Oren muttered in annoyance. With a chuckle, he tugged her to her feet. “You need more practice at coffins.”
She glared at him, but refrained from commenting.
Torina sashayed through the door, freshly dressed in a revealing dress of gold and robin’s egg blue, her long red hair swept back from her face. She had a mound of deep red cloth draped over one arm and a tight smile on her lips. She held the dress out to Katelina. “I brought this for you - though,” she glanced at Oren to make sure he was listening. “- we’re going to have to get some more clothes. I’m nearly out.”
Katelina took the clothing and unenthusiastically mumbled, “Thanks.”
Torina nodded and took her brother’s arm. “Come along, I’m sure she’d like her privacy.” She led him out of the room and he obeyed willingly. Katelina watched them, amused at the sight of the fearsome vampire being led along like a child.
Once they were gone, Jorick slid the straps of the ruined green dress from her shoulders and let it drop carelessly to the wooden floor. He leaned down and kissed her; gently at first and then deepened it as he pressed her against him. She winced in pain and he released her quickly. His eyes danced away from hers and he murmured softly, “I’m sorry.”
“That's okay.” She offered him a smile as he let his gaze settle on her face.
“No. It isn't. I tend to forget that you don't heal as we do.” His eyes reflected some unfathomable guilt.
“I almost wish I did – sort of,” she added quickly, lest he take it as in invitation make her one of the living dead.
“Do you really? Somehow I doubt that.”
She shrugged her shoulders and left the rhetorical question unanswered.
He offered her another smile, though this one was tighter. “Come, get dressed, and then we will join the others. Kateesha will be setting up her new coven's order, and I have no desire to enjoy that spectacle.”
“Me either.” Thinking of Kateesha made her scowl darkly. “The only thing I want to see her do is find the pointy end of a stake.”
“You are not alone in that opinion, little one.” He ruffled her hair before he stepped away. “Hurry and get dressed.”
She quickly put on the red dress and tried to stretch the material away from her skin. It was knee length and clingy with a flared skirt. Instead of straps it thankfully had sleeves, though they were only three–quarter length.
Jorick tilted his head. “Well, I have to admit it’s not as fetching as the last one, but it will suffice. Let us join the others and leave this place.”
He’d said the words she’d been waiting to hear. She placed her hand in his and an eager smile broke over her face. “Anywhere but here,” she said emphatically and allowed him to lead her through the house and out the newly repaired front door.
The sky was a deep, royal purple. Streaks of red were still visible in the west while diamond studded stars were already appearing in the east. It was late dusk, the magical time that is neither night nor day, when all of the monsters of one’s imagination began to creep from under the bed, preparing for the darkness. But she knew now that monsters didn’t always look like monsters.
They walked through the overgrown yard to the sidewalk where Oren stood. He leaned against the giant blue car with his arms crossed over his chest and the last of the dying day reflected in his strange golden eyes. His sister was half draped over the hood next to him. She stared past Jorick and Katelina as Kateesha swept out of the house and followed them.
“I see the human survived the night,” Kateesha commented lightly as she joined them. All eyes turned to her and everyone looked equally unenthusiastic to see the vampiress.
“Yes, Kateesha,” Jorick replied shortly. “Did you expect her to die in the coffin during the night?”
“Well, one never knows with the frailty of mortals.” A cruel smile graced her lips.
“They are not that frail,” Jorick replied nastily. “What did you plan to do? Kill her while I slept? Even you can’t be foolish enough to murder a human who is under another’s protection?”
“Oh yes, I know that you’ve claimed her,” Kateesha scoffed, dismissing it in the same breath. “I was unaware that you held with such antiquated ideals. I assumed that since you refuse to follow the other laws this one would be beneath you as well. Still, I suppose that not everyone can resist the temptation to claim a human slave.”
Oren pushed himself up from the car and strode to stand before her. “The oaths have been fulfilled, our time here is done.”
The dark vampiress turned her eyes back on Jorick. “Will you leave so easily?”
His voice was cold. “Yes, Kateesha. I owe you nothing more, nor do I want anything more from you.” He gazed at her meaningfully as he wrapped his arm around Katelina’s waist.
“That is such a shame, Jorick.” She closed the gap between them and trailed her fingers over his chest lustfully. “Think what we could accomplish together! You choose to fight it Jorick, but Malick made me for you. We are destined to be together.”
Jorick caught her hand and threw it away as though he’d been burned. “We share no destiny.”
Her eyes grew hard and brittle like sharp glass. “You would choose a mortal over me? And one who is substandard, no less?”
“I would choose death over you, Kateesha.” He squeezed Katelina even tighter, a wad of her red dress clenched tightly in his angry fist.
Kat
eesha’s perfect face twisted in fury. “Then so be it, Jorick. Our alliance ends here. When next we meet, you’ll get your wish!”
“I doubt that. Never forget who is the elder.” His hard features softened as he turned his attention to Katelina. “Come, little one,” he said and steered her towards the car.
She followed blindly; happy to go anywhere that took her away from the dark woman. Oren swung the door open and waited for them to climb in. She laid her hand on the metal frame and ducked her head to do just that, when a voice hissed inside her head, “You will die, pathetic mortal. I will feast on your blood and your flesh, and when Jorick has forgotten that you ever lived I will have him as my willing slave.”
Katelina spun around and glared at the gloating vampiress. “Fuck you,” she spat and then turned back and climbed into the backseat. Jorick gave her a curious glance, but chose not to comment as he slid in next to her. Torina and Oren were equally silent as they took their places, neither looking at the other as the car rumbled to life.
They drove down the road and Katelina stared out the window. Her eyes were locked on the tiny, dilapidated house where Kateesha still stood, surrounded by her four new followers. Under the flickering street lights, their shadows stretched long across the lawn, like clawing hands ever reaching.
Only when they made it to the highway did Oren speak. “She will pose a threat now.”
Jorick sighed. “She always has.”
“But, she will be more of a threat than ever. Once she has taken complete control of Claudius’ coven–”
“Let Kateesha go, she is not your battle. As you said, oaths have been fulfilled.” His eyes flicked to Torina. “One day she will be forced to pay for her transgressions.”
“That day will not come soon enough,” the red head muttered under her breath before falling silent.
Raindrops were soon pelting the windshield. Katelina closed her eyes and saw a half formed vision of Patrick; his blue eyes dancing with laughter, his shock of blonde hair an untidy mess. Kateesha's voice echoed in her head, repeating words she’d spoken last night, “You were only supposed to guard her, not fall in love with her! Did Patrick know?”
She burrowed her head into Jorick's side and willed the evil thoughts to leave her in peace. She wondered for the umpteenth time how she had come to be there. Why had she listened to that mysterious voice on the phone? Why hadn't she stayed home where she belonged, away from walking nightmares and death? But she knew the answer, and it was no more comforting than the questions were.
They drove to yet another cheap, ranch-style motel. A neon moon that read Star Dust Inn flickered off and on in the parking lot. As usual, they got rooms with no trouble, though Katelina began to wonder exactly what went on inside the motel offices. Jorick had been able to bend the staff of the hospital to his will, so was he also applying the same trick to the motel management?
The bed was only slightly more sanitary than usual, but after the coffin and the long car ride it was a welcome sight. Katelina took a shower and emerged to find Jorick in the middle of rearranging the furniture.
She dropped onto the bed and cocked her head at him. “You never put it back, do you? I wonder what the staff thinks about it?”
“I don’t know.” He grinned teasingly. “Perhaps we should ask them?”
She rolled her eyes in reply and settled in. Jorick continued to eye the stack critically and then rearrange it, only to repeat the procedure again. He dropped his hands in surrender and muttered dark obscenities to himself before he announced, “I don’t think it’s going to work. There isn’t enough furniture.”
“The bathtub?” she asked sorrowfully, but he shook his head to the negative.
“The floor should be all right. I think.”
“You think?” she echoed. She wanted very much to ask him what would happen if it wasn’t “all right”, but she decided she didn’t want to know. She still wasn’t ready to accept that he was one of them.
Jorick stretched out on the floor on the far side of the bed. He gallantly declined both pillows and blankets. Katelina looked from Jorick’s position to the jumbled pile before the window and hoped he was right. She didn't think she could deal with waking up to a pile of ashes.
“If not, I’ll wake up and move. It won’t kill me instantly,” he assured her and she wondered at his too perfect perception. How many times had he answered her unspoken thoughts? For the second time in as many days, she worried that he could read her mind as Troy could.
Jorick’s cheerful voice cut into her fears. “Best get some sleep.”
She nodded in the darkness, but his words caused a fearful suspicion to fill her. “Why? What are we doing tomorrow?”
“Driving.”
He gave no more details and she quickly made assumptions that involved more blood and death. “Driving where?”
She could almost hear the smile in his voice, but whether the mirth was at her trepidation or at the answer she didn’t know. “Home.”
The breath she’d been holding escaped in a sigh of relief. “So, no more battles?”
“No. Oren wants to wage a war on The Guild, and I’ve told him repeatedly that I won’t be a part of it.” His words were too good to be true.
“Really?”
Soft laughter filled the room. “Yes, really.”
Katelina fell into a thoughtful silence and then asked, “Your home or mine?”
Jorick rolled his head to the side and studied her. “Which one do you prefer?”
She looked at her feet, uncertain. All she’d wanted was to go home and see her mother and pick up her life, but would that be a life that Jorick didn’t follow her into? How would he fit into it? And, what about the police and all her injuries? If she showed up at home like this they’d certainly arrest Jorick.
Though two weeks ago she’d have never imagined it, she found herself asking slowly, “Where’s your home at?”
“Not far,” he answered vaguely. “It’s near the beach.”
“The beach.” Pictures rose to her mind of sand and palm trees, but she knew they were too far north for that.
She drew a deep breath and made up her mind. “The beach sounds like a good place to go while I wait for all of this to heal.”
His smile seemed strange, but he nodded. “Then the beach it is.”
She intended to go to sleep, but when she closed her eyes horrific memories played behind them. Last night she’d been too terrified of Kateesha to concentrate on anything else, but tonight the aftermath of the battle was upon her. The twisted face of a teenage boy swam before her, and his scream echoed through her ears. She fought to escape it, but was unable. Seeking comfort or distraction she asked softly, “Jorick?”
“Yes?”
The words were hard to find. “Last night… during the fight. That - that boy…” She was unable to finish, to say “that boy I killed.”
Jorick’s tone betrayed no emotion. “What about him?”
It was a good question and one she didn’t have an answer for. “I - I don’t know,” she confessed.
He sat up and gazed at her with weary eyes. “It’s all right. I know the first time you might feel-” he faltered.
“Guilty?” she suggested bitterly. “I killed someone. I mean - I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” She broke off, frustrated at her inability to express her thoughts. “Watching you, it’s different. It’s like it isn’t real – like a movie, you know? But that boy, it was like he was real. I could see his eyes. His blood was cold–”
Jorick interrupted her. “Had you not killed him, then I would have in order to keep him from killing you, so he’d have died either way. It makes no difference who delivered the blow.”
“But it does!” she exclaimed passionately. “At least to me.”
He laid a hand on her arm and squeezed it gently, then gave a resigned sigh and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I understand. I was young the first time I killed someone and the guilt weighed on me heavily.
But, in time it fades. You’ll soon forget.”
Her voice was a whisper. “I thought you said that nothing is forgotten?”
“Perhaps I exaggerated,” he admitted. “In time you’ll forget.”
“Will I?” she met his eyes and held them. “Have you?”
His answer was slow to come. “Yes and no. Over time I’ve become desensitized to death and to fighting. But, I won’t lie to you. There are some wounds that never heal, no matter the years that pass.”
She gazed at him questioningly, but the conversation was over. As if to prove it, he patted her arm and said firmly. “Don’t let it bother you anymore. Go to sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
He settled back down on the floor, but she didn’t close her eyes. Instead she softly murmured, “Jorick?”
Though he didn’t sigh impatiently, she felt like he wanted to. “Yes?”
“Kateesha–”
He sat up again. “What about her?”
She found it hard to ask what she wanted to know. It seemed stupid and somehow possessive. “You and her… were you ever… you know…” she trailed off lamely and hoped he knew what she meant.
“Were we a couple,” he asked with amusement. “No, never. I told you, she doesn’t interest me. She’s too cruel.”
“Oh.”
When nothing else followed he asked quietly, “Anything else?”
She shook her head to the negative and Jorick lay back down, a small smile still on his lips.
“Go to sleep, little one. Tomorrow everything will be better.”
“I hope so,” she muttered. Though her voice held no conviction, she was really clinging to the slender hope that he was right.
She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but the scene in her mind refused to change. The battle raged. The boy died. Claudius was beheaded. Kateesha dug through the pile of corpses for her meal. As Katelina re-witnessed the last scene, she could hear Oren’s words: “She won’t stop until she gets what she wants.” Suddenly, Katelina was sure that Jorick was wrong and Oren was right. No matter how much they wanted it to be over it wasn’t the end; only the beginning.
Amaranthine Special Edition Vol I Page 27