Yes.
She looked up at him and nodded resolutely, fear shading her eyes. Despite her conclusion, she was still terrified.
Jorick slipped an arm around her and pulled her to him briefly. He released her, but held onto her hand. “It will be all right,” he assured her, softly. He looked on the point of saying something else, but stopped, listening. “They’ve reached the doors.”
She strained through the darkness, but saw and heard nothing. It was terrifying to think that somewhere, lost in the night, was a group of vampires ready to strike.
Jorick started in the direction of the building and Katelina followed him silently. Her heartbeat drummed steady in her ears and her throat grew dry and tight, so that she couldn’t speak, even if she’d wanted to. Suddenly, the sounds of ripping metal and shouting filled the air: it had started.
“We must hurry now,” Jorick whispered urgently. They skidded to a stop at the front of the building, before a pair of large white doors. The sound of the fight at the side entrance floated to them, and Katelina felt a sudden stab of panic.
Jorick turned and gazed into her face, mentally caressing her. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered and his eyes begged her to believe him. “Trust me.”
She forced words out of her mouth. “Of course.” But her pounding heart and trembling hands belied the words she spoke. She tried to force a smile, but none came.
He pulled her towards him and his lips claimed hers in a deep kiss before he released her. With a smile, he brushed a stray hair from her cheek. “When this is over we’ll go somewhere warm for a change.”
“Right,” she whispered and then the fake smile came at last. Somehow, she doubted they’d ever go anywhere else again.
**********
Chapter Twenty
Jorick gave Katelina a final, reassuring smile before he tore the white doors from their hinges. A motion light snapped to life and, inside, two guards shouted in surprise, “They’re attacking from all sides!”
Katelina couldn’t hear whether they received an answer.
The guards dashed out the door. Jorick snapped the first vampire’s neck before he could raise a weapon. He dropped the paralyzed body to the snow, and bounded over it to intercept the second guard. They crashed together, both snarling, their fangs glittering in the cold light.
“Cut out his heart!” Jorick commanded her silently. Katelina blinked stupidly, and then understood the focus of his order. She dropped to the ground, the silver knife in her hand, and stared at the motionless body. She swallowed hard and raised the weapon, but she didn’t think she could actually go through with it. The vampire twitched and made a strange gurgling sound that twisted her stomach in a sickening knot. No, she couldn’t. She’d killed that vampire at Claudius’s, but that had been life or death, and this…
He twitched again, then slowly lifted his hand and tried to grab her. It was enough to scare her and, with a cry, she plunged the blade into his chest with too little force. It hit bone with a jarring crunch that hurt her arms. The vampire moaned, and tried to roll over, and Katelina struck at him again. Something crunched, and his whole body jerked. Instinctively, she pulled the weapon out again and backed away on her arms as his body spasmed, and then fell permanently still.
She half lay in the churned snow and watched his red blood spread, dark against the white. The motion light hummed too loudly and she glanced up at Jorick. He had a dark smear across his left cheek and his hands were gory. The second guard lay nearby, his chest a gaping cavity of slowly clotting goo and gore.
Jorick held Katelina’s terrified gaze and nodded to her encouragingly, while he wiped his hands on the dead guard’s cast off coat. She stood uncertainly, still gripping the dirty knife. Her heart pounded the percussion parts to a staccato symphony and adrenaline made her white knuckled hands tremble.
Jorick silently reassured her, “It’s all right, Katelina. You did fine.” When she looked like she wouldn’t faint, he motioned for her to follow and plunged into the blackness of the metal building. Katelina’s survival instincts screamed at her to run, but she quieted them and followed quickly.
Inside the building, a dark tunnel rose up to meet the door, so that the floor was a steep ramp that led downwards. Blinded in the darkness, she stumbled and caught herself on one of the poured concrete walls.
“It’s all right,” Jorick’s voice sounded aloud, near to her, soothing and strong. “Come, we’ll kill her and be done with this.”
She nodded uselessly, and clutched at the darkness. Her grasping hand found the back of his long coat, and she clung to it and let him lead her through the tunnel with eyes that could see in the dark. They moved quickly. The ground steadily sloped downwards until she was sure they were well beyond the space the tin building covered. The thought of all that earth above her, waiting to crash down, didn’t make her feel any better as the darkness closed in.
The sounds of the battle at the side door bounced off the walls; echoes of clashing metal, snarling, shouts and angry cries that made her hair stand on end. As they moved ever forward, the sounds grew louder and louder.
Suddenly, Jorick stopped and hissed a sharp warning between his teeth, but he was too late. Bodies crashed around them in a confusion of growls and shouts. Hands scrabbled, blades slashed and teeth tore in the blackness. Katelina felt a sharp pain in her left arm, and a scream ripped from her lips as she lashed out at the invisible attacker. She felt the teeth pulled free, followed by the crunch of bones as Jorick slammed her attacker into the wall.
“Katelina!” Jorick’s voice shouted in her mind. His fear filled her senses.
She bit her lip, to stop from vocalizing the words. “I’m fine.” She pressed her hand against her bleeding arm, and flinched at the pain that shot through it.
“Are you sure?” he asked silently. “You’re hurt.”
“Barely,” she lied. “It’s more pain than anything, like a paper cut.”
He didn’t feel convinced, but he let it go. “Come,” he commanded and she followed him. Her arm throbbed and she blinked back tears, but still she hurried along blindly. Jorick strode ahead of her, free from her grasp, and she had only the sound and the sense of him to guide her. Her empty hand trailed along the concrete walls, as though trying to hold them back
Someone clutched her suddenly and she tried to strike, but stopped at Jorick’s hissed command, “Shhhh.”
She froze expectantly and her every nerve reached outward to find the danger. The sound of echoing footsteps reached her and a voice called loudly, “They’re trying to get through the side door! Come on!”
An answering shout came back, “We’ll obliterate the bastards!”
A third vampire demanded, “Who’s guarding the front doors?” But they dismissed his query and their voices faded as they moved through an invisible side tunnel, lost behind the sound of battle and the thick reek of blood.
Katelina held her breath afraid it would be too loud. She pressed her eyes tightly closed and visualized the map she’d looked at last night. They’d reached the first connecting tunnel, the one that sliced cleanly across all three of the main passages, to the side entrance. To meet Oren’s group, all they had to do was turn right and keep going. No wonder the battle sounded so loud.
She tried to picture the rest of the map, but realized that there was nothing more. After the connecting tunnel, it faded into oblivion. What lay ahead was a mystery wrapped in night and fear. A mystery that she guessed they’d soon solve.
Jorick moved forward and Katelina followed him, waiting for death to come screaming at her from the shadows. They passed other tunnels, always to the right; yawning, invisible chasms that were marked only by the spaces where the wall disappeared. Her head felt light and fuzzy with fear, and her arm ached with every shuffling step.
Jorick suddenly pulled her into one of the offshoots, and pressed her into the wall with his back. His body shielded her from the invisible enemy as he commanded, “St
ay silent!”
She strained but couldn’t hear anything over the blood roaring in her ears. Seconds seemingly dragged to hours as she waited, afraid to breathe or move. At last, she discerned footsteps drawing close and then another group of vampires dashed past with pounding feet. Their voices rang through the caverns as they laughed about tasting blood.
They stopped, with no warning, and one of them snuffled the air noisily. Then, a thickly accented voice barked, “Someone’s here!”
Jorick cursed under his breath and pulled Katelina further into the tunnel as the vampires dashed into the passage. “Stay silent!” he ordered again and then hurried to meet them.
She backed against the wall and tried to press into it, as if she thought she could hide inside. Beyond, in the darkness, she could hear the scuffle. The vampire with the thick accent swore loudly, and then someone screamed, long and loud. The sound broke off into a gut wrenching gurgle, and Katelina closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn’t Jorick.
The accented voice shouted again, “I smell a human! Find them!” while Jorick shouted over the top, “Die, fool!” obviously hoping to drown him out. The sound of his voice lifted a weight of dread from Katelina’s chest, and she heaved a sigh of relief to know he was still alive.
The relief was short lived. Someone brushed against her, then stiffened in surprise. A hand grasped her arm and tried to tug her out into the open, but she struggled and wildly slashed the knife at the darkness. A female yelped as the blade made some miniscule contact, and Katelina stabbed again and again.
The vampiress went still and Jorick’s voice sounded from the black, “Release her.” Somehow, Katelina knew that he had a knife pressed to the female’s back, though she couldn’t see it.
The vampiress sounded strangely calm, considering the situation. “You brought a human? That was stupid.” Her hands tightened on Katelina’s arm, as if she hoped to snap the bones before she had to let go.
“Release her,” Jorick snarled again, his voice cold and angry. The woman did as she was told this time, though Katelina could feel her reluctance.
Free, Katelina stepped away, a hand to her bleeding arm. She suddenly realized that the other vampires were missing, but Jorick interrupted the thought, “They’re dead.”
“I’m fine,” she thought silently, before he could ask, though his concern prickled her uncomfortably.
Jorick turned his attention to his prisoner. “Lead us to Kateesha, or I kill you now.”
The answer was sarcastic, “Can’t you find her yourself?”
“Lead us to Kateesha or die,” Jorick repeated.
The vampiress chortled. “She’ll kill you, and torture your human. But, I’ll take you, so I can watch.”
“Good.” Katelina could hear the smile in his voice. “Come.” He added silently, “Stay behind me.”
They moved back towards the main tunnel and the vampiress spoke, “It won’t do you any good to use me as a shield. They’ll strike me down as quickly as they’ll strike you. Anything to protect the Queen.”
“I didn’t ask for your advice,” Jorick answered flatly. “Now stay silent.”
The captured vampiress snorted, but obeyed.
Katelina limped along behind, listening to Jorick’s soundless instructions. “Stay behind me. Should anything occur, let me deal with it. Despite her words, I will use her as a shield if need be. They may strike her, but it will delay them a few moments. Keep your knife ready just in case and make no sound. The younger a vampire, the less keen their vision and hearing. This one isn’t very old or she’d have spotted you immediately. Remember, the younger ones are also weaker. If you must fight, go for one that looks fresher and more human than the others.
“Once a vampire has been immobilized they’ll begin to heal, but the process is slow. Deeper wounds require rest or blood to heal, as do multiple bones, though a strong vampire may fight on even with their bones broken. Wait until I’ve rendered them useless and then attack them. Use your knife at an angle to slide between the ribs if you can, or try to go under the armpit and through the lung. If you strike the very center you must be forceful, or the sternum will deflect your blow.”
She nodded absently to his directions and made mental murmurs of understanding; anything to stave off the sick dizziness that threatened to consume her. She thought briefly of stopping and hiding in a tunnel, but she dismissed the idea quickly and chastised her weakness. She was going to keep going, no matter what, until she saw Jorick kill that evil bitch Kateesha with his own hands.
They turned from the main tunnel into an offshoot that headed steadily downwards. As they went, the air around them warmed, and the sounds of Oren’s battle faded away. Meanwhile, the hatred from their prisoner grew until it was almost a solid thing. She stayed silent, Jorick’s knife pressed against her spine, as she led them ever deeper into the underground labyrinth and nearer to its queen.
They turned a sharp corner to find a heavy metal door. Pale light leaked around the edges but, after the long dark of the tunnels, it was like the sun to Katelina. In the brightness, she could now see their guide. The vampiress had black hair in a messy bun and a face that could have been beautiful, had her lips not curled back in a snarl to reveal gleaming fangs.
They came to a full stop and Jorick nodded at the door. “Open it,” he commanded.
The vampiress’s snarl turned into a sick, smug smile and she laughed. The cold sound sent shivers up Katelina’s spine, but the words that followed terrified her even more.
“There’s no need, Kateesha already knows you’re here.”
**********
Chapter Twenty-One
The heavy door jerked open and vampires surged through it, their hands like claws, ready to tear and rend. Jorick threw his prisoner into them. She was right; they cut her down like she was one of the enemy, but the resulting clash did delay their advance. Jorick used those few seconds to fling Katelina as far behind him as he could. The force of his efforts sent her skidding, and she had to catch herself on the wall to keep from falling.
“Stay back!” he shouted and a wave of his regret washed over her. Though she couldn’t hear his thoughts, she knew what they were: he wished he’d left her at the motel, safe in the world she belonged in. But, he was wrong. She didn’t belong there anymore. She tried desperately to communicate that to him. For some reason it was infinitely important he knew she was there by choice.
If he understood, he didn’t have time to comment. The narrow tunnel quickly filled with Kateesha’s guards. They were all fangs and weapons, and threatening snarls. And then, over the top of it, Kateesha’s laughter sounded high and cold. Katelina froze, paralyzed by the sound.
Kateesha’s caressing voice whispered in her mind, “So Jorick brought you to me, did he? What a fine present. How I’ll enjoy making him watch as I rip you apart piece by piece.”
“No,” Katelina hissed and gripped the soiled knife tightly. Her eyes skipped involuntarily to Jorick, who was too busy to return her gaze. However, he flung a vampire down the corridor towards her. Bones crunched loudly as it came to a stop near her feet.
“The heart!” Jorick commanded silently and she quickly dropped to her knees beside the incapacitated vampire. His eyes rolled wildly and he tried to move, but he couldn’t. She forced herself not to think as she jammed the silver knife into his chest again and again. At last, the blade found its way between his ribs, and she jerked it out again quickly. Blood gushed, thick and dark, and she pulled back involuntarily.
The smell and sight made her sick, so she looked to Jorick for comfort, only the corridor was a blur of indistinguishable motion. Then, one of Kateesha’s guards broke free of the pack and grabbed Katelina’s arm. She cried out, and Jorick quickly spun around and pulled him away. In a motion that looked far too easy, he snapped his neck and smashed his brains against the wall. He slammed the struggling creature into the wall twice more. Bones snapped loudly. Satisfied, Jorick wordlessly flung the body towards Katelin
a and then turned to his next two opponents.
The vampire slid to a halt near her, and she hurriedly knelt next to it. The sight made her stomach heave; sharp ribs gouged through the skin of the torso, and twisted limbs twitched sporadically. “Not real,” she murmured to herself. “These aren’t real people. Not real, not real.” She tasted bile in her mouth, but the mantra enabled her to carry out her grim work without throwing up.
The next vampire Jorick threw to her wasn’t quite as broken as he thought. Katelina raised the knife, and the half crushed creature emitted a shriek that made her recoil. It snatched at her with what was left of its fingers. She jerked to her feet and pulled away, but the ruined vampire latched onto her leg, dragging behind her as she tried to escape, its limbs crushed from the waist down.
“Stop!” he lisped.
Katelina kicked at it and something gave way. Warm blood splashed up her leg, and she gagged helplessly. The thing screamed and released her, and she stumbled into the wall and retched violently. She looked up in time to see Jorick meet her eyes. He stood amidst the carnage, casually crushing the heart of his last foe in his gory hand. Though victorious, his face was smattered in red, and his nose ran blood down his face. Both his jeans and shirt were torn to reveal freely bleeding wounds that horrified Katelina.
His concern washed over her, and her cheeks tinted deep red when she realized he’d seen her being sick. She wiped her mouth furiously, then spun back towards the ruined vampire. He lay on the floor, curled in a ball of agony, his hands wrapped around his ruptured torso. This was his stupid fault! If he’d just die like he was supposed to!
With a fierce growl, she dropped to her knees behind him and hacked at his back, hoping to get to his heart. The thing made an unintelligible noise, and lashed out, just as Jorick shouted in her head, “Watch out!”. But, instead of “watching out”, she looked up at him.
The crushed vampire took advantage of the distraction and grabbed her face with his ruined hand. Still strong despite his injuries, he slammed her head into the floor. Pain shot though her skull and stars erupted behind her eyes. She slashed wildly with the knife while the vampire scrabbled desperately to find her eyes.
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