Amaranthine Special Edition Vol I

by Naylor, Joleene

  His footsteps echoed as he walked into the room and came to a stop. He didn’t speak, though she could feel him there, watching her. When her paranoia got to be too much, she looked up to see him standing next to a large dark fireplace.

  The room around her was small and, like the horrible throne room, the floor was littered with thick furs and the walls decorated with hangings. She sat on a bed that was hung in blue silk and heaped with expensive bedding. At the foot sat a tightly closed teak chest, whose brass fittings reflected the glow from the torch. A small cane table and two matching chairs were near the fireplace and a wardrobe sat against the far wall, half hidden in shadows.

  She looked down at herself, expecting to see her ruined clothes, but instead she was in a long, dark red dress. The bodice was made to fit someone with more curves than she had, and delicate white embroidery around the top seemed somehow old fashioned. Where had it had come from?

  Oblivious to her confusion, Oren turned and tossed the torch into the fireplace. He stood motionless, with his back to her, and watched as flames grew. Moments passed in heavy silence and then he pulled up one of the chairs. He brought it near to the bed, and lowered himself into it wearily. His amber eyes searched her face and then he asked quietly, “Why did you do that? The heart belonged to Jeda.” He gripped the arms of the chair and fought to contain his sudden rush of anger. “We had a deal!”

  “No.” Katelina’s voice shook, but there was force behind it, “You had a deal.”

  Oren’s jaw clenched. “Jorick agreed to the deal. You belong to Jorick, hence you were bound by it. If you were going to do that, then you should have at least turned yourself instead of drinking just enough to create a disaster. Now there’s a human in control of Kateesha’s coven! Everything is chaos now, thanks to you!”

  Fury bubbled up inside her and she ached to vent it in a long string of abuses. He was the idiot who’d gotten Jorick involved in it all. “Why do you care? Kateesha’s dead and Jorick handled it all for you, just like you planned from the beginning.” She moved to the edge of the bed, and leaned forward, her voice a whisper, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the one who started the rumors about him being a spy to begin with!”

  Surprise registered on Oren’s face, then melted into anger. “Why would I?”

  “To make sure everyone was right where you wanted them!” She rose from the bed to stand on shaking legs and glare at Oren. “You were too weak to kill Kateesha, so you needed him. Everyone was squabbling over the heart, afraid Jorick would take it, and you couldn’t let him do it without the rest of your cannon fodder walking out. But if he did it on his own, no one could blame you. So how dare you? How dare you come in here acting like I’m the villain? Pretending you’re some innocent victim in it all!”

  Oren stood and shouted over her, “Jorick’s the victim! You should be put to death for what you’ve done!”

  “Go ahead and try it,” Katelina cried wildly, her eyes glittering slits of hatred. “Jorick is on your head, not mine! Don’t you dare blame me, you coward!”

  “Me?” Oren took a furious step towards her. “It’s your fault! I can only do so much now!” He jabbed his finger at her, the tip inches from her face. “It was your stupidity!”

  Despite her rage, she resisted the urge to bite his pointing digit and waved it away with a threatening hand. “My stupidity?” Her hands shook and she fought for control. “You know what? Just – Just fuck you Oren! Fuck you and all the rest of them! All you care about is your stupid revolution, anyway!”

  “Yes, I do care about it. I realize you don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself, but one would think Jorick mattered enough to you that your brain would at least engage now and then.” He rapped the side of her head with his knuckles. “It’s your fault that no one knows what to do with him.”

  “How the fuck is it my fault?” She shoved her twisted face into his. “You son of a bitch! What was I supposed to do?”

  Something in his eyes snapped and he roared, “How about not drink from the heart?” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “You put him in this position! Do you expect him to be welcomed with open arms when it was his human who broke the covenant? By all that’s holy, what do you expect? I’m not a miracle worker! I’m doing what I can!”

  She jerked free. “Doing what you can? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re alive, aren’t you? They wanted to slay you on the spot! And there’s a call to kill Jorick, as well!”

  “You idiot! He’s already dead!”

  “Dead?” Oren laid a hand to his head in exasperation. “Jorick isn’t dead, yet. If they have their way, he will be.”

  Tears ran down her face and she couldn’t stop them. “Yes he is! I saw her drink all his blood!”

  “I don’t care what you saw.” He took an unconscious step backwards. “He’s perfectly fine or would be if-”

  Oren continued to talk, but Katelina couldn’t focus on his words. She stood, eyes glazed and mouth open, as the implication slowly filtered through. Jorick. He’d said Jorick wasn’t dead.

  She bounded towards Oren and grabbed handfuls of his shirt, oblivious to his shock. “What did you just say?”

  He tried to pry her loose, horror on his face. “I said he isn’t dead, you insane human!” Oren freed himself, then moved away quickly and made a show of straightening his wrinkled shirt. “Obviously your brains have been addled. That can happen when you mortals ingest too much vampire blood, too quickly.”

  She ignored his last statement. “If he’s alive then where is he?” She wanted to believe him, but she’d seen Kateesha drain Jorick dry. She’d seen his withered flesh, felt how cold and lifeless he was. She’d knelt next to him, screaming, and, even now, he was silent to her. If he was alive why couldn’t she feel him? “Take me to him!” she cried, and flung herself at Oren.

  He neatly sidestepped her. “In due time. First-”

  “No!” She noticed Oren’s uneasiness and her joy flickered as she suspected a lie. If Jorick were alive he’d have answered her mental cries. He’d have never left her alone in agony. “I want to see him now. Unless you’re lying.”

  He stared at her as if she was something foreign on his shoe. “Why would I lie? What could I possibly gain?”

  “Maybe to try to keep me under control? How am I supposed to know what you’re up to?” Her face turned hard and she crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. If he wanted to play games, then she could play games too. “If he’s alive then I’ll answer you after I’ve seen him.”

  Oren threw up his hands in exasperation. “Fine! You want to see him, then see him! And when they say he gave you your answers, be it on your head!” He started towards the door and then spun back around. “I’ll take you to him, but only because he asked to see you as soon as you woke, not because you’ve demanded it! I don’t bargain!”

  He strode through the door and Katelina followed him cautiously. The corridor was dark, but made of stone instead of the cement of the higher tunnels. Oren’s pace was brisk and Katelina had to hurry to keep from loosing him in the twisting passageways. They passed many doors, all closed and some with light leaking from under them, but they were never the door Oren sought.

  As they headed deeper into the labyrinth of old stone passages, Katelina’s mind ran in circles as confused as the honeycomb of tunnels. She alternated between excitement and fear. Would Jorick really be at the end of this? If not, then what would be there? Oren was stronger than she was, so why didn’t he just force her to do what he wanted? Was it because he felt compelled, by his blood debt, to do as Jorick had commanded and protect her? Was he leading her to a room where vampires with no such compunctions would finish her off?

  Oren finally found the door he wanted, and stopped so suddenly that Katelina collided with him. He grunted in surprise and jerked away from her with a scowl. “If you’re under control now, perhaps we can get on with this?”

  He jerked the door open wit
h no fan fare and she peered inside to see a small room. Flickering candles were scattered around, and their light revealed a table littered with papers. Chairs sat around it at odd angles, and a trunk sat in one corner. In the center of the room, was the only thing in the world Katelina cared to see.

  Jorick was there, dressed in what were obviously Oren’s clothes. His raven hair cascaded over his shoulders in a waterfall of night and his pale face was weary, but his deep eyes shone as he looked at her.

  Without a thought, she dashed into the room and crashed into him. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. Her tears returned, unbidden, and she clutched the material of his shirt, afraid that if she let go he’d disappear in a wisp of smoke, like a half forgotten dream.

  He stroked her face gently, then moved his hand up to tangle in her golden hair. “Shhhhhh,” he murmured softly as he cradled her against him. “It’s all right.”

  Oren spoke from his position in the doorway. “You don’t need to glare at me like that, Jorick. I haven’t done anything to her.”

  Katelina looked up and let her eyes drink in her lover’s face. “I – I thought you were… dead.” The last word was scarcely more than a whisper, as if uttering it would make it true.

  Confusion registered in Jorick’s eyes and then he glared at Oren. The blonde vampire sniffed disdainfully. “I told her no such thing. Her brains are clearly addled.”

  Jorick ignored Oren’s final statement and turned his attention to the woman in his arms. “No,” he said softly, his hand on her cheek and the trace of smile on his full lips. “I’m not dead.” When she didn’t answer he prompted, “You’re all right?”

  She nodded and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I’m – I’m fine.”

  “I was worried about you.” He searched for something in her face. “I wanted to come and see you, but they demanded I stay here or they’d kill you.” His jaw worked and his dark eyes burned. “If anything had happened to you because of them-”

  “Well it didn’t,” Oren said as he finally stepped over the threshold. “I told you it wouldn’t.”

  “Mmmm.” Jorick’s gaze flicked to the blonde vampire. “I don’t doubt your intentions, Oren. Your mind is lain naked to me, but it’s not so with some of the others.”

  Oren stopped just inside the door. His posture betrayed how uncomfortable he felt. “I know. But, I gave her my protection and I’m still their leader, until something can be resolved.” His amber eyes flicked around the contents of the room and he cleared his throat noisily. “Did you find anything?”

  “Yes,” Jorick answered, holding Katelina tighter. “However, now is not the time.”

  Oren drew a deep, agitated breath. “I suppose you want some time alone with your-” he paused. “With her?” he amended, though with no remorse.

  Jorick nodded his head and absently stroked her hair. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

  Oren looked more than a little annoyed. “You know what they’ll say.”

  Katelina stiffened fearfully against Jorick and wadded his shirt in tight fists. She didn’t want to be taken back to that room and left alone again. She tried to communicate this to him, but there was no response. Still, perhaps he heard her because he said calmly, “Let them.”

  “She wouldn’t answer me,” Oren added, suspiciously.

  Jorick tilted her head up and forced her to meet his eyes. Whatever he saw in their depths made him nod to himself. “She will later. She’s been through enough without having to face the inquisition.”

  Oren’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m hardly the inquisition. I only asked her a single question.”

  She tried to bury herself in Jorick and he ruffled her hair comfortingly. “Later, Oren.”

  “Fine. Do as you will, but I’ll be back.” He turned abruptly on his heel and strode from the room, pulling the door shut behind him with a resounding bang.

  Jorick’s eyes lingered on the door until Oren’s footfalls faded away, and then he looked back at Katelina. “No one hurt you?”

  “No.” She gazed up at him, an irrepressible smile on her lips. The giant ball of fear in her stomach melted away like snow in the summer sun and left her so full of joy that she felt stretched taut, ready to burst. Everything would be all right now because Jorick was there and alive!

  “How long have you been awake?”

  His voice brought her back to the small room, and she answered truthfully, “Not very long. Oren’s the only one I’ve seen and he just yelled a lot.” She bit her lip and then continued, uncertainly, “Why didn’t you answer me?”

  Jorick blinked, and then understanding dawned. “You mean the Linking?” She nodded and his shoulders relaxed. “You drank enough of another master’s blood to undo any mark I left upon you.”

  A strange disappointment flickered through her. “Oh. So it’s gone?”

  He offered her a wan smile. “Yes, you should be happy. You hated it so.”

  “I don’t know. It was kind of comforting, actually. I mean, I knew where you were and what you were doing.” She swallowed hard. “I’m not… I mean, Kateesha…”

  “Linked to her?” he asked. “No. For the Linking to work, you have to be ‘connected’ to the vampire at the time of ingestion; they have to bite you as well. You would probably be attached to her, after a fashion, though. More like an attraction, or a deep fondness or possibly even an obsession, depending how much of her blood you drank. But, since she’s dead, the only effect you’re likely to be left with is a strange kinship with those she turned.”

  “So Kateesha’s really dead?”

  “Yes, little one, she’s dead. You don’t think she’d let you wear her clothes were she alive?”

  Katelina gasped in horror and looked down at the red dress. “What? Her…”

  “She didn’t seem to need it anymore. I managed to claim that one and another, before Torina had them all gathered up.”

  Katelina plucked at the dress absently, then looked back to Jorick. “But who...” she sought for the right words. “Who put me in it.”

  “I did, last night.” Katelina blinked and he went on, “The battle was last night. You slept through the rest of the night, all of the day and most of tonight as well. You had a lot to recover from. I hear that you killed her rather efficiently,” he teased. “And you were quite proficient in claiming the coven, too.” He turned suddenly serious and strange emotions stirred in the depths of his eyes; emotions Katelina didn’t know how to deal with. “You shouldn’t have done that. It’s never happened before. Not once, in our recorded history, has a mortal claimed a coven leader’s heart.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her eyes dropped from his face to the open collar of his shirt and she tried to gather her thoughts. “I- I thought you were dead.” She drew a ragged breath and tears tickled her voice. “Nothing mattered anymore.”

  He cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to meet his eyes. “Whether I live or die, Katelina, there are things that still matter.”

  “Don’t tell me that their laws matter!”

  “I don’t mean the Laws. They want to put you to death, Katelina. If I was dead then who’d stop them? I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He clutched her tightly and then slowly released her so he could study her. “You thought I was dead?”

  Her face flushed and she looked away from him. “Yes. Kateesha drank your blood and you looked….” She trailed off, unsure how to continue.

  “Gruesome?” he suggested. “Withered? Yes, that happens when we run out of blood. Luckily, Kateesha – or probably Claudius, since this was his stronghold to begin with - was thoughtful enough to have a stash.”

  “But I gave you blood!” she argued stubbornly. “Nothing happened!”

  Jorick drew back in surprise. “When?”

  “When you were all… dead. You said blood would heal you, but it didn’t! It didn’t do anything!”

  It was obvious that he didn’t know what to say. “Katelina,
you,” he broke off and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have expected that,” he said quietly. “You didn’t need to do that. The quantity that was needed-” He cleared his throat noisily. “No one mentioned it.”

  “I doubt they noticed. I’m not sure where they were at the time. It’s all a blur.”

  He nodded, but continued to look at her as though she’d just dropped from outer space.

  “What?” she cried, suddenly embarrassed. “You act like I did something wrong!”

  He stroked her cheek absently. “Wrong? No, not at all. I wouldn’t even call it uncommon, particularly. Some vampires keep a human,” he paused and added, “companion to feed on, and The Guild has their own network of blood donors, of course. I’ve even heard of humans who think it’s fun to be fed on. It’s just a shock that you’d give your blood to me willingly. You’re always so disgusted by the idea of what I am.”

  Her eyes dropped away and she asked quietly, “Am I really?”

  “So you’ve said.” He sighed deeply, then wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her golden hair. “It’s all right. It doesn’t matter.”

  She closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat. Though comforting, it couldn’t drown out the fears in her mind. “It does matter. I don’t want you to think that I… That I find you…” She rushed on before he could interrupt her. “It bothered me, some, at the beginning. I mean, to think about you being a vampire but now it just… It just doesn’t seem important anymore.” She pulled back and tilted her face to peer into his. “I don’t know if it ever really was.”

  He started to answer, but stopped. “I doubt anyone knows what they really think.”

  She could only agree with that statement, and dropped her head back to his chest. There were so many things to say, but the saying didn’t seem important. It was as if he already knew, anyway.

  “Don’t worry, Katelina. We’ll find a way out of this.”

  She looked up, confused at the heaviness in his voice. “Out of what? This thing with Oren? Why can’t we just leave?”

  “I wish it was that easy. There are things that have to be settled first. They’ll have to find a solution the majority agrees with. Right now, the remnant of Kateesha’s coven is kept under lock and key, but it will only hold them so long. They won’t swear allegiance to a mortal; it’s unheard of. If a decision isn’t reached soon they may choose a new leader themselves and rise against us. There’d be more blood.”