Children of Shadows

by Naylor, Joleene

“Nah, I’m just kind of guessing.” He tapped the side of his head and grinned. “Most people have a lot of images associated with their thoughts and you don’t need a language to interpret those. It looks to me like the vampires had them since they were kids.”

  “That’s sick,” Katelina muttered. Ignoring the inquiring look Etsuko shot her.

  Jorick seemed to have a good idea where he was going. Katelina guessed he was sniffing his way to the Birlik. A huge host of vampires surely had a distinctive odor to someone sensitive to it. For her part all she could smell was smoke and cold.

  Though Loren had suggested the country was Russian, the architecture looked like a combination of China and Turkey. Snow piled up against the tiled buildings looked weird, as if an unnatural winter had found its way to desert regions, and she expected to see wilting palm trees.

  They were stopped once by a police officer who demanded to see their papers. Jorick used his usual mind tricks, and the officer walked back to his car and reported that everything was fine. Katelina thought of what Fethillen had said about doing what needed to be done. Since they had no whisperers they’d have probably killed the man. The policeman had no idea how lucky he’d gotten.

  Jorick stopped finally at an abandoned building and told them to wait while he examined it. He made a complete circuit, then came back with the pronouncement, “This will do.”

  “Do for what?” Torina asked suspiciously.

  “For the day. We will rest and visit the Birlik tomorrow.”

  “I thought we were going to stay there?” Katelina asked. She wasn’t excited about another vampire guild, but an abandoned building was worse.

  “Hardly. Though I saw no reason to tell Fethillen, The Sodalitas are not our friend, if you’ll remember? We left rather suddenly, during a lock down, and took someone they’d have rather kept.” He met Katelina’s eyes briefly, then looked away. “Announcing our presence would only complicate matters.” He pried a loose board from one of the windows and motioned them inside. “The sun will be up soon.”

  “Well that’s great,” Torina huffed. “We should have stayed in Munich.”

  She was through the window quickly, and the others followed. The bald humans hesitated a moment and then crawled inside. Katelina thought it was probably an improvement on their previous sleeping conditions.

  Jorick helped her through the window and then Oren helped Etsuko. Her kimono made it difficult, and Katelina wondered why she didn’t give up and wear jeans.

  “It’s not what she’s used to,” Verchiel commented. “It’s the same as wondering why you don’t give up and wear a kimono.”

  Jorick was the last in. He replaced the board, then led them deeper into the building. The darkness was almost complete and Katelina had to clutch his arm. He stopped in a center room and explained they’d have to hope for the best.

  After the scene she’d witnessed in Finland, Katelina was in no hurry to challenge the daylight, but the vampires took it in stride.

  Katelina felt her way to lie down on the cold floor. Jorick stretched out beside her and slid his arm under her head. “It could be worse,” he joked, and he was right. She could hear tiny feet skittering in the distance and thought of the abandoned building she’d once stayed in with Micah and Loren. They’d left Jorick and the others behind in a fight with Executioners. That had been one of her worst nights. She remembered the bitter taste of fear and the nagging horror that something had happened to Jorick. The memories felt a world away and yet in the cold darkness they were too close.

  “It’s all right,” he murmured and stroked her hair back from her face. “Rest now and we’ll see what a new day brings.

  Though she didn’t say it, she suspected it would be more of the same.

  She woke in the darkness to the muffled sound of traffic and people. Life milled outside of their hiding place and she shrank against Jorick, unsure whether she sought to protect him from it or to be protected.

  Her stomach grumbled and the cold seeped through her coat and her clothes. What she wouldn’t give for a bath and a real meal. She thought longingly of the stronghold’s restaurant, strange food and all. She might even eat the Brussels sprouts.

  Something shuffled nearby and she was instantly alert. A heartbeat passed and then the sound came again; feet on the cold floor. She started to wake Jorick, but thought better of it. He needed his sleep. It was awake in the daylight, which meant it was human, and if it was human she could handle it.

  She stood and made it to the wall. Fast footfalls started away, as if someone knew she was closing in and was desperate to escape.

  She hurried after the sound and emerged into a room lit by diffused sunlight. She had a nanosecond view of a figure disappearing through a low doorway and she threw herself after them in a flying tackle. With a cry of horror, the figure crumpled beneath her and the pair landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

  Katelina struggled to free herself from her victim and saw the bald male standing nearby, staring at her with terrified eyes. She sat back on her haunches in surprise and the bald woman pulled away, her knitted hat askew and her thin hands shaking.

  “What are you doing?” Katelina demanded as the man helped his companion to her feet. They clutched one another and stared at her as though she was an enemy soldier ready to shoot them.

  The man met the woman’s eyes and then looked Katelina full in the face for the first time. “Dom.”

  She waited for more, but when nothing came she tried to guess the meaning of what he’d said. What could they want? Help? Food? A Bathroom?

  “I don’t know what that means,” she admitted lamely. “Maybe when Verchiel or Jorick wake up they can figure out what you want.” They stared at her, uncomprehending and she mimed walking back to the room and going back to sleep. Then vampires waking up and reading their minds. The hand gestures alarmed them and they drew further away.

  “Okay, that looked kind of like them attacking you.” She tried again. Her erratic gestures left them looking even more frightened, but whatever meaning they drew from it was sufficient to send them hurrying around her and back to the dark room.

  Katelina started after them, then checked her watch. It was useless; still set for a different time zone. It was hard to tell how long it would be until sundown. Maybe she’d better stay there in case they tried to escape again.

  She kicked some rubble out of her way and sat with her back against the wall and knees up. Sunlight splashed on her. It seemed a little too bright and she moved away from it and settled down again.

  When Ume woke her the room was hazy with twilight. “What are you doing?”

  “The Russians… they were trying to escape or something.” Katelina yawned and stretched her aching legs. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  Ume had changed her jeans and sweater for her black uniform, sans the mask. She glanced back toward the deeper rooms. “There are rats here to feed on, but I’m going to go look around. Do you want to come with me?”

  Katelina stood and stretched. “Sure. It has to be better than sitting in here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The sun was still above the horizon, but in the bustle of the city it was lost behind the buildings. Deep violet shadows gathered and threw fingerlike tendrils across the churned snow. Katelina and Ume left the abandoned building behind and walked down the street. The buildings around them were also empty, marked with signs written in a symbol language Katelina didn’t understand. The street ended at another, and it was like stepping from a graveyard into the throbbing pulse of life. People zipped past on bicycles and women in dresses and headscarves moved in chattering groups. Cars wound down the road, but the pedestrians appeared unconcerned, and crossed in front of them at will.

  Despite the people Katelina felt they stood out; Ume in her bizarre pajama-like ensemble and herself in a dusty, too big black trench coat and rumpled stocking hat.

  Ume shielded her eyes and gazed at the skyline. “I wonder how far the Bi
rlik is?”

  Katelina shrugged. They walked in silence, threading their way through the people, eyes on the tall onion domes of a distant building, until Katelina couldn’t take it anymore. “You know Sushel is up to something.”

  “I think so, yes. He and I were never the best of friends and now…” Ume trailed off into a sigh. “He blames me for Ken’s death. It doesn’t help that Aki—Verchiel—was the one who killed him.”

  Katelina remembered Verchiel stabbing one of their attackers through the heart. “I can see how that would make it worse.”

  “Before Ken joined us, Sushel was always a loner. When they first met they were enemies, but they turned into best friends, and though they didn’t advertise it I believe it turned into something more. I understand his anger. I felt the same when Sibila was killed.”

  Ume stopped and Katelina imagined she was waiting for a response. “Who’s Sibila?”

  “She was my best friend. She had a mate once, but he was killed long ago, and so she was alone and I was alone. We became friends quickly and did everything together; trained together, worked together. Shortly before I first met you we heard rumors about the resurrection of the Children of Shadows, and Fethillen sent out spies. Sibila and Tye did not return. I begged to search for them, and finally Fethillen relented and sent someone. They brought back Sibila’s blood stained sickle and I knew she was dead. The Children of Shadows, or one of their allies, killed her and Tye. That was why I was so eager to go to Indonesia. I wanted blood for blood.”

  Katelina remembered Fethillen’s words, “I cannot find their base, and so I send people to search. Most come back; two do not.” Sibila and Tye were the two who’d disappeared.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “We all have many things to be sorry for,” Ume said quietly. “Blood for blood did not work out and yet I feel it was Sibila who led me there to find Aki. I believe she wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be alone.”

  “What about the Black Vigil? If you’re with them you’re not alone.”

  “Yes and no,” Ume said. “You’ve probably noticed there is a lack of… warmth. It is more business than pleasure. Not to say I don’t have attachments to some of them; Gorn, Laura, Jewel, Kellin, but it isn’t the same as love. I loved Sibila as a sister, but I do not love the others, and I doubt they love me.”

  “It’s just as well, since Sushel is trying to convince them to kill you when Fethillen’s not looking.” She covered her mouth, as if she could stuff the words back in.

  Ume sighed sadly. “I’m not surprised. I wonder if he’ll be able to win them to his side?”

  The sky darkened and the city lights grew brighter. Katelina took a couple photos of the skyline and one of a tiled building, and then she and Ume turned back. As they drew near Jorick dropped out through the window and straightened, his expression one of urgency. He spotted Katelina and ran to her with a cry of relief. Before she could react, he’d swept her up into his arms and pressed his forehead to hers. He let out a long sigh of relief that melted into a growl of anger.

  “Where have you been?”

  “Ume and I went for a walk.” She was confused at the sudden one-eighty.

  “What were you thinking?” His dark angry eyes snapped from one to the other. “You went for a walk in a foreign city, with no papers and no protection! Do you realize what could have happened?”

  “I’m sorry,” Ume said quickly. “It was my fault.”

  It felt like the conversation on the plane, “Little woman needs to know her place!” And Katelina snapped, “There’s nothing to be sorry for. Ume and I can take care of ourselves.”

  Verchiel dropped through the window, his tone agitated. “The Russians saw her earlier but— Kately! There you are!”

  “Yes,” Jorick said coldly. “I found her.”

  “All’s well that ends well,” the redhead quipped. “Might I suggest we hop back inside and discuss our plans for the evening?”

  Much to Katelina’s disgust, the vampires fed on rats. Loren and Micah left and returned with bottled water and steaming cartons of takeout. It was some kind of meat mixed with rice and carrots. Katelina was so hungry she barely tasted it. As she finished her share she heard the bald vampire say, “By the way, you have to have the fucking local currency to buy shit.”

  “However did you manage?” Torina asked with mock interest.

  Loren grinned. “We got it from a guy in the alley on the way over there.”

  “Tasted better than rats, that’s for sure.” Micah licked his lips and laughed.

  Katelina swallowed the last bite and stared at the empty carton. They’d killed someone to get the money for the rice she’d just eaten. How was she supposed to feel about that?

  “You should see this shit. It looks like play money.” Micah pulled a colorful bill out of his pocket and waved it around. “Guy had a crap ton of it on him. Bet he’ll be running to the police later bitchin’ about being robbed. He’s lucky we’d already had a snack.”

  Katelina felt better. At least the mystery man wasn’t dead. She finished off the last of her bottled water, and then mentioned the Russians’ attempted escape. Verchiel played his mind reading-guessing game, but all he could come up with were images of their miserable shed and the shabby little house. “Unless they want to go home, I’ve got nothing.”

  When everyone was packed and ready, they climbed out of the window into a silent street. Most of the earlier bustle had faded, though cars still wove down the streets and a handful of pedestrians moved through the gloom. The street lights were sporadic and on some streets nonexistent. Whenever they passed into a black patch Katelina tensed, waiting for something to leap from the shadows.

  The people and cars thinned as they neared their destination. “Almost there,” Jorick whispered, and led them up an alley, their backs against a building. It should have been a busy area, but the buildings around it stood dark and empty. Some showed stress damage; cracks and chips, broken windows, and flashes of soot. Katelina imagined that they’d been evacuated and forced to remain closed after the attack.

  Jorick came to a stop and Katelina peered around him to see the Birlik, or what was left of it. A single, tiled wall and half of a tower stood. The rest was an elegant pile of rubble dusted with snow and lit with the flashing lights of a police barricade.

  Her voice caught as she whispered, “My god, how did Cyprus do that?”

  “They probably used explosives,” Jorick said.

  Micah grumbled from the back of the group, “I can’t see shit. What’s going on?”

  Katelina pressed her back against the wall and peered out again. “There are four—no five police cars and several guys in uniforms. Some of them look like policemen but the others are dressed in gray. They don’t have any guns… No, wait. The ones in blue do.”

  Micah made a noise of impatience. “Fuck it. We can take them.”

  “I’m sure we could,” Jorick replied. “But we don’t need to.” He stepped forward and straightened his shirt. “Stay put, all of you. I’ll find out what’s going on.”

  Katelina peeked around the corner as Jorick stepped into the light and walked toward the policemen. His long dark hair flapped in the wind, and the purposeful set of his shoulders reminded her of an action hero.

  She watched as he came to a stop before a barricade. “The police are challenging him.”

  Verchiel leaned around her, practically crushing her against the wall. “They’re asking him for his papers and of course he’s pulling his usual trick—oh nice. He’s doing all of them at once. I can never manage more than one.”

  Katelina shrugged loose of him and elbowed him back. “If you can hear then you can tell us what’s going on.”

  “Nothing much,” he said, which Katelina could already see. “He’s probably probing their minds to find out where the survivors went. Ah, wait, look at that.”

  Two more policemen appeared from the rubble and marched toward Jorick. Their movements were too fluid t
o be human, which meant they were…

  “Vampires,” Verchiel muttered.

  Katelina tensed as they confronted Jorick. Would they arrest him on orders from the Sodalitas?

  “They want to know who he is… ha! He’s lying. Either they aren’t mind readers, or else they don’t care about the truth because they’re accepting it. They told him some of the Birlik is operational but most is in ruins. There’s no power or water.”

  As if to prove their words, the streetlights flickered and winked out, leaving only the eerie blue lights of the cop cars to illuminate the scene.

  Verchiel went on, “They told him that if he has business to go to the evacuation site. Some of the survivors remain there, though if he’s looking for someone in particular they may have gone already… A group of them left together.”

  Jorick nodded and then turned back toward the alley. He’d only gone a couple of steps before he went rigid and spun back. Katelina flattened Verchiel against the wall to get a better view. The vampire policeman were also tensed, their eyes on a point too dark for her to see.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  Verchiel squinted, then sniffed. His violet eyes went wide, and he grabbed Katelina by the shoulders and half threw her deeper into the alley. Ume caught her, and she’d just righted herself when she saw the flash of his sword.

  Before she could ask what was going on, Verchiel disappeared. It took the other vampires a moment to process his actions, and then Micah and Loren took off around the corner. Ume dropped her backpack, jerked an ornate handled sickle from it, then followed at a run. Oren and Torina looked at one another, and finally the lion-maned vampire told his sister, “Stay with the humans,” before he took off too.

  “You’re kidding!” Torina called after him. When she got no answer she fell into a pout and glared at the four of them. “Why can’t you take care of yourselves?”

  “I assure you we can, Torina-sama,” Etsuko replied politely.

  The Russians clung to one another, and Katelina moved past them to stick her head around the corner. The streetlights were on again and the rubble was crawling with vampires in black, complete with shiny bladed weapons, ninja style hoods, and blazing white emblems on their backs. It was the Children of Shadows.